Alisa Grisham is a disibility rights activist in Pittsburgh, PA. She runs Access Mob Pittsburgh, and organization that helps businesses make accessible improvements to their practice. She is also on the Complete Streets advisory committee, and refers to herself as a “Shameless Agitator:
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Alt Text: Alisa Grishman, a woman sitting in wheelchair and smiling
I'm Shannon, a current senior, and during my sophomore summer, I interned at Tinder as a product designer for the revenue team.
While I never really used dating apps, what initially drew me in was their explicit interest for individuals interested in illustration and animation in the job description. This spoke to me as a design student focused in these areas because I was constantly looking for ways to combine it with my design work.
I was part of the revenue team which closely collaborated with the growth team, so I almost had a dual internship in design. The product design group was tightly knit. Each of us, including myself, was assigned a main project. My task, as the revenue intern for product design, was to overhaul the profile page, which eventually went live. In fact, every active Tinder user engages with the profile page I made, which surprised me to know that I could make that type of an impact.
The process was quite intuitive. We were given assignments, and each week the manager provided guidance on areas for improvement. I got feedback from other product design interns and also from designers across different pillars. Engineer feedback also started rolling in around the second milestone of the internship. This was helpful for me as a designer and it led to the very diverse collaborative environment was helpful for my growth as a designer
During that internship, I honed in on my prototyping skills. My reputation at Tinder eventually revolved around my ability to quickly create screens and prototypes. My experience there allowed me to delve a deeper interest into design system components, which encouraged my current interest in design systems.
After the internship ended, I started to appreciate the significance of design systems. Being in a larger tech company like Tinder meant having a solid foundation already in place. Working within a framework of established foundations, rules, and design systems was something I really appreciated.
My experience strengthened my skills, and pushed me to tackle areas I wasn't as confident in but wanted to improve upon. Looking ahead, I want to transition towards roles that align more closely with this type of work, considering it as two distinct, but well connected pathways I plan to pursue.
<aside> 💡 Curious about applying to Tinder? https://www.lifeattinder.com/tinderships
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