Her Story
About Ariana
I have been working as a creative director for two fragrance brands for 2 years and 8 months, managing both brands from start to finish for digital and physical products. My journey to this role was unconventional - I studied industrial engineering at Hofstra University because I wanted a technical background to understand how products work and manufacturing processes, not just focus on aesthetics. Through internships at Microsoft, NBC CNBC, and JPMorgan Chase, I explored different paths in tech, product management, and UX UI design before discovering my passion for creative work. At JPMorgan Chase, I worked on creating an admin console and realized I loved the variety, ideation, and innovation conversations that design work offered. When I started at my current company, I began as just a graphic designer, but through conversations with the CEO about wanting to go above and beyond, I was given more responsibility in areas that made me happier. Now my work encompasses product packaging design, e-commerce and D2C website development, UX UI design, graphic design, and booth design for trade shows. I work closely with our CEO on high-level strategy, communicate with vendors, approve budgets and designs, and focus on solutions that improve sales and customer retention. Working at a small business that has been around for 45 plus years has allowed me to wear many different hats and gain insight into engineering, production, and manufacturing. My most notable achievement was presenting my work at ASD Market Week, my first trade show as a designer, where I stood in the booth I designed and showcased 15 new product packages I created, receiving rewarding feedback on details I didn't expect consumers to notice.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ariana
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to start with yourself, which comes from Emma Greed, one of the co-founders of Skims. Her book 'Start With Yourself' and her philosophy really resonate with me. She advises thinking of your life in thirds: who you are at work, who you are at home with friends and family, and who you are with yourself. It's about putting one step in front of the other every day and taking it one step at a time. She speaks to women who want more than just a career, who want a better life and to better themselves as a person. Start With Yourself is mainly about understanding who you are with no one else around and believing that you can do anything you set your mind to. I figured that out on my own before it became popular advice on TikTok, because no one knows you better than yourself. Everything she embodies and preaches aligns with what I've actually executed so far for myself.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the creative industry is that you just have to do something - sitting idle and waiting is not going to get you anywhere. Create anything that you're excited about. If you think Spotify is your favorite app and you think there's a better way for it to look, redesign it, make it as a case study, and put it on a website. You can literally make a website for free, post it on TikTok - you have access to so many tools nowadays. If you really do have the creative itch or a liking for art or anything in the creative space, you definitely have platforms that would help you and support that, and there are communities out there that support you as well. When I was looking for a job but had no work to show because I was not employed and all I had was engineering work from school, I started to create little case study projects and revamp existing things I thought could be better. One of the projects I created was actually what my current boss saw, and that's 100% what got me the role. It wasn't any of the work from my internships - if I can show you that I can design, what do you need a degree to prove that for? Put your work out there, create, don't stop creating, and it will come to you eventually. It's just like the TikTok algorithm - something will pick it up eventually, you just don't know when.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Independence and growth are the two most important values to me in both work and personal life. Independence means not relying on others - in my professional life, I tend to initiate conversations about next steps and where we should go, and I try to propose solutions rather than presenting problems. Someone in leadership really appreciates when you come to them with solutions because they get 100 problems a day, and it shows that you care and you're not relying on someone to tell you what to do. In my personal life, I'm pretty free-spirited and independent in terms of things I attend and spaces I intentionally put myself in. I don't just wallow and complain or do nothing if I'm not happy in a situation - when I was looking for a job, I actively attended networking events and connected with as many people as I could. I couldn't wait for anyone to tell me to do that. Growth is about being proactive and solution-oriented, trying to grow not just in terms of more responsibility or pay, but grow as a person. Growth is also about not just checking boxes but leveling up, whether that's exercising more, reading more, or doing a little bit more of your hobby on the weekends or in your free time. Growth and independence are common values I have between work and personal life.
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