               Drop Box Office, Midtown, NY
The environment at drop box is very contemporary and reflects the age of the company. Drop box has recently unveiled a new approach to consumers through a re-branding strategy and a new tool. Drop box is an international company with an office here in New York. The New York office to me is very quiet and laid back, I can tell the company tries to make it feel like you’re at home instead of working. Personally, I agree with this concept but it should still equal productivity. At this office I feel like their main influence in the company’s design isn’t stagnant, maybe San Francisco is more involved. The focus from what I experienced is computer science and engineering granted that this is what the company is built on. The roles and titles of the people we associated with are the following; Design researcher, Product designer, Design Lead. What was surprising to me was the amount of people they have working in-house and how they’re skilled in different areas. We also discussed other essential roles of people in their department including a graphic designer, copy writer, UX/UI designers, Illustrators etc. The role I was very intrigued about learning is a Design researcher, not knowing that this even existed was something new to me. This is something that I would like to get into since it involves analytics, science and design. This is a new way of seeing design in a technical aspect that benefits consumers user experience. Or as the Design researcher at drop box stated it “Design to solve problems.”
I had the opportunity to voice my question about communication strategy to the drop box group. My question was “How do you manage communications internally and externally to clients and target audiences? “A member from the branding team addressed my question. His response was very broad but he stated that the company voice is more than aesthetics. He also specified that their recent re-design was part of an incentive to “Bring excitement and dynamics …and to have people look at us differently.” I personally understood what he meant in the sense that the brand attracts the user and they’re goal was to make drop box more appealing and interesting to attract said audience. He didn’t really address the internal communications part, but I believe this it’s because they don’t really deal with their clients on a one on one basis to really have this. But later on, the woman from the branding team did discuss there different handles such as print, ads, copy, video campaigns even social marketing. I would of liked it if she elaborated more on that. Overall, I understood that there branding consists of cohesive work and user experience.
Deeper into the discussion the team they shared there day to day of what its like doing what they do working at drop box. The title that I paid the most attention to was Design researcher and Product designer. From a Design researcher side, she meets with various clients to solve visual and user experience issues and desires. She than contributes her research to the product designers while giving in her own input of what she thinks it could look like. A Product designer than creates a visual layout alongside prototypes that could fit this issue or make it more functional. Maybe because the others weren’t quiet expressive of what they do I wasn’t as interested.
What I found the most helpful was there advice as design professionals. They discussed they’re experiences coming out of college, there first design jobs and what they look for in portfolios from incoming designers. They all shared that in the beginning of their careers most of them acquired internships. It was relieving to hear that they’ve done soul sucking work for money in their early stages as a designer. I can relate to this as a freelancer because it’s hard to say no when you need the money. Another piece of information that I found most helpful was what they look for in portfolios, and in a potential candidate. They mentioned that people who can explain the design process. They would like to see a portfolio reflects a problem they solved, the approach they took, how did they arrive to the conclusion and the final solution. They really want you to have a foundational understanding of graphic design and process. They’re looking for collaborative curiosity in a in-house team, but overall final presentation of your work is a plus.
I am very thankful for this experience, I am now more aware of where I need to be and in what direction I am headed. From this experience I see myself working in-house very early in my career, but It might not be the place for me in the long run. I like to adapt to constant change and working on the same thing seems daunting to me. Maybe if the in-house company is something great like google, Facebook, Spotify etc. My main focus at the moment is getting my portfolio ready and continuing my internship.
