Expand Your Role Models: 5 More Women You Need to Know

October 07, 2014 by Shannon Patrick in Spotlight

Jessica Hische: F.K.A. THAT DROP CAP GIRL

Jessica’s personal project, Daily Drop Cap, gained her a massive internet following. But her incredible success is quite obviously due to her passion, drive, and talent. To view more of Jessica’s work, visit http://jessicahische.is/ or follow her on Twitter: @jessicahische

Margo Chase: THE ARTISAN

Margo and her team are behind some of the most well-known logos in the music and entertainment industry. Plus, her résumé also includes over a dozen typefaces. To view more of Margo’s work, visit http://www.chasedesigngroup.com/

Sarah Parmenter: THE MOLD BREAKER

After deciding to pursue design full-time at age 19, Sarah is now a renowned web designer and speaker. She also runs a 3-person, all-female design studio called You Know Who. To view more of Sarah’s work, visit http://www.sazzy.co.uk/about/ or follow her on Twitter: @sazzy

Emily Oberman: THE JANE OF ALL TRADES

After 6 years working for Tibor Kalman, Emily co-founded a multidisciplinary design studio, Number 17, with her friend Bonnie Siegler in 1993. Now a partner at Pentagram, Emily has done everything from branding to motion graphics to packaging. You can follow her on Twitter: @emilyoberman

Yesenia Perez-Cruz: THE YOUNG GUN

Yesenia has taken the web design world by storm, starting with a five year stint at Happy Cog. With big-name clients like Zappos and MTV already under her belt, you can tell she’s only just getting started. Follow her on Twitter: @yeseniaa

BY SHANNON PATRICK

Designing Disruption: Creating the Rent the Runway Experience

July 10, 2014 by Kate Lindeen in Interviews

Until recently, I lived by the rule that if I bought an expensive dress, I had to think of at least three occasions for wearing it. Practical, but so boring. Like a majority of women, my experience with high-end fashion began and ended with a daydream-inducing browse though a fashion magazine or Tumblr blog.

Then came Rent the Runway. Co-founders and Harvard Business grads Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss shifted the rules of luxury fashion from ownership to membership, instantly changing the definition of attainability, along with our expectations of online retail.

What goes on behind the scenes to create this game-changing experience? I chatted with Rent the Runway’s Creative Director, Ashley Seidman, to find out.

The idea of membership over ownership is one of the biggest trends we’re seeing in commerce, and Rent the Runway has helped set it in motion by making the typically inaccessible world of high fashion accessible to all. Has this goal affected your decision-making when it comes to the design of the shopping experience?

As a brand, we try to balance the accessibility with aspiration. We’ve designed the shopping experience to be easy and engaging for our user, while still maintaining the aspirational quality of the designer products we carry. If she’s about to put on a Vera Wang gown, the shopping experience should add to that magic.

What goes into creating that magic? Are you a part of the product curation process? Is it a collaboration?

There’s a ton of collaboration at Rent the Runway. Our fashion and analytics teams constantly work together to curate the products we feature by seasonality, trends, and customer engagement to ensure that the shopping experience is relevant. When it comes to larger initiatives like a catalog, our fashion and creative teams join forces. We typically start by reviewing the season’s buy and identifying key trends and styles, at which point I’ll work with our stylists, art directors and copywriters to pull together the stories and placements.

One of our guiding principles at eBay is “Be the customer.” How about Rent the Runway? Have you used the service yourself? Has that informed your decision-making as Creative Director for the brand?

I couldn’t agree more. I’m an avid renter and feel as if using the service myself has influenced many brand decisions, such as making enhancements to the site, packaging and overall brand.

Rent the Runway is now opening brick-and-mortar storefronts and showrooms. This is a unique challenge, considering most companies start offline and then build an online store. How has the online business informed your vision for the offline shopping experience?

Focusing on the online experience the past few years has given us a definite advantage when it comes to brick-and-mortar. We’ve learned so much about our customer – her style, how she likes to shop, and what occasions she is shopping for. We’re able to take the best parts of our online experience and bring them to life in our stores. Giving her the ability to try on dresses, feel the quality of the garments, and get to know our brand in a physical sense is paramount.

Quite a few designers have created capsule collections for Rent the Runway. How do you partner with them to bring their vision of the collection to life on the site?

I love the opportunity to work with our designers to bring their vision to life on Rent the Runway. It’s often a very cool experience because our fashion team works directly with the designer to create the collection, leveraging their knowledge of our customers and what they are looking for. We shot 2 beautiful capsule collections last year for Bibhu Mohapatra and Moschino, and we supported both launches with digital lookbooks.

Your deep understanding of the customer and her needs really seems to be inspiring not only relevant, but innovative experiences. How else do your customers help shape your decisions for the brand?

Two years ago, we launched Our Runway, a unique social shopping platform that was largely inspired by our customers, allowing them to shop by photos of real women in dresses available for rent. We weren’t sure how much information women would be willing to share about their body types or how a specific dress fit on our site, but we saw a lot of that conversation happening organically offline and on our social channels, so we knew there was a need for it. User-generated content has exploded in the e-commerce world, and now photo reviews are definitely one the most popular features on our site. Our Runway is an opportunity for women to celebrate their experiences and pay it forward.

What advice would you give to designers who aspire to leadership roles such as yours?

Look for opportunities that intrigue you, be honest with yourself and go for it. I spent a wonderful 4 years at Ralph Lauren prior to Rent the Runway and found that I was ready for a new challenge. Rent the Runway seemed like a gamble at the time, being a small, recently launched startup, but experiencing the evolution of the business has been invaluable. This role has challenged me and helped me grow in so many ways. I have had the pleasure of building out a creative team, directing shoots with the most incredible talent, shaping an entire brand, and of course learning from my mistakes. I’m proud to be part of a company that’s on a totally innovative path, and four and a half years later I still get excited when people ask me where I work. That excitement and passion will carry into your work, and as a creative, there’s nothing better!

BY KATE LINDEEN

Rethink Your Role Models: 5 Women You Need to Know

June 27, 2014 by Shannon Patrick in Spotlight

Who's your favorite female graphic designer? Do you have one? Fantastic! No? You're not alone. Even with an education in art or design, a lot of us can't name many influential ladies, and it's not because they aren't out there. There are plenty of accomplished women who have helped to shape the design aesthetics, experiences, and trends we love. So what better topic for our inaugural post than a quick who's who starter course? Introducing your new role models!

Paula Scher: THE ICON

From her work at CBS Records to her legendary napkin sketch of the Citibank logo, Paula has been a force in the industry for over 30 years. To view more of Paula’s work, visit www.behance.net/PaulaScher

Jessica Walsh: THE IT GIRL

Protegé and partner to Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica has already accomplished so much at the young age of 27 – and it’s clear that she’s just getting started! To view more of Jessica’s work, visit www.behance.net/jessicawalsh or follow her on Twitter: @jessicawalsh

Louise Fili: THE ELEGANT TYPE

Louise founded her 3-person studio, Louise Fili, Ltd., in 1989. She is world renowned for her lettering, which is still done fully by hand. To view more of Louise’s work, visit www.louisefili.com or follow her on Twitter: @louisefili

Debbie Millman: THE TRAILBLAZER

As host of the first design podcast, co-founder of the first Masters program in branding, and president of the Design Group at Sterling Brands, Debbie is a true pioneer of female leadership in the industry. To view more of Debbie’s work, visit www.debbiemillman.com or follow her on Twitter: @debbiemillman

Ellen Lupton: THE CURATOR

As Curator of Contemporary Design at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Ellen certainly has her finger on the pulse of the industry, simultaneously recognizing the current design greats while also helping to influence the next generation. To view more of Ellen’s work, visit www.elupton.com or follow her on Twitter: @ellenLupton

Inspired by these fabulous designers? So are we! Stay tuned as we reaffirm the importance of women in creative roles through spotlights, interviews, reviews and more!

BY SHANNON PATRICK