Team Perspectives | Five Years with Lauren Riedling
This week marks the five year workiversary of our talented Project Director, Lauren Riedling! Joining our studio team in 2016, Lauren has grown from manager of process to director of projects, deepening her understanding for human-centered design through every possible intersection. She shares open reflections from her first five years with Nimble. across many integral milestones, leaps and unknowns. Learn more about what drives Lauren to show up daily for the Clients, teams and projects she serves in this 5 min. retrospective.
You joined Nimble. FIVE years ago. Let that sink in.
Tell us about what you set out to do when you joined our team.
LJR: Coming to Nimble., I was excited about joining a team where I knew I could make an immediate impact — putting on my strategic problem solving and process hats to help a small but mighty team amplify their impact. Coming from the trade show world (I started my career here), I was also excited for the opportunity to touch projects with more permanence and direct influence on other’s day-to-day lives.
Working internal-to-external, you’re naturally a wearer of many hats. How do you set up projects for success at Nimble.?
LJR: Clarity and flexibility. I work to clarify end objectives and establish milestones to get there with the flexibility for these to grow and bend as needed to react to everyday rocks. Clarity and flexibility are both critical to success when it comes to planning for our internal studio team, supporting our clients and partners and coordinating third-party teams to bring our designs into the real world.
How do you support Nimble.’s studio team?
LJR:
I strive to guide and develop our internal processes in order to ensure a sense of predictability exists, paired with that much-needed flexibility. Through resource management and allocation, I ensure our Nimble. team is being utilized as effectively as possible to keep each of our projects moving. Through creative problem-solving, I work to turn conceptual ideas into actionable, realizable directives for our team to work from.
Lastly, being a little bit (ok sometimes a lot a bit) the devil’s advocate, I aim to test our thinking and concepts and find any holes or opportunities to improve in order to ensure the designs that our clients see will function for and make an impact in the visioned space/setting. Every team needs at least one devil’s advocate, right!?
How do you support Nimble. clients?
LJR:
Bridging the gap between our internal and external teams, I work to ensure we’re working together to meet project deadlines while anticipating any potential rocks in the road. I work in partnership with our clients to identify and help set priorities throughout the course of evolving project lifecycles.
For signage and environmental extensions, I define strategy alongside client teams in order to ensure every project leads with visual strategy and a strategic balance of impact and budget. Guiding third-party production, fabrication and implementation, I work to streamline feedback cycles, uphold quality and ensure design intent standards are met on behalf of our teams and partners.
How do you support project brands that need to go from on the page to into the world?
LJR: Early in our internal process it’s about being that ‘resource knowledge-base’, and ‘the check’ on conceptual designs to make sure we’re set up for success in the outside world. Working with our Nimble. design team to define and refine their design intent so it’s easy for external teams to pick up the pieces and execute remains a top priority.
Once project work leaves our doors, my role shifts to being a resource and guiding voice for external vendors and partners, to ensure that pre-established design intent is upheld — or when it needs to be evolved to ensure that it’s being done so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the end impression.
Common pain points that occur in projects that forego dedicated Design Project Management?
LJR: Project Management over the design process ensures a directing voice and quality eye to thread across the entire lifespan (from concept sketch to physical capital) of a project. Our long-term clients know that our role does not end at great design. Our project management team is a critical link in ensuring brand consistency and quality control from printed pieces to complex signage and wayfinding programs. If studio-led project management is removed from the conversation, you run the risk of the following:
Missing details––
Pushing conceptual work into detailed design intent prior to releasing any files, etc. ensures a vendor has every piece of information they require to provide accurate pricing and move quickly into detail drawings and artwork proofs. Inference is the root of unhappy clients and off-brand end-product.Costly Assumptions––
There will always be questions that arise through production and implementation, no matter how articulate the narrative. My job is to answers those questions directly, catch any misunderstood assumptions and support intentional, necessary pivots before costly mistakes are made.Lost time––
Being the connected voice from conceptualization through installation, I can answer questions, make refinements, support VE needs and give design approvals in real-time.
What’s on the docket for the next five years?
LJR: So much. It’s amazing looking back at what the last five years have been and I’m so excited for what this team will be able to do as we continue to grow. Having a strong and reliable foundation is what lets you grow to take on bigger, more complicated projects with the confidence and skill to perform. Seeing the work we do truly shape communities and being an integral part of teams who vision lasting impact will drive the next 5 years, plus.
