It's a brand new week! That means we've got more 32 Under 32 interviews to get to. Meet Tess O'Connor, Graphic Designer at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul and Chapter Host of CreativeMornings/Minneapolis. Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for more.
Congrats on being selected for 32 under 32. The judges have reviewed and scored every entry, looking for professionals who really go above and beyond in their work. How do you think you approach your job differently than other people?
Thank you! It was quite an unexpected surprise and I'm honored to be amongst so many amazing people.
I do my job differently because my mindset is to put others first. This doesn't mean I'm a pushover. Far from it when you get to know me! What it means is that I gravitate towards the potential I see in others and I treat my projects the same way.
My favorite clients are the ones who come to me with a project where there is tons of content already developed, but they realize they're so close to it that they can't see what the end product should be. My job then is to cull through and help them organize their thoughts visually and structurally. When I present them with a rough draft I love how they get to see their work in a new light. I get to encourage them by highlighting the pieces of their content that I think are strong and why. It gives them a boost for all the hard work they've already put towards their project and leads us to have great discussions about the difference between the content they've created and what they're trying to communicate.
From a personal interaction standpoint my work with CreativeMornings/Minneapolis speakers is another good example of this. Often speakers come to our prep meetings ready to give their normal spiele and my job is to get them past that. Luckily the monthly theme helps with that. As we talk I help them sift past all the things our audience can look up about them online and help them find their hidden jewels of wisdom. Usually it's a passing comment that they don't think twice about and I get to stop them and say "There's something there. Let's take a minute and elaborate on that."
What kind of accounts/projects do you currently work on?
I am a full-time Graphic Designer in the Marketing department of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, so my days are filled with art directing campaigns and conducting UX research and implementation for the institution and its Advancement and Graduate Studies areas. In between that, I spend time mentoring interns.
Late nights and early mornings, my time is spent as Chapter Host for CreativeMornings/Minneapolis. I'm responsible for everything from overseeing the planning team, curating the speaker lineup, meeting with speakers, communicating with CreativeMornings HQ and other Chapter Hosts, etc.
Additionally, I also manage the Minneapolis Log Rolling Club's social media. I love having the opportunity to introduce people to the sport of logrolling and it's a fun creative outlet. Especially on Instagram.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
It's usually the stuff that someone told me when I was in school and I now find myself reiterating to my interns. That's everything from proofing projects upside down to reminding them the importance of hierarchy to being able to write a solid email. You can be the best designer in the world, but if you can't communicate well with your clients you're not going to succeed. To all my MCAD professors: You were right about everything! The funnest advice I was given is if you want to a client to fall head over heels for a project: make a mini mockup. The smaller it is, the more endeared to it they will be.
Once I was out of school the value of receiving advice became so clear. I'm a kinesthetic learner so being able to apply the advice to things I experience here and now makes such a difference. Because of that I'm always looking for wisdom. I'm a podcast junkie so things like the TED Radio Hour and CreativeMornings' Podcast supplement my daily need for advice. I also occasionally meet up with mentors. People who are a few years ahead of me in some career way who can tell me if I'm crazy or right on track. There's so much value in having people around you who will tell you if you're about to do something really dumb. If you take a chance and reach out to others and be vulnerable you'll realize you're not alone in your struggles.
What gets you excited to come to work everyday?
Having great people to collaborate with. They challenge me and I love having people to who cause me to think differently. When I can incorporate that into user experience design, it's perfect. Designing things based on objective data and results and figuring out how to make that work in tandem with human nature is just amazing!
When my days begin with CreativeMornings/Minneapolis, I love meeting first-time attendees. They're often in search for community or in a career transition and they just stumbled upon us. The best thing about the event itself is even if you're a long-time attendee, you never quite know what you're in for. Each month's event is unique and my crew has some great ideas for how we can change it up even more down the road.
What has been some of your proudest work?
Teaching myself UX, basic code and web-building best practices in a month in order to be the design lead for our school's website overhaul. It took nine months of working with our team and outside developer from start to completion, but every minute was worth it. This was in addition to my normal campaign creation workload.
Who is one person who has helped you get where you are? Or, one person you really look up to?
My husband, Josh O'Connor. He's completely the opposite of me. He's a live-audio engineer, I'm a visual designer. He loves chaos, I love consistency. He's the oldest of 13 siblings, I'm an only child. He dabbles in medieval long sword, I log roll. We keep each other pretty even-keeled in career and life.
Anything you want to say to the Minnesota advertising, PR, marketing community?
Know your team members' Top 5 Strengths, Myers-Briggs type, and listen to Susan Cain's TED Talk: The Power of Introverts. Even if you're an extrovert. Maybe especially if you're an extrovert. Understanding how your teammates thrive will help you thrive with them. And don't pretend to be something you're not. People will see right through that. Figure out how to be ok with who you are.
Read more at http://www.themplsegotist.com/news/local/2016/june/6/32under32-winner-tess-oconnor#xbECr3HVTbd7k7dz.99
We could all use extra jolts of creativity. Especially in the mornings. Enter Tess O’Connor (@Tess_OConnor), the fearless host of Creative Mornings Minneapolis.
Creative Mornings is a (free!) monthly breakfast/lecture/discussion to jumpstart your creative mind. Find a chapter in your city here. As the host of the Minneapolis chapter, O'Connor rallies the Twin Cities creative economy to roll out of bed and into inspiration.
But where does she find her own creativity, and how does she find the energy to herd Mpls’ creative cats into a collective community? Read on for your morning dose of coffee, creativity, and O’Connor.
Q: How did you discover your passion for enriching the creative energy of Minneapolis?
A: When I first came to the Minneapolis for art school I spent much of my early years stressed out about how good all the other creatives here were. The whole “everyone was the top of their high school art classes” was very apparent. The idea of competing against these other creatives in design competitions was exhausting. Instead my energy and inspiration came from ideating and collaborating with them.
I subconsciously see the potential in other people and want to help them make their ideas shine. That’s a trait that’s followed me all these years. Because the Twin Cities is such a design and creative hub of the midwest there’s a bit of a gap between those with name recognition and those who are making an impact unnoticed. And we’re all caught in the middle without a map or a compass to help us navigate it. The creative community is hungry for authenticity and peer support. Portfolio lectures from the cream of the crop are great, but let’s have a transparent conversation about the lessons learned that created that work and all those moments they weren’t sure they were going to succeed.
Being supportive makes so much more sense than being competitive. That’s why when I discovered a friend of mine, Karl Knolle, was starting the local CreativeMornings chapter I knew this was something that I wanted to be a part of. A year and a half later we’re going strong and I’m humbled to find myself running this chapter with such an awesome team and community.
Q: Where do you find inspiration in life?
A: This is always a hard question for me because I see how everything influences so many different aspects of my life. I’ll try to pick a few of the best, but I know I’ll be missing some.
My CreativeMornings/Minneapolis volunteers and organizers. They’re really what makes our chapter amazing. I don’t think they have any idea how much they impact me every time we put on an event. Leadership doesn’t mean I have controll, it means I’m leaning heavily on those around me to help them thrive.
My husband. Everyone needs a devilish redhead in their life.
My friends who are awesome enough to embrace sports like log rolling and winter camping. I know it sounds crazy but I LOVE it! Some of my most inspired moments have come to me from hearing the ice boom underneath my tent on a -20F night, or competing against friends on a log when I thought I’d never be competitive in sports again.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Dr. Who of course! We’ll have to try a drink from every time and every planet. Best bar crawl ever! Then, maybe he can drop me off to hang out with Ron Swanson. He’s my spirit animal.
What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: Stop worrying about doing the right thing. As long as you make a decision based on who you are and not the people around you things will turn out fine. It’s ok to make mistakes. You’ll become better for it and maybe even enjoy it if you let yourself.
Also, you’re about to meet your future husband. You have no idea what awesome adventure are around the bend!
Q: What’s the title of your memoir?
A: Roll with it: learning life by continuously falling.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter:@emmalynnbauer