Co-Op Experience: Hannah Steinberg

Graphic Design
DAAP, Class of 2011

I accepted a co-op position at the Live Well Collaborative in the fall of 2010 in order to learn more about the business side of design. In my previous co-ops, I realized that having some business knowledge would be extremely beneficial to a career in design, and that Live Well would be a great way to acquire some of that knowledge. In my time at Live Well, I was exposed to consumer market research and participated in the first Boeing studio to identify the future traveler. I worked alongside domestic and international students pursuing their undergraduate and masters degrees in the colleges of business and design.

Through the studio work with Boeing, I was able to hone in on my leadership skills, and manage a large group of people, something that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do professionally for 10 or more years without Live Well. I created and implemented a style guide for the studio members to use when creating their final deliverables.  I also designed the logo for the studio and completed any other design projects that needed to be done. In addition to the Boeing Studio, I was given the opportunity to design a media kit for Live Well to be presented to prospective clients.

LWC gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have necessarily gotten from other co-op jobs. I was in a leadership role, interacting directly with the client and managing the students in the studio. I had many chances to present to the client, through video conference and in person. I interacted with international students from UC and professors from Singapore Polytechnic, where LWC opened their first innovation center in Asia. Live Well has helped me to add to the design skills I’ve been taught, and because of that I feel that I can be a better designer.