"Design evolution: cultural statements"
Below is an article originally published by Brenda Hu at PowerToFly Partner Intent. Go to Intent's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
My days are usually filled with product design work, but I had the opportunity recently to go back to my roots as a graphic design hobbyist and work on illustration for our internal marketing and on-boarding materials. The objective was to create visuals for our company's prized cultural statements, known as the six pillars of "How We Roll." The moment you step in the doors of <intent> you can sense the people's fun-loving camaraderie and dedication to success, and we wanted the illustrations to reflect that.
I knew these icons would be a lot of fun to create, but I could not have predicted how nuanced the implications of each design would be. Below I will share how each iteration was a valuable lesson throughout the design process.
Ideation – Sketching out characters for "How We Roll"
Before diving into the artwork, our People Manager and I kicked off our ideation session by reviewing the company's new and improved cultural statements. Everything this company inspires in an employee and instills in a work culture is summarized into the following six slogans of "How We Roll" paraphrased below:
- Human first: we are free to be our whole selves at work and care about creating community
- Bring the joy: we bring our passion, joy, and dogs to work — we're also a little weird
- Mind the growth: we invest in our people and cultivate a growth mindset to make way for leaders
- Own it: we have autonomy because we are trusted, and accountability because we commit
- Wrestle it to the ground: we seek the truth even when it's hard, are unafraid of complexity, and out-think competitors
- Work open: we share our work and performance transparently, and we stay open to innovation
Next, we looked at the icons currently used in our training materials:
Original icons for our cultural statements
These were okay — illustrative enough as icons, but they certainly could use more detail and life! Adding a human element with illustrations would enrich the messaging immeasurably. So we started brainstorming imagery that would get people excited and reinvigorated about a refreshed set of cultural values:
As far as the style and branding goes, for our first pass we agreed upon the same style that I previously used for creating internal marketing materials: bright colors from our company style guide and solid outlines for a casual feel.
Though we began the project with this direction, we'd soon evolve the style to fit the desired tone of the messaging.
New directions – Design and conceptual growth
For Version 1, we focused on the usage of brand colors and the outlined caricature style to deliver the first set of illustrations below:
Version 1 — The feedback we got was that this style felt a bit too whimsical, like the characters on a kid's show.
Upon reviewing with the stakeholders, we realized that a few images didn't quite represent the intended message. For example, while the tandem bike symbolized teamwork and community for "Human First," they believed the "Work Open" image could more suitably be used to describe our "Human first" mindset.
Another piece of feedback we got was that these images were too whimsical and "cartoon-ish." Great for laptop stickers, but maybe not the best representation of our brand, should these ever be used in our on-boarding and training materials. In retrospect, we should have delivered just a couple of these Version 1 images to serve as prototypes and hash out branding concerns earlier. Applying a workflow similar to the lean UX process we use when designing new products would have allowed us to iterate faster — so that was a great lesson to carry forward for future illustration projects. Thus we pivoted to a completely new look and feel.
For Version 2, we opted for a more sophisticated, mature style below:
Version 2 — Stylistically more sophisticated and bolder. The feedback was positive, but we all felt they were still missing something.
These illustrations were met with more enthusiasm from our stakeholders as they were more polished and matched the tone of our company values. Brand colors were still used, and a few of these had been reimagined from scratch such as adding the punching bag of "problems" to "wrestle to the ground," and two people "working open," mid-conversation. There was just one more piece of feedback that would be the crucial final touch.
Embodying Diversity
This was the last piece of the puzzle. With the blue skin tones and variety of features on these characters, I had tried to reflect the idea of diversity within a unified whole. But what originally was well-intentioned actually resulted in viewers seeing the characters under a different lens — a weird diminishing of diversity because everyone was blue. It was one of those enlightening moments as a designer when you revisit something at a later time with a fresh perspective and notice a glaring issue. We realized that despite the recent graphic design trend in using blue people to solve diversity problems, there was so much more that we can do to strengthen what and whom these characters represent.
So we started brainstorming again what it means to be more inclusive with these designs. I started with basing these characters off of images of actual people. It was a challenge balancing the right amount of detail — too much, and the characters felt like very specific individuals whereas too little, and they reverted back to the previous problem of appearing homogeneous — both of which would make it hard for every employee to see themselves represented. In the end, merging both realistic features (distinct articles of clothing, wrinkles, body types, hairstyles) and surreal features (the myriad of skin tones and gradients) provided a touch of ambiguity to allow the characters to represent a group of people, not one specific person. Obviously discussing the nuances can get tricky and we were stumped sometimes — is this too try-hard, did we capture everyone — but we ended up with something that hopefully resonates with as many people as possible in the final version below:
Version 3 — Final version, with a more colorful palette and deliberate representation of diversity.
Conclusion – How we roll
Our cultural statements encompass everything that this company looks for and encourages in an employee and serve as the mantra of what maintains our ideal work environment. Through this design process of personifying each value of "How We Roll" in a unique illustration, I am reminded of just how impactful every element of the design is in symbolizing our company culture, from style and branding to emphasis on representation. Reconciling the many implications of designing for inclusivity continues to be one of the main areas of improvement for any designer, whether it's product design or visual design, and I am eager to keep developing these skills to do my part in reflecting what people value in their everyday life experiences.
Get Tips for Your Interview at Lockheed Martin!
Branwyn Baughman, recruiter at Lockheed Martin, shares an exclusive take on the most important tips to keep in mind when preparing for an interview.
Take a look at the company's application process, culture, and values, as well as some top-notch tips that Branwyn outlines on how you can make your application stand out.
To learn more about Lockheed Martin and their open roles, click here.
Recovering from the Shecession
6 Tips for Companies & 5 Tips for Individuals from Indeed's Group VP of ESG, LaFawn Davis
Earlier this month, LaFawn Davis, Indeed's Group Vice President of Environmental, Social, & Governance, joined us as part of our Diversity Reboot Summit to talk about the 'shecession' experienced by many women, and especially women of color, as a result of COVID-19.
LaFawn shared some great tips for companies and individuals looking to be part of "the great rehiring." If you're looking to find a new role, or to ensure that you help bring back diverse talent displaced by COVID, check out her advice below, and catch her complete talk here or by clicking the video above!
Q: What would your advice be to companies that are looking to step up their diverse hiring in 2021?
My advice: Good intentions are no longer good enough. Nobody wants to hear what you meant to do, wish you could have do, intended to do. Nobody wants to hear that you can't find Black Women or any other dimension of diversity. We're obviously out here.
My squad and I have a saying "Impact over intentions." So, if 2020 was the year of good diversity and inclusion intentions, let's make 2021 the year of actions and impact.
So, now that we got that out of the way. If you're looking to step up your diverse hiring. Stop and get your house in order. Because you shouldn't just want to hire a diverse workforce, you should want to grow and keep them too. So there are 5 things, ready?
1. Focus on long-term systemic change.
There's a lot of momentum — and need — for change right now. It's not just about a message of support or donating to a cause one time. Take a look at your own systems. How do you hire and grow employees? Do your succession planning, talent reviews, recruiting and other processes have built-in biases? Is equality part of your core values? Are you actively working toward change? Recognize that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. Above all, hold yourself accountable for the way things are, then work to improve.
2. Take a close look at your data.
Share it internally to be transparent with employees of where you are now. When possible, share it externally to be visible and accountable (I'm happy to announce that Indeed will be releasing its own diversity data this summer). Use it as a baseline for comparison against what you hope to achieve.
3. Change behavior.
Focus on behavioral changes throughout the company with an emphasis on coaching, training, and having crucial conversations with managers. Leaders and managers set an example for the entire workforce. If employees see the behavior of managers or leaders in a negative light, a true sense of belonging is difficult to achieve.
4. Representation matters.
If leadership roles are perceived as exclusive to many members of the workforce, then a broader sense of belonging will continue to elude many employees. People in leadership roles should reflect the diversity of a company's workforce. Observing someone "like me" in a leadership role helps attract and retain talent and motivates workers to pursue roles with greater responsibility.
5. Create Policies And Procedures Reflective Of The Entire Workforce.
As you work through new or existing policies and procedures, be aware of barriers experienced by different populations. Take, for example, the case of caregivers. More scheduling flexibility for calls can go a long way for employees who share their home workspace with others and must tend to family responsibilities while working remotely.
Q: Do you have advice for individuals that are looking for new career opportunities, especially women of color who might have lost their previous jobs during the pandemic?
Adaptability has always been an important part of an individual's career progression - even before COVID-19, it is especially important now.
It is important to show a potential new employer how your abilities adapt to a new role or a new industry. Focus on skills more than just experiences because skills can be applied in so many different ways. So… I'll give you 6 things for this one.
1. Perform a professional audit. Taking some time to understand your qualities, qualifications and values can help focus your career transition and narrow down your career path options if you haven't already. Doing so can also help you understand how you might position yourself during the job search.
2. Identify your hard and soft skills. Soft skills are often the most transferable, so identifying them early can help you understand the ways you might bring value to a new role or industry. Taking inventory of your hard skills will help you identify if there are certain industries that might be easier to transition into.
3. Highlight your biggest career wins. Communicating the impact you've made throughout your career can help employers quickly understand the value you'll bring to their organization, even if you come from another role or industry.
4. Utilize online job search to your advantage. Pay close attention to the requirements and duties of jobs so you can evaluate whether the career would align with your skills, interests and values.
5. You just need to meet "most" of the qualifications. Try to focus on positions for which you meet at least 60% of the qualifications with your transferable skills. Meeting 60% of the qualifications isn't a hard rule, but it's a good general guideline to help you determine whether it's worth applying for.
6. Get a sense of the company. Before interviews, do some research to learn how inclusive a company is. Peruse the organization's core values, its social media accounts, and any recent statements in support of marginalized groups. Pay attention to the interviewers themselves. Is the panel diverse or are you likely to be an early "diversity hire"? If the interviewers seem to be emphasizing "cultural fit," ask what that means. Basically, be an active participant in the hiring process. You are also interviewing the company, as much as they are interviewing you.
Learn About Inside Sales at Commvault
Stephanie Acker, director of inside sales at Commvault, gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the company's application process, culture, and values, as well as her own career journey.
To kick things off, Stephanie mentioned the three things that make a great inside sales professional: an independent work ethic, the ability to learn and execute on their own, and an awareness of what keeps them motivated.
Over her 12-year career at Commvault, Stephanie's greatest motivation has been helping customers to find solutions and catapult them to success. In both her past role as a sales representative and her current director position, Stephanie remains committed to ensuring her team understands what motivates them to sell and setting them up for success.
The biggest surprise during her career at Commvault was becoming the director of inside sales. Stephanie shared that she loves working for a company that listens to new ideas, thinks outside of the box, and tries new things.
Don't miss her take on what moves a candidate forward in the interview process! For example, Stephanie loves when the interviewee gets into "the zone"—showing their selling technique. She also shares her favorite interview questions.
As Stephanie says, stop thinking and apply today!
To learn more about Commvault and their open roles, click here.
Lead Together: Behind the Scenes of Facebook's Women@ Leadership Day
When you think about strong female leadership, what comes to mind? For Tatiana L., a global client partner in Miami, it's about more than having an executive seat, being a mother, or making dreams come true. "Good leadership is about being open, flexible, and able to understand different perspectives," she says. "It's about fostering collaboration, bringing people together, and empowering them to connect."
Tatiana L. is a global client partner based in Miami.
Tatiana is part of the Women@ Facebook Resource Group and helped plan Women's Leadership Day, an annual global community summit. While the highly-anticipated event takes place over just one day, its massive impact is felt over the course of the entire year.
Amy W. is an operations lead based in London.
"Women's Leadership Day is more than an event. It's energy, and it's a movement," Amy W., an operations lead in London, says. "Moments like this can completely change the perception of women in technology."
From choosing the content and programming for the event to making it accessible for women around the globe, we went behind the scenes with seven members of the Women@ Facebook Resource Group to learn more about how women are empowered—and are empowering one another— in their career journeys at the Facebook company.
Behind the scenes with Women@
Amanda M., an internal recruiting manager based in Singapore, speaking onstage at 2019 Women@ Leadership Day in APAC.
"I've always been passionate about empowering women, but I didn't know how I could do it at work. My first Women@ experience changed how I felt at Facebook," Amanda M., an internal recruiting manager in Singapore, remembers. "From then on, I wanted to help other women feel heard, valued, and confident."
Planning the global event, which brings together women from more than 20 countries, calls for close collaboration across multiple teams, regions, and timezones. Members of Women@ also partner with other Facebook Resource Groups, such as the Pride@ Resource Group, Latin@ Facebook Resource Group, Desis@ Facebook Resource Group and Black@ Resource Group, to ensure all women at Facebook are represented and feel included.
Vivian V. is a program manager based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"Across regions and communities, we each bring unique differences and powerful stories. When one of us moves forward, we have the opportunity to bring all of us forward," Vivian V., a program manager in the San Francisco Bay Area explains. "While planning the summit, we meet weekly to talk about what women in different regions are experiencing. From the event theme and content to planning speaker sessions and fine-tuning details, we each have items to own. Two months before the summit, we meet daily to share updates and make sure nothing slips through the cracks."
"Just like me, women in APAC look forward to Women's Leadership Day all year long," Amanda says. Planning something that's deeply meaningful to so many people can feel like a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it's uplifting. I appreciate that we have the opportunity to talk about our individual and shared challenges, and we map out ways we can build community while empowering leadership for women across the globe."
Empowering confidence, equality, and leadership through storytelling
Paris Z., a vertical strategy lead in Singapore, and Amanda M. collaborate with women across the globe to plan Women@ programming and events.
Women's Leadership Day encourages women to talk about challenges like experiencing imposter syndrome, breaking through barriers, and how to manage work/life flexibility. "Storytelling is a huge part of the event," Paris Z., a vertical strategy lead in Singapore, explains.
Vivian says, "I've been at Facebook for nearly two years and help plan these events, and honestly, I never really understood imposter syndrome before I got here. Working with the Women@ community and hearing from our speakers—who are talented, brilliant superstars—I've seen firsthand how it affects them too."
Michelle C. is a client partner based in London.
Michelle C., a client partner in London, says that the summit's speaker sessions, which feature people from inside and outside of Facebook, are a highlight of every event. "We had a speaker from Tel Aviv who talked about the importance of balance in her personal life and how she co-parents with her husband. She shared specific things she's done, like adding her husband to the WhatsApp chat groups for mothers she's in and reminding her daughter's school that her husband is also available when their child feels sick. Her message was that we'll never be equal in the workplace until we're equal at home, and it really struck a chord."
Paris says that in APAC, Eva Chen's talk about facing challenges amidst the coronavirus pandemic and how she's raising her daughter was a top-rated session because it was so relatable. "From talking about her daughter's love for dinosaurs—a "boy" thing—and raising kids to fully be themselves to opening up about what it was like to grow up with immigrant parents from China and Vietnam, Eva inspired us with her authenticity and openness. Her struggle to feel supported while working in fashion and tech, rather than medicine, is something a lot of people in APAC understand."
"Every woman has a unique story," Michelle says. "Hearing from others is inspiring, validating, and truly eye-opening. It reminds us that we're not alone."
A memorable and lasting impact
It's no surprise that with the tremendous amount of planning and careful consideration that goes into the summit, its full impact is impossible to measure.
"It meant so much to me when people shared such positive feedback about Women's Leadership Day," Paris says. "We heard that some attendees felt inspired for days and weeks."
Kira G. is an agency partner based in Berlin.
Kira G., an agency partner in Berlin, has witnessed how the summit's programming can inspire action, even helping people push past a career plateau. "We might reach a point in our careers when we think, "I can't do this anymore, I'm not moving forward'," she says. "Women's Leadership Day gives us fresh perspectives, shows us new approaches, and starts important conversations. This can unlock new paths for growth and help us move forward."
Impact is felt in other Facebook groups, communities, and across teams too, inspiring interest and allyship. Amanda explains, "I felt so proud when a male VP from the Sales team came to us after hearing about what people talked about at Women's Leadership Day. He told us he wanted to learn more because it's everyone's responsibility to be an ally."
Empowering the community throughout the year
While Amanda describes Women's Leadership Day as a "bump in energy and inspiration" and "an injection of adrenaline", Vivian says that the real magic is what happens afterwards—and takes place all year long.
"When we think about Women's Leadership Day, our focus is on making sure that the powerful messages we hear and experience serve us throughout the entire year. We ask ourselves questions like, "How can we sprinkle these themes into our programming throughout the month or quarter? How do these ideas fit with our Women@ initiatives?" Going through something awesome together is just the beginning. Our work takes place year-round and we're constantly building on it to do more."
Paris agrees: "There's no shortage of amazing stories from our Women@ community throughout the year. Women's Leadership Day is just one channel for those stories, and I love how it stays top of mind with people and empowers them to do more good. When we come together, we can do anything we dream of."
"We're building a sisterhood and a community," Tatiana beams. "It feels so good to know there's always someone there to support you."
Learn more about Facebook's Employee Resource Groups, including Women@ here.