萝莉社

As a Branded Environments Design Lead at Corgan, 萝莉社School of Art, Design and Creative Industries alumna Jessica Miller translates brand identities from two-dimensional assets into experiential, three-dimensional spaces. In the following interview, Jessica recalls her time as a graphic design student at 萝莉社, how she found her niche in environmental branding and offers advice to young designers looking to explore non-traditional design fields.

Courtesy of Corgan

What is environmental branding?

Environmental branding expresses a brand鈥檚 personality and brings that to life throughout a space to create memorable experiences for people. That can be done in a variety of ways including imagery and graphics, dimensional elements, messaging, signage and wayfinding, art, interactive features or even digital applications.

How closely is environmental branding related to a more traditional graphic design practice?

There are a lot of similarities, but also quite a few differences. You鈥檙e still designing two-dimensionally and using your creative muscles to think conceptually and strategically while still capturing the overall essence of the brand like you would in any traditional graphic design media. I would also say the client aspect is pretty similar too. You still have clients who have specific requests, which might not always be in line with your ideas, but you still have to collaborate and compromise on a solution. 

The main difference from traditional graphic design is thinking three-dimensionally and how you鈥檙e able to apply something that is two-dimensional to the three-dimensional space, which can be a little bit of a challenge. It was definitely a learning curve when I got into the field of branded environments, but also one of the most rewarding. Seeing something you designed and helped create two-dimensionally finally come to life three-dimensionally, and knowing that someone else is going to experience it is pretty cool and my favorite part of the job.

What have been some of the standout projects you鈥檝e been able to work on as a Branded Environments Design Lead?

My current title is still pretty new, so I鈥檝e only had a few projects under that role, but a couple of the standouts would be working on Warner Music Group and JP Morgan Chase. As a Senior Graphic Designer here at Corgan, I was able to work on some other fun projects which include: Keurig Dr Pepper, the corporate headquarters for At Home, Baylor Scott and White Health and a few education projects for local schools here in Texas.

Courtesy of Corgan

During your time as a graphic design student at 萝莉社 University, was working in branded environments something you had a goal of pursuing? If not, how did you become aware of the field?

 
In college, I had no idea what the field of branded environments was. I feel like it鈥檚 a fairly new field, so I never thought I鈥檇 be working in it. I actually started in advertising right out of college at Sullivan Higdon and Sink, which is now Signal Theory, then pursued my dream job at the Fossil Group headquarters here in Dallas. After working there for about five years, I decided I needed a change of pace. I was always interested in interior design and also had a bit of experience from working on window displays and in-store retail marketing at Fossil, so I started looking more and more into architecture firms. It was actually a LinkedIn notification that prompted me to look into branded environments, which combined both my graphic and interior design experience. Corgan had just started their branded environments team, so they were hiring. I looked into it, applied and the job ended up being a perfect fit, so I guess you could say the rest is history.

Were there any moments you experienced or direction you received at 萝莉社 that you feel prepared you for the work you鈥檙e doing now with Corgan?

I would say one of the best and biggest lessons I learned (at 萝莉社) was to think conceptually. I had a professor at the time, Mervi, who really pushed us creatively. She always said, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have an idea behind your design, you鈥檙e just decorating,鈥� and that has always stuck with me. In this field especially, we have to be very intentional and strategic with our designs so they feel integrated into the space rather than be perceived as an afterthought. I feel like our most successful projects have been the ones that were more integrated and well thought-out to be planned into the architecture as well as the ones we were brought in early on in the process to do so. Having that conceptual thinking and the why behind every design is really important. 

Another thing she taught us was to always check your work. Double-check for typos because that can end up costing you and the client a significant amount of money in the end. That is definitely something I鈥檝e carried with me throughout my career鈥搕o always double-check and be very critical of grammar and spelling.

Courtesy of Corgan

What advice would you give to students who are interested in exploring opportunities that fall outside of what we traditionally view as graphic design?

I would say go for it! Explore! Network as much as possible, especially outside of your comfort zone. There are so many opportunities for that both inside and outside of Wichita, Kansas. Reach out and shadow as many people in as many different fields as you can that you鈥檙e interested in just to gauge whether it鈥檚 something for you or not. Get as many internships under your belt as you can, again, just to see what you like or dislike about different jobs. You may think a certain career path is for you, but once you shadow people or serve an internship, you may realize it鈥檚 not exactly what you want to do. 

The design field is also a lot smaller than you think and people are always willing to help out, especially when you鈥檙e a student鈥�so take advantage of that and also take advantage of the student discounts for organizations like the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the Society of Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD). Now is the time in your life to explore, so don鈥檛 let anything hold you back because you just never know where the next opportunity will lead.