Naadiya Mills / Brand Coordinator at Working Not Working
An increasing number of initiatives are entering the picture to align the creative industry to what creativity truly represents. At Working Not Working, we love seeing it. These initiatives push the industry to look at who we are, where we are, and rebuild the available spaces; our education systems, our meeting rooms, and our minds.
For WNW Member, observer-turned-action doer, and Useful School founder Ritesh Gupta, it’s about building a new creative standard through curriculum, community, and confidence. As a Product Designer, Ritesh has an acute awareness of the groundbreaking impact that behind-the-scenes diversity can have on that particular field and its infinite audience. As with many other industries, from VR to robotics, it’s infinitely more challenging to retrofit a diversity of perspective than to do so at the onset. In a recent interview with WNW, Useful School grad Jasmine Tudor shared that “Product Designers touch everyone. It’s through authentically embracing diversity across the spectrum that we get to the core of creating useful and valuable products.”
Jasmine Tudor, now a Senior product designer at Hubspot, shares a common thread with many of her Useful School classmates. A former burnt out Pre-Med student, she decided to pivot in her third year of undergrad to pursue her creative passions. For the Inaugural Grads of Useful School, we not only celebrate their graduation and employment at great creative companies but their entire journey back to their creative selves. It’s a decision to follow their interests and passions but the entire creative industry stands to benefit.
Many of the Useful School students that we interviewed shared that they felt an intuitive inclination towards creativity from a very young age. But the lack of knowledge meant having to navigate preconceived notions and expectations placed on them by their families, friends, and instructors. Jeremy Stokes, part of a military family, graduated with an undergrad degree in Information Technology but felt incomplete, something his family picked up on. Grad School was his effort to take back control of his life. He was able to explore the gamut of creative careers across Design and Advertising; he graduated with a degree and an undeniable joy. He was inspired to figure out how to navigate a creative career and curious to discover his full creative potential. He’s now a Product Designer at Meta.
It took Camille Nibungco, daughter of Filipino immigrants and first generation college graduate, a year and a half after graduating with a degree in Computer Science to realize she was unhappy and wanted to pivot. Through her experience however, she not only learned what she didn’t like but what she did. She preferred designing the systems more than coding. Camille spent her time in quarantine pivoting into UX design.
These stories from POC creative talent, at first deterred by the gap in access to information and support, show that there is an urgent need for spaces that allow individuals to pivot into the creative industry quickly and affordably. This becomes even more important as tech continues to grow rapidly and new creative careers emerge, increasing the demand for talent. For the students who found their way into Product Design roles through what they describe as sheer luck, in the right place at the right time at the emergence of these new fields, they sought to gain some formal training quickly and cost efficiently.
Useful School Grad Naomi Tenenini, a Senior Product Designer at Teachable, found their way into UX Design at its emergence. It was a suggestion their managers made and they were open to it. Tameeka Henry, a Product Designer at Spotify, had spent nine years in the entertainment industry before deciding she too wanted to switch things up. She was able to jump from a product manager role to a product designer role at Spotify on management’s discovery of her creative abilities and command of the creative tools. Tameeka met the support and encouragement of her managers by seeking some formal design education.She received that plus amazing salary negotiation skills.
For many of the Grads, cohort programs like Useful School are the perfect solution. While helping to level the playing field and accelerating the rising value of creative work, Useful School is embracing authenticity and diversity of thought and perspective: the ushering in of a new standard.
Tameeka, Jasmine, Jeremy, Camille, Naomi and 14 others found their way into a community they never had or knew they needed. A community and space that not only offered healing through authentic self-expression but a manual delivered by POC execs on navigating the industry and taking stake in more senior positions. Jasmine has made peace with her decision to reach manager/expert level, a challenging feat that is understood among POC talent. As she puts it, “I’m willing to die on that hill, because I love what I do and would love to offer that opportunity to other people that look like me.” Jasmine’s confident she can achieve this with the new community she has found.
The creative industry is on its own collective journey to self-discovery, much like the students preparing to enter it: learning to trust in creativity, daring to pivot, pushing past pain points, and reaching for full creative potential. WNW is proud to be a founding partner of Useful School, offering tools and resources towards creative success. Congratulations to an innovative program and the first Inaugural Grads. You can find and hire all the Useful School students on WNW.
If you’re a hirer on Working Not Working, sign in and subscribe to the Useful School Grads playlist to connect with and hire the next generation of BIPOC Product Designers.
Header Animation: WNW Member Hank Washington
WNW Magazine Editor: Michael O’Donnell