Kate Swanborg – 

Senior Vice President of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances for DreamWorks Animation

In conjunction with Ada Lovelace Day, Ulster University’s Athena SWAN team marked the worldwide celebration of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths by hosting a lecture by Kate Swanborg, Senior Vice President of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances for DreamWorks Animation.

She is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the studio’s worldwide technology communications and business-to-business marketing efforts on behalf of the studio’s technology partners that include Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Previous to her current role, Kate served as the studio’s Technology Production Manager where she collaborated with executive leadership, senior technology managers, and film producers to develop strategies and action plans for producing animated feature films including Kung Fu Panda 2, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon and the Academy Award Winning Shrek. Kate also managed the integration of technology solutions for production, including major initiatives such as stereoscopic 3D and a full re-architecture of the studio’s proprietary toolsets.

Throughout the lecture, Kate expressed how important it was to do what you love. She says that all of us are more capable than we know and that the only thing truly holding us back is ourselves. Stating that we are all,

 “Wildly strong. Wildly capable. Wildly Smart.”

Not only that but also that you don’t have to be special to be successful, you just need to invest in what you love. She said that when questioned in the about woman in technology, the statement, “We need more woman in technology,” usually came up. To which she always responds,

“What we need, is for women to do what they love.”

She also mentioned how important it is, whilst in University for your Lecturers to know who you are. If you are to get the most out of your education make yourself known to you lectures so they can help you and guide you for your future.

At Dreamworks there are dual paths, one for managerial and one for technical so that people can advance up the different paths which suit them. She says that this is always important to ask about when in an interview.

When employing people kate wants to see a CV with what you have done but also to see if you have finished University, what are you passionate about and how have you shown this. She says she always looks for people who set a higher bar for themselves that what the company expects/want and needs and have high expectations of their own work.

Kate believes that who the person is, is more important than their skill set. She said that skills can be taught but high expections/love/ drive and passion, which are more important, can not. The willingness to learn is also important which is were mentoring becomes a great benefit. If you have access to a mentor accept the opportunity but know that you can already be a mentor to someone else.

“Don’t wait to become knowledgeable, you already are knowledgeable.”

Kate says that we create the constraints; we should be asking ourselves “What should we be doing?” not “What can we be doing?”

Kate believes that work-life balance is different for everyone and it’s about you wanting it or not. The best place to start is with people who help maintain the balance.

Career Advice:

“Love what you do but its okay not knowing what you love.”

“Take loads of jobs to find out what you love and what you hate.”

My Assessment:

I really enjoyed this lecture and found it really inspiring as Kate started on one pathway and moved to another and is now a successful businesswoman who loves her job. This as giving me the confidence to know that its okay not know 100% what I love for work but to love the work I do.

During the summer I carried out two days of work experience at a design, print & photography company in Antrim. I found this experience incredibly helpful as I gained new knowledge and developed my Adobe and creative skills. During my work experience I created flyers, poster and vector graphics for t-shirts. I developed my skills within Illustrator as I was relatively new to this software. I am thankful that I was able to undertake the work experience and for Charlene, the owner of the company to sit down with me and show me different techniques for creating creative content within the adobe programs. I feel more confident using illustrator after undertaking the work experience.

In the past month, I have begun to freelance for a shop in Belfast which sells street fashion. Some aspects of this placement have been challenging but it is helping develop my ability to work to a brief further. It has also built my confidence and creative skills. I have enjoyed creating the posters and social media elements for the clients. Below you can see a sample of the work that I have created for the clients, using the brief and, clients feedback and wishes, which have been placed in the shop window or online.

During May and June, I attended an Exploring Enterprise through the Antrim Enterprise agency to help develop my business skills. I thoroughly enjoyed the programme and feel the I have developed a lot of my skills but also that I have built more confidence. We carried individual and group tasks and projects around setting up our own business or developing ourselves for work.

We had guest speakers of those who have set up their businesses through the Enterprise Agency, those who have completed the course in the past along with speakers who came in to teach us how to boost our business and handle the pressure and issues that may arise. Not only did we have guest speakers but we also went on workplace trips to local businesses owned by local entrepreneurs. This too was very beneficial as we were able to speak to the entrepreneurs at their business and see how they ran things along with asking questions to help further our own knowledge.

On our final day of the course, we were split into groups and had to deliver a business pitch to the others. I was paired with my Mum and Auntie; we pitched ‘Tropic Skin Care’ which is a franchise that has allowed my Mum to become self-employed and own her own business. I created the visual graphics for the presentation as well as spoke about the business within the group. This helped me develop my confidence and communication skills.

Throughout the production of this blog and its content, there has always been one clear goal; get a job. If people like you and your portfolio of work then you are more likely to get hired. I have been researching various different companies within Northern Ireland whom I could work for and it came down to two of my favourites which caught my eye; Usfolk and Cleancutpixel. Usfolk is an illustration and design company in Belfast set up by an art college student. Their wide range of services and different illustration and design styles fascinate me. I would definitely love the opportunity to work fo this company as I love design work along with creating my own illustrations. Cleancutpixel it a creative company set up in Belfast by past student, Eoin Kelly who came in to work on a freelancing session with us as mentioned in a previous post. What I like about this company is that, although it is small it offers a wide variety of services: the motion graphics/animation and illustration services are which particularly interest me as this a what I aspire to do once I leave university. Again, this is another company that I would love the opportunity to work for to develop my skills with as there are many elements of the company’s work that really interest me.

This is a skills Audit that I found online; I have altered it slightly to suit my creative skills as well as my core skills.

1 = wide experience 2 = some experience  3 = a little experience 4 = no experience  5 = don’t know

(Shef.ac.uk.)

This is my basic skills CV for more information, feel free to contact me via my contact form.

When I leave university I aspire to be an illustrator and a graphic designer as I have a love for art and creativity. I’m fortunate enough to know a graphic designer that has been through the University of Ulster and is now a graphic designer for the civil service. From the interview I have carried out with Marion it was interesting to hear what Marion does to gather inspiration and what she feels what important skills are for someone in the creative industry to have. I feel that I have a few skills to develop but I am on my way to becoming someone that could be hired into the creative industry. I need to start looking out for more things that inspire me so that I can draw on them in my own work to make it better. I am grateful that she has given me advice that I can use to help build my professional image. She highlights the importance of quality not quantity when it comes to my portfolio. She also says I should be obsessed with what I do and display work that I am proud of on my portfolio. She advised me to take up any freelance opportunity for experience. One of the most important pieces of advice she offered to me it to research the company that I am going to apply to work for so that I know what they want from me and what I can expect if I work for them.

1 – What work do you find really inspires the work that you make?

I collect things I’ve read, seen, or listened to that I find interesting or inspiring. I bookmark websites/blogs to refer back to; pin images to a Pinterest board; follow designers on Instagram or Behance, and pull out pages from a magazine. Creating a collection of images and designs provides a reference source for future projects.

2 – What do you think is the most important or favourite project that you have worked on and why was it important to you?

The Graphics Unit produces a broad spectrum of documents which are widely utilised in all aspects of policing both internally and externally. These documents and other Graphics Unit designed multimedia reflect the culture, integrity and professionalism of the Police Service. They communicate essential information on a diversity of issues and strongly influence the public perception of the organisation.
The Graphics Unit provides a visible presence in respect of enhancing public confidence and allows the Service to communicate effectively.
The general public is supplied with information which can vary from crime prevention advice to appropriate points of contacts within a police area. The Police Service’s presence in various printed and digital media communications channels is critical to engaging with the general public.

3 – What traits do you think makes someone a good filmmaker/script writer/web developer/media artist/etc.

Artistic Ability + Creativity: A graphic designer should be very creative and can come up with new and exciting ideas for designs. They must be talented and have a variety of artistic skills and ability.
Problem Solving: As well as the aesthetic aspect of design, it’s good to enjoy the problem-solving side too. As a designer, you have to think logistically and critically to make things work. Creativity is needed not only to produce something brilliant but also to work out how the pieces fit together and turn ideas into a finished product.
Communication: Designers communicate by sketching, using computers, writing, speaking and any other tools necessary. Communication skills are vital and understated requirements for working with a team to bring a concept to life. Great designers are great communicators
Technology: A great graphic designer is well-versed in a plethora of desktop publishing software and is able to quickly learn new programs and incorporate them into his or her work.
Open to Criticism: They must be able to hear all criticism with an open mind and be willing to change designs based on the needs or wants of a client or opinions of members of the design team.

4 – What’s the best bit of your job, and what don’t you like about what you do?

As an in-house designer, I get to work with other different employees in the organisation and understand the brand identity very well. Working for a large organisation provides a sense of prestige and pride, the designer plays a real part in creating the public perception of the organisation. On the other hand, the organisation’s structure often causes the wheels of change to move very slowly and the majority of projects are designed within brand guidelines so you may not get to work outside these guides very often.

5 – What is the best advice you could offer an undergraduate student as they prepare to graduate university and find work?

Be obsessed with what you do! Get your portfolio up to scratch – don’t include anything you’re not proud of, quality over quantity. Take on freelance work at any opportunity to get the experience! Research the company you’re applying to for a job.