Design Feast

Lea Miller

Design Consultant of Earlybird Creative

Primary design concentration:

Interaction Design

Most preferred tool for designing:

Email! Communication is my #1 priority. Having a paper trail keeps my clients and teammates informed of the process, and helps me stay organized.

1. How and why did you choose to become a designer?

I’ve always liked creating things. Up until the last month of high school, I didn’t know you could do this for a career. Thank goodness someone clued me in before it was too late!

2. Challenges you encounter as a designer and how do you deal with them?

I think that communication is the biggest challenge. Design is all about making decisions. Until you explain the rationale for decisions that you make, your work runs the risk of seeming arbitrary.

3. Your definition of an “elegant solution,” that is, good design?

An elegant solution utilizes just as much of “it” as it needs, and nothing more. I’m a big fan of simple.

4. From skills to values, what makes a designer successful?

I think the basics are the same for everybody, whether you are a designer or rocket scientist. Work hard, have some integrity, treat others with respect.

5. How do you stay motivated and grow personally and professionally as a designer?

I think you have to stop being a designer at a certain point in the day. Everything in moderation! Apply some principles of design to your life: Balance (work + life), Contrast (try new things), Hierarchy (prioritize), and White Space (leave time for doing “nothing”).

6. For those aspiring to become a designer, whatever the discipline,what is your advice?

Arrange for an internship/co-op position at a design firm every chance you get. Don’t wait until the summer after you graduate from college.

7. What is your quest in design?

I’d like to convince everyone that “fun and simple” is not just for kids.

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