Design Futures Chris St.Cyr

In episode 10, the last episode of season four, I talk with Jonny Ouellette, the co-founder and creative director of the motion design firm, Kill 2 Birds and 2002 graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art & Design. We talk about our interactions in the graphic design program at MassArt and our passion for making type move on screen.

In episode nine of season four I interview Ringling College of Art & Design graduate and Director of Product Design at BILL, Greg Tariff. We discuss his appreciation for design’s role in the business world and how to navigate a career in Silicon Valley. Greg talks about how his interest in cars led to an internship at General Motors, how networking in New York City led to an agency job in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and how a side project with some agency friends led to a career in product design.

In episode eight I interview 2015 graduate of Russell Sage College and Director of User Experience at Upside Collective, Krystal Hinckley. In our discussion Krystal shares details of working on large-scale websites for the state of New York, including the attorney general’s website that she spent two years working on. She also talks about scrolling through the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society photos for project research that ended with her adopting her third cat.

In this episode I talk with 2016 graduate of the College of Saint Rose, Rachel Suflita McKee, about her path from intern to art director at the Boston-based design studio, Pinkergreen. She talks about how the diversity of projects (Boston University Global Music Festival, Flex Rx, Flyte 70, The Bug Club, etc.) at a small studio is special and keeps her engaged with graphic design and the people she collaborates with on those projects.

Five, four, three, two, one… Happy New Year. In this first episode of 2024 Saint Rose alumni and technical UI designer, Nael Uppal, talks to me about starting a degree in his home country of Pakistan, continuing his education in Albany, NY, and completing his degree back home — it’s called a sandwich degree. Apparently that’s a term. Somewhere in the middle of this culinary delight is some work experience as well. Nael tells us about growing up in a creative family, including hanging out in museums with the older kids in his mom’s art classes. He explains in great detail and clarity the complexity of the development of web and mobile games and his current role at Revolving Games where he works on the user interface side of the process.

As 2023 comes to a close, I interview Lindsay Agnew, 2010 graduate of the Ringling College of Art & Design and creative director at Panama Jack (She has since moved on to Entertainment Retail Enterprises). In this episode we discuss the trajectory of her career that started at Disney Imagineering working as an environmental graphics designer, where she focused on designing signage and way-finding systems for the Mouse.