Hasta La Ideas

In the lead up to next week’s Coroflot Creative Confab–this time held in the small but astoundingly design-y city of Portland, Oregon–we’re individually introducing each of the event’s panelists, as we did for last month’s New York installment.

The first of our four panelists to get the Two Questions treatment this time around is Chelsea Vandiver, who heads up the Communications Design Group at Portland-based, internationally focused, multi-disciplinary design studio Ziba. In an industry known for instability and frequent shifts of locale and title, Chelsea has managed to stick with the award-winning consultancy for a decade now, creating print, web and environments for clients as diverse as P&G, Nike and FedEx, and building an innovative, flexible 12-person design team in the process.

1. A lot of effort is made by many studios to retain good designers, but you’ve mentioned it’s sometimes advantageous to let a restless employee move on, knowing they may return further down the line. When is this a good idea, and why?

Working at a design studio is not that different from being in a relationship. Commitment is essential to producing great work. The designer and employer must meet each other’s needs in order for it to work. Every design studio has a unique culture and body of work, just like every designer has a unique personality and style. We’re all looking for the perfect match. When things don’t work out, it’s important to not take it personally. The chemistry just didn’t work, and chemistry is essential to the creative process.

I view turnover in the creative industry as normal and essential to the growth of the designers and the design studios. The circulation of design talent in Portland makes our design community tighter, our work better and keeps our creatives happy.

2. Ziba got its start as an Industrial Design consultancy, but has since expanded into a number of other, related fields. As head of the Communications Design group, how do you convince applicants that their work will be valued as much as at a straight-up graphic design studio?

I don’t. Truth be told, work will not be put on a pedestal here. Designers who come to Ziba, come for collaboration. Their work is one piece in a larger puzzle. We are offering them the opportunity to be part of something bigger.

Honesty is crucial in an interview for both parties. If I set false expectations, I will be setting the designer up for failure and disappointment.

Vandiver, along with three other top-of-their-field designers and recruiters, will be pulling from her extensive design, hiring, and team management experience during her hour on the Confab panel. The event also offers the chance to meet and trade notes with some of the best design firms and creative professionals in the Pacific Northwest. See the Confab page over on Coroflot for more details, and registration information.

Coroflot’s Creative Employment Confab
Thursday, June 11th, 2:30-6pm
University of Oregon, Portland – White Stag Block
70 NW Couch St. @ NW 1st Ave, Portland, OR

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