Heather's Expert Q+A
What factor plays a bigger role in a new project – lack of time or a small budget? Definitely lack of time. My favorite part of being a designer is thinking about ideas. Big ideas take me time—time to actively work on the challenge, time to let it swish around in the back of my head while I do everything else, time to convince myself I am wrong and kick the tires a little before believing it might work. I think you can almost always work with a small budget if your idea is good enough.
What was your first job in the design field?
Junior year I secured an internship with a very small company that made University hats, t-shirts and apparel, located in Heidelberg, Germany. When I arrived I went to sleep in the dormitory above the office and woke up to see the art director leaving in the middle of the night with her suitcases. The next morning, my new boss woke me up and asked me to come down to the office immediately, in my pajamas. There, the partners told me that I was the new art director (I was the only designer) and that our products were launching in Footlocker throughout Europe in weeks. I didn’t sleep at all, but it was such a cool experience supporting product launches with midnight events on shoestring budgets. I really grew up that summer—while I figured out the eurorail I was learning that design is all about embracing constraints and focusing on the idea.
What is your favorite design tool? Why?
My hands. My “thinking” happens when I write and draw on non-fancy paper.
People. I spend a lot of time talking to people all over the world about their lives, their dreams, and how they think about whatever category I am working in. They inspire me to identify the most impactful problems to solve.
Movie trailers. I am late for a lot of things, but never movies. A big part of my job is envisioning new ideas and telling the story of the idea to clients. I study how good trailers tell just enough of the story to emotionally hook an audience.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
An astronaut.
Can you tell us a little more about your Conference topic? What personal or professional experiences led you to this topic?
A few years ago, I was working on inventing new, fun, ways to deliver powdered juice in South America (a billion dollar business). I started thinking about powders in the U.S.—powdered milk, soap flakes, stuff like that, and how today, they are largely forgotten and relegated to the bottom shelf. When we work on projects in other categories we are always talking about trends in customization, portability, distribution, sustainability, and how well powders or other forms of concentrates connect with today’s trends. Companies that make powders feel the low-cost stigma and don’t believe that their products could ever win over ready-made. However, I believe that great design has the power to make concentrates a premium experience for consumers, a success for businesses and a more sustainable solution for our planet.