This week Ashley Gutierrez, a junior producer at Fresh Tape, a sports media production company based in Denver, walks us through her role in a recent project between Twitter, HBCUs, and the NBA. She sees her role as the blueprint to everything – from the pitch, to planning, finding the right people to execute her idea, managing the talent and clients, and even picking up a camera or editing when necessary. Living in the “we just have to make it happen” world, she makes sure the projects get done on time and, most importantly, within budget. Originally from Miami, Ashley and I discuss moving to Denver during the pandemic and the transition from intern to full time. Her advice is don’t think too much about what’s on your reel, putting the experimental stuff you do in your free time is what gets you a job doing what you really want to do. Also, learn how to light a set… it’s what makes an image beautiful. 

SHOW NOTES

• NBAxHBCU 
• Lauren London x Puma
• Avalanche Hype Video
• Gondola.cc - IMDB for social media
• Jobs at Fresh Tape

This week, Patrick Drake, a product designer for Dealerware, an automotive tech company located in Austin, discusses how you can’t separate UI from UX because they inherently enhance each other towards a product’s overall goals. He discusses why demonstrating sound problem solving in your work and the ability to walk someone through your thought process is the most effective skill a designer can develop. Patrick shares his process for usability testing, downplaying biometric eye tracking in favor of fast, high-fidelity prototypes because you don’t have to guess what someone is thinking after a biometrics test. We talk about using parallel work examples to get a job doing something new and how sending perfect work isn’t as important as just showing some level of competency when starting out.  Lastly Patrick compares the autonomy and depth within an in-house design role vs the fast turnaround of project based freelance work at a design agency - it’s all about the iterative self-sustaining loop of finding and improving novel problems.

SHOW NOTES

• Dovetail - A User Research Platform
• Johnathan Stark - Freelance Mentor 
• Articulating Design Decisions, by Tom Greene

This week, Corey Zucco (@czooksmedia), a recent graduate from the spring of 2021, talks about moving back to her hometown and how she landed her first full-time job as a digital designer at Red Ventures. We tackle mental health breaks, personal branding and network utilization. Corey also shares her journey through the virtual interview process, her fears about never landing a job, and her relatable disdain for LinkedIn. Lastly, Corey gives her tips for navigating the job market, including patience and persistence.