I started at Capital One in July 2021, bright-eyed and ready to redesign the whole world with my design thinking homework still in hand. I was part of the DDP, a design rotational program, allowing me to try two very different teams in two years.
I dove into AutoNavigator, a website allowing users to pre-qualify for a car, find a deal, and head to the dealer in one smooth experience. In one wonderful year, I learned about car shopping, dealership experiences, the way buying and owning a car makes people feel, and how our product could change all of those things. I then rotated to the Design Architecture team, where I've been learning how to build user-centered components for our very own designers and the products they were designing.
Learning about how people buy cars, how to collaborate with tech and product partners, 401Ks, and many many acronyms
Redesigning the vehicle details page to optimize lead conversion on AutoNavigator
Saying bye to a team I loved and learned so much from to rotate to a new horizontal team and learn fun, new things
Learning how to maximize designers’ efficiency and help them create great products
Creating beautiful, user-friendly, and accessible components for our local design system
Along the way I have been able to widen my understanding and appreciation of design while specifically focusing on visual design, generative design, and design systems skills. This is all a quick snapshot the of work I created and have been a part of at Capital One. Get in touch to hear more about the projects, culture, and lessons that made up my experience.
This job has been my first full-time, corporate work experience. It was supposed to show me what design is like in the “real world,” and it has, thus far, shown me a very thoughtful, optimistic, delightful real world. It’s not like sitting in a design classroom, getting rewarded for the craziest and most hopeful ideas, but it’s hopeful nonetheless. I have been extremely grateful to be a part of this world, to get to be a huge, soaking wet sponge, and a fountain simultaneously, regardless of my experience or inexperience. If this is what design in the “real world” is, or can be, I know I will continue being a sponge for a long, long while, and hope to continue being a fountain!