Her Story
About McKenzie
I started out way back when I was in college studying illustration, but I really fell in love with graphic design, and that's what initially got me into the world of advertising. I really love the thought process behind every design. I've been in the field for about 4 years, all with Agency GWL. We moved from northwest Arkansas to Little Rock, and I started out as a graphic designer, then got promoted to art director, and now I'm transitioning into more of an assistant creative director role as Strategic Brand Director. In this role, I think very higher level, wider view, more about strategy, and why we're creating, and the overall goal of the campaign. I lead the creative team here, and we do a lot of really fun stuff. I have come to really love advertising because there's just never a dull moment. We have a very wide variety of clients here. Our biggest clientele is automotive, so we know a lot about cars, but we also do a lot of product design. I've done several alcohol bottles and beer cans, and that's just one of the most fun things ever. We're also about to launch a new product, so product design is definitely number 2 behind automotive. I'm lucky enough to do a lot of design work myself, so I'm able to work on ads and make them look pretty myself, but I'm also several times a day working with my team and giving revisions. A lot of days we're working around a big table all together, talking about a design or a product. I'm often meeting with clients as well, and then I'm also strategizing how we're going to organize who's gonna review what at what point.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with McKenzie
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My professor when I was in college told me his personal philosophy, and I have stolen it and keep it for myself. He told me to not try and be great, and to start trying to be good. So I can be a good leader, and a good designer, and a good person, and a good friend, and all of those things. I think it's a little bit risque to say, but I think it's important. It's better to try and be good.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In this industry as a whole, it's going to continue to be more competitive as time goes on. I think clients, because of technology, which is nothing new, but because of AI, I think clients are going to continue to want things faster, and they're gonna have different expectations because of continuing technology. So that is a huge challenge. I think for me personally, really, just being a leader is the biggest challenge, not that it's hard to lead my team. I think they're a great group of people, but I do think that that is the biggest responsibility that I have, and it's going to continue to be the biggest responsibility that I have, and I take it very seriously. It's just a challenge to balance how to give revisions, and how to take feedback, and all those good things about leading a team.
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