Jerry Viena (above) and his work at Spotify - Clips (right)
I used to read a lot of newspapers growing up, and journalism was really big in my family. Seeing stories across The Times, The Washington Post, or The Seattle Times really inspired me to pursue something along the lines of learning about people and their backgrounds and culture, and how that defines their story. I got into design because I was really interested in how we can leverage these stories we hear and give people a better platform or outlet, and ****I thought creativity was the best way to give them that voice. A lot of the design work I did was connected to storytelling, and I was always very intentional about finding positions or projects where I was allowed to work along those lines.
At Spotify, I was fortunate enough to work on a new product under a team that was formatting different ways to give artists tools to share stories behind their music or their musical journey. Specifically, I worked on Clips, which are short form video content that allows artists to connect with their fans. I really like designing for these experiences because we're making sure that the story artists want to tell is the way they wanted to put it. Even before Spotify, I worked in experiences where I was designing for journalists. Then, when I came to Spotify, I was designing for musicians.
I'd say that creativity followed through within my experiences at Spotify, and extended even beyond the capacity I had coming into the role. It was just a lot of learning, and a lot of curiosity to see how far I can go with designs. All of this ties back to empowering those who are trying to tell their story.
I found passion projects outside of work in order to find ways to sustain my curiosity in design. And, I think the best way to spark curiosity is through projects related to things you love and things you love to do for the people you love. Cause for me, I like creating things that bring me happiness, but also bring happiness to other people.
After leaving Spotify, I reflected a lot and, yeah, I’m going to be designing screens for work, but I want to find something that really brings me happiness. The past couple months have been really fun just because I'm bringing design back to what I love.
Right now, I do fashion design. Fashion allows me to express myself, and it also allows me to share and communicate with others, which I really like about fashion. This is something I think this person would enjoy or something that I feel proud that this person's wearing. And there's definitely other experiences where I'm working with tech and learning different mobile design patterns, but at the end of the day, there's a lot of things going on in tech and that can disconnect you from reality. I feel that as the world has gotten more technological, we’ve lost some footing of actual human-to-human connections. Fashion allows me to regain some of that agency in how I go about the storytelling of what a piece or an outfit represents. Like the denim pieces I’m making revolve around workwear and growing up, I had a lot of family members that worked blue collar jobs.
I really love this question because I feel like I fell into that category of going more on the career side especially in college. In retrospect, I understand you're going to have to dedicate a lot of time towards getting experiences that feel more connected to a job. But, I really feel that taking the time to find a passion for design is important because it allows you to take a break from a more professional space of thinking and be more creative and express yourself. Design is fun and it should be fun. It shouldn't be something where you're going for it just for a job title. Because at the end of the day, a job title will be there, but your passion for design won't always be there.
As for finding your passion within design, you just have to go out there and find it yourself. I'd say just be curious and open to new experiences. Not all of them will be great, but there will be something that sticks. Even if something doesn’t stick, you can still tell yourself that you've done it. I think that's the most important thing, being able to go out there and try as many experiences as you can —that will help you find your passion. Fashion design wasn't something that came to me immediately, and I wouldn't say I'm great at it right now, but I'm just learning. And I feel finding something that you love to do and continuing to learn and grow within it is where passion comes from.
If you’d like to learn more about Jerry and his story, connect with him here.