Tatiana R de Carvalho Brandao

I've always been the creative type since I was very young, and that's what I loved and had a passion for. I didn't necessarily know I was going to go into interior design until I started getting closer to having to pick a major, but I knew it was definitely going to be in some sort of design. I looked into fashion design and costume design, and then I found out about interior design through my high school's career program. After visiting colleges and seeing the programs, interior design appealed to me the most because I could stay where I wanted in terms of cities, and when I researched the companies and what they did, I started finding my passion for it. What I really love about interior design is that you're creating something that people are going to get to experience. Whether it's a restaurant where you're creating that user experience and you want it to be something unique and memorable, or healthcare where you're creating something to help people that are sick get better and feel comfortable in whatever situation they are in, there's always a purpose for interior design. My field is commercial interior design. I really love the idea of creating spaces that people actually use on a daily basis, or they go on trips and they want to go to that location that you created. In my current role, I work as a project manager managing multiple projects at one time and managing the designers that work for us. I work remotely most of the time, but we have days at the office where we do events and lunches with reps so we can keep up to date with new materials and furniture that is releasing. My week varies - sometimes I'm going after a project with the owners and putting all the documentation together to land that client, other times I'm overseeing projects, working with designers, mentoring them, teaching them, and reviewing drawings and design presentations. When we have client meetings, I present to the clients and present the design, and that's where you have to really do a good job because you have to really sell your design. I've been in the field for almost 10 years now, having graduated with my bachelor's degree in 2016.