As a digital product designer with Big Human in NYC, Jessie works on a lot of different projects each day. You may find her producing a unique brand identity for a startup, or creating a design system for a large financial company. She may engage in early user research and wireframing, or dive into creating full digital interfaces and experiences. No matter what she chooses to tackle on any given day, the variety of skill sets that she gets to explore is what helps her to thrive in this position.
Right after graduation, Jessie moved to Brooklyn with her best friend from the Hartford Art school. Almost immediately, she secured an internship with Kelli Anderson where she crafted cut-paper installation work and stop motion videos.
"She taught me the value of pushing creative boundaries and realizing that no dream is too big," Jessie says.
Anderson also introduced Jessie to the team at Tinybop, a children’s educational tech startup, and it was here that she began her first full-time job. As a technical artist, Jessie created digital toys for children, focusing on animation, illustration, and game production. It was a fantastic opportunity that she very much enjoyed, but after four years with the company her graphic design roots were calling her home.
Redirecting her career back to design and taking the position with Big Human was a risk, but Jessie now feels confident that she is aligned with what she wants to be doing for the long run.
In reflecting back on her journey to her current title, Jessie credits the Hartford Art School with setting her up for success.
Jessie Sattler, '13The visual communication design program at HAS prepares you for a creative career in every aspect. From the first assignment you receive, you’re expected to maintain certain levels of originality, artistry, and craft. The standard to which we are held in the department is what ensures we will be successful after school. But even further than that, our professors made sure to encourage our personal interests within projects. They knew that if we chose a topic we were passionate about, we would care about the outcome and make the process and the final product even better.
Outside of her job, Jessie is a digital illustrator. At work she has to be very strategic, orderly, and cerebral, but the opposition of her personal work keeps her balanced. She describes her illustrations as being "rooted in emotion," which is a welcome contrast from her "type-a work persona".
Jessie's advice? To work hard, but only toward something that you feel connected to.
"If you put your energy into an idea or a company that you don’t believe in, you’ll burn out very quickly," Jessie says. "If you are creating artwork, make sure you aren’t doing it to appease someone else or to post on social media. When I discovered my own style and grew my confidence in it, without the approval of others, that’s when it started to gain attention. I was creating work that I loved, and then others loved it too."