Her Story
About Victoria
I've been working in digital design for over 10 years, starting with UI/UX and transitioning into product design. Right now, I'm a senior product designer and also work as an art director because I handle brand design, digital design, and strategy. At my current position at Church & Dwight, I'm responsible for design systems, brand identity, and leading the design for their e-commerce websites from both the technical and visual sides. I work collaboratively with the art director and do hands-on design work, making sure everything works great together and collaborating with developers to ensure we get what we're expecting. My strongest areas are visual design and interactions - I love telling stories through design, creating animations that enhance the design experience, and giving people that 'aha moment' when they look at a website or brand. I'm also a super active community member of Framer, a no-code design tool for making websites, and I recently presented at NYU about my visual work and animation techniques. During the pandemic, I even explored animation professionally and worked on projects for Disney and Sony Pictures, including Night at the Museum cartoon, before returning to product design because it felt more like me. I love working in smaller, creative teams where you feel like part of a family doing something that can change the world.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Victoria
01What do you attribute your success to?
I just wanted to be a part of something huge, and to have some influence. This is what makes me happy when I'm in some dynamic that I can feel some dynamic around - like, oh my god, there is something new in the world, that I'm somewhere nearby. That was my driver for success. I love being part of the team when you feel like you're important and you're valuable there, like you're part of the family who is doing something that can change the world. I wanted to be noticeable - not just worker number 234 at some department, but someone people know they can go to for help with something. Being able to be counted on and being part of something meaningful is what drives me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I got was to try to learn a lot of different things. If you're a designer, go check what is happening with cars - how they look, what is going on there. Read books, watch movies, listen to music, just go for a walk and get inspired everywhere. For example, right now I'm touching packaging design at my current position, so yesterday I went to Target just to check what is happening with the packaging design there, because there is a huge market. You need to touch that package to understand how it feels, to compare how it works, what is getting my attention. Just be inspired and try different fields - this really helps to switch your mind and understand things from different perspectives. That was the best advice that I got in my career years.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't be afraid. Specifically for me, it was hard at the beginning since in the IT industry, I was just one girl in my first IT company because it was more male, I would say. Don't be afraid to take responsibility, to be brave, and to be passionate about things and curious, for sure. Find something that you really love, because we are spending too much time doing work, right? It should not bring only money, but also you need to be excited about that, because it will help you to make it better and just to also be good at that. That would be my advice.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is to be up-to-date with everything what is happening with AI. At the same time, you need to try to not just be part of the hype and noise, but to find some value in it, to find ways to be consequential and make an impact. It's about staying current with AI developments while being thoughtful about how to use them meaningfully rather than just following trends.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
What I love is to be part of the team when you feel like you're important and you're valuable there - like you're part of the family who is doing something that can change the world. That's why I love to work in smaller teams, when it's kind of like an Italian family where we are doing something together and we are getting inspired by that, and we are collaborating. Teamwork is so important to me. I also value being noticeable - not being worker number 234 at some department, but being someone people know by name, someone they know they can go to for help with something. Being able to be counted on and adding value to the team is what matters most to me.
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