A little context

I came into my design career a bit later than some, which goes to show you that not all journeys are a straight line. My professional path started in advertising – I’d been working my way up as a strategic planner. While working at R/GA, I learned about product and brand design. I became really excited about the idea bringing something new into the market that could be designed at every stage, from the product look and feel to the graphics to the packaging. So I gave up my job and enrolled in the Masters in ID program at Pratt Institute which completely changed my career trajectory.

What have you been up to since your internship at Prime?

Since my time at Prime I have been working at PepsiCo in the design group. I was hired as a structural packaging designer. Over the years, I’ve touched many of the biggest brands, Pepsi, LifeWTR, Bubly, and broadened my skillset to include experiential and brand design. Today, I lead the powder portfolio on Gatorade. Next year I’ll be rounding out 10 years!

What are some of your memories of your time at Prime Studio?

I joined Prime in 2015 after graduating from the Masters in ID program at Pratt. I was still fresh in my design career. Prime was the ideal place to hone my physical prototyping and CAD skills. Lots of hours were spent back in the workshop cutting paper while prototyping secondary packaging for Urban Stems. I also recall getting schooled in sewing loofahs.  

What are you currently working on or most excited about in your career / life?

My goal now is to build out a team and develop my manager and mentoring skills. My team was created to build out the future of Gatorade. As the creative lead for all things powders, I also get to work closely with our ID team developing equipment, i.e. bottles, soft goods and accessories, to pair with our powders. Creating a visual world for the brand that is fresh, elevated and culturally relevant really inspires me.

Do you have any advice for design students looking for an internship now?

LinkedIn helped me tremendously early on to expand my design network and connect to folks in hiring positions. I remember reaching out to Stuart on LinkedIn! Today, standing out is more difficult. My advice there would be keep a strong IRL people network – knowing people on the inside is still the best way to start a conversation. 

My advice would be that your career can take many shapes, sometimes it takes a hard left. The most important thing is that you get to chart your own path and tell your own story. Personally, I’ve always believed that the more unexpected that story is the better and more inspiring it can be!