Designer Spotlight: Allie Harold

It is our immense pleasure to share that our own Allie Harold has been promoted to Designer! This is a tremendous accomplishment for Allie, and a tribute to her outstanding talent and hard work here at Kinesis. Please join us in congratulating her!

Background & History

Allie started with Kinesis as an intern in June 2012, aligning this promotion with her two-year anniversary. It wasn’t long before she transitioned from an internship to a full-time junior designer position, where she created phenomenal design work for our clients’ diverse visual needs.

Before joining the Kinesis family, Allie studied graphic design at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, following her lifetime passion for art. She produced design work for the Campus Dining program, and even spearheaded the visual efforts and layout design for Cal Poly's Byzantium, an annual literary journal. Needless to say, design was in Allie’s blood right from the start.

Hitting Her Stride

Last year, Allie began to shift from training and shadowing, to taking ownership of design projects and leading creative strategy. In short, she was given the opportunity to spread her wings – and we (and our clients) were floored with the results.

“I’m really fortunate to be able to be creative every day,” Allie reflects, “And seeing your work make a difference is so rewarding.” When asked about her ‘WHY,’ she responded, “Helping transform our clients with the work we do. It’s a powerful thing to watch and experience.” (Allie must be a Kinesian through and through, since Kinesis’ core mission is transformation)

Growth & Development

Allie explains that this career milestone represents a lot of learning. “The biggest thing I had to learn was how to be as efficient as possible with my work.” As with any position, it took time and practice to perfect her craft. But the more design work she did – the more quickly she could create a final product. “I learned to take the time to put pencil to paper instead of going straight to the computer. It seems counterintuitive at first, since everything has such a tight turnaround time, but creating a sketch and laying out your ideas is so beneficial, and ultimately more efficient. It was hard to stop and make myself do it.”

When asked if she had any advice to give the budding designers of the world, Allie had this to say:

“Work for a small company. I used to think I wanted to work for a bigger company – and now I’m not sure why. I’ve spoken with designers at larger companies, and their project scope is so limited. Smaller organizations bring their own struggles and challenges, but I love having the opportunity to collaborate with our entire team (designers, copywriters, and strategists) and to be a part of a project from start to finish.

Also, get involved in your local design community. I’ve been a member of AIGA for years, both in Cal Poly and here in Portland. It helped me participate in portfolio reviews, meet local designers, and conduct informational interviews with as many people as I could – which I think was really helpful.”

Onward & Upward

This promotion is no doubt just one stepping stone in what is sure to be a long and successful career. We are so thrilled to have Allie on Team Kinesis, contributing her extraordinary talents to our clients’ marketing efforts.

Allie’s closing thoughts? “Kinesis, specifically, has been the reason for my growth. Michelle has been my mentor, and everyone else has been so supportive. I’m just so grateful to have had this opportunity to grow, especially at Kinesis… well, because Kinesis is just so awesome.”