Transitioning from Architecture to Experience Design in Advertising with Edelman's Lauren Kimball

Our guest today, Lauren Kimball, Experience Design Director @ Edelman, shares her journey from architecture to advertising. She emphasizes the importance of being honest and open in client meetings and offers advice for architecture students looking to explore alternative career paths. Lauren also discusses her platform, Find by Design, which showcases black designers across various disciplines. Through her experiences, she highlights the power of collaboration and the value of pursuing work that you are passionate about.

Highlights:

• Architecture students have an amazing foundation in human-centered design thinking that is applicable across industries.
• Having a diverse range of experiences, saying yes to new opportunities, and working on passion projects outside of work can open new career doors.
• The advertising industry moves at a much faster pace than architecture which allows for more experimentation and learning.
• Being honest about what you do and don't know builds trust - it's ok to say you'll find the answer and get back to people.
• Hire people smarter than you and find partners who complement your skills rather than trying to do everything

Guest Bio:

Lauren’s experience has been rooted in design since the beginning. Having started her career in sports and entertainment architecture, her world has blended digital and physical to tell brand stories in impactful ways. She has made a career developing teams across the many facets of the design process, including consumer research, experience design, creative technology, and production. She's led interdisciplinary creatives through the design of sprawling music festivals, Olympic master plans, and digital shopping experiences, all to help clients understand their why, and how that translates to an effective design solution. In 2023, Lauren launched FIND By DESIGN, a space created to make it easier to find and support Black designers. The carefully curated directory allows anyone to find talented designers across the graphics and illustration industries, and the platform has already expanded to the UK + Ireland.
www.findbydesign.org