Olivia Viola

Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?

My first year at OCAD U was in Art. While art was incredible fun, I felt there was something missing, so I switched into Advertising Design. I quickly realized how much more I loved being in Design and learning about the Advertising Industry. There’s something about taking a concept and bringing it to life that makes me appreciate Advertising Design.

Please briefly describe your current job / practice.

I work as a Visual Designer at a startup, creating print and digital marketing collateral. I learned a lot about the importance of solid concepts at OCAD U, and wanted to continue sharpening up my Design skills by taking a Visual Designer role. I’ve been working on landing pages, direct mail, brochures, commercials, event booths, social media assets, and other collateral for the company.

How did you get started in your career?

It was all thanks to OCAD U’s Grad Exhibition. I was approached by an Associate Creative Director at an Experiential Marketing agency. He thought my display stood out from the rest and gave me his card. After interviewing with him, I got my first Junior Art Director job.

I was very interested in exploring the different avenues of Advertising and Design. After experiencing the startup world through an internship I had during my undergrad, I decided I wanted to try working at another startup, where I worked as both a UX/UI Designer and an Art Director. From there I felt a need for agency life, so I began working as Art Director and Designer for a couple of agencies.

What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?

I spent my 3rd and 4th year at OCAD U interning during the summers. I felt it was important to me, whether volunteer or paid, that I get real experience before graduating. Having that exposure to the industry and working with people helped me understand how to conduct myself professionally in a corporate environment. It also gave me an idea of how the whole creative process works outside of school.

Interning also gave me an idea of what startup life was like. I enjoyed that I got to work on a number of projects, not just sticking to one role. As someone who is continuously looking for news ways to innovate and keep updated with trends, it was great for me to see I could work in a place that won’t pigeonhole me to one specialty.

What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

My favourite part of work is brainstorming and collaborating with my team. It also makes it the most challenging part of my job. Working with people that inspire you is fantastic, but it would be naive to say there aren’t moments of frustrations as well.

What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Ideation and concepting are the greatest skills I learned at OCAD U. The most successful moments I’ve had in my career were when I was able to provide strategic and creative thinking to brainstorming sessions.

What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice?

My responsibilities differ on various projects. I primarily work on campaigns that support the Demand Generation team, in getting leads and ultimately potential customers. Direct mail campaigns and landing pages are what I spend most of my time on. I own a platform that we use to build our landing pages. I’ve built a number of processes to make these pages efficiently so we can focus on our strategies.

I’ll help design brochures for Product Marketing and Event Trade Shows, and occasionally create internal collateral for the company.

What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?

I’m always looking for new ways to improve my skill sets, I’m currently working on creating an app. My goal for 2019 is to learn the fundamentals of UX/UI for app development through a personal project. I’m hoping that through the research and process, I can gain access to developers who’d be interested in helping me get onto the app store.