Author: Sarah Engel
Interview
Rosie Sycks is a soon-to-be graduating LMC major with threads in Media and Interaction Design. In her time at Georgia Tech, she’s worked as a UX design intern for Spanx, a visual design intern for a queer-owned film production agency, a sustainable design intern for the P&G Beauty Innovation Studio, and a UX design intern for IBM. After graduating from Georgia Tech this spring, she’ll be returning to IBM as a full-time designer.
Rosie first entered Georgia Tech as an Industrial Design major. In the College of Design, she was introduced to design processes, research techniques, and a variety of software. After one year she realized she wanted to continue pursuing design, “but not the physically-making-chairs-and-lamps kind of design.” Rather, she wanted to focus on human-computer interaction. LMC’s interdisciplinary curriculum, she says, was the right one for her to reach those ambitions.
Some of Rosie’s favorite LMC classes include Principles of Information Design with Professor Loukissas and Construct-Moving Image. She also enjoyed Introduction to Graphic Design Literacy with Lisa Babb, an industrial design course. And, “not design-related, but I really enjoyed the films classes and anything with Dr. Brock.”
As far as on-campus resources go, despite Georgia Tech not having an official UX/HCI design program, Rosie felt she was still able to practice her skills and engage in the design community. She cites organizations like Bits of Good, the GT Design Club, and Georgia Tech career fairs as having helped her. “I’ve heard great things about HexLabs and several of the different VIPs as well.” She also mentions the LMC/CM CoLab, “led by the wonderful Jillann Hertel Deltejo,” as a fantastic resource. “Throughout my time as an LMC major, Jillann has been a great resource for everything from portfolio/resume reviews and career counseling to providing valuable insights as I decided between different internship offers. I also was able to get class credit for an unpaid internship through Jillann's LMC 4904 course.”
Her advice to fellow students? Participating in design roles in on-campus organizations to “gain experience, practice collaboration, and better understand what it looks like to be a designer outside of the classroom.” During her time as a product designer for Bits of Good (GT’s Hack4Impact chapter), Rosie learned to collaborate with developers, PMs, and clients. “I learned that design looks a lot different when you are driving real business goals as opposed to when you’re trying to get an A for a class.” Currently, Rosie volunteers as a design instructor for Bits of Good, where she co-instructs a free, 10-week UX design & research boot camp for fellow GT students.
Rosie is also involved in off-campus organizations, such as Rewriting the Code, AIGA, and the Grace Hopper Celebration. They “helped me to build my network and learn from others in the design & tech fields.” She also recommends the Microsoft Design Reach Program, a semester-long mentorship program that connects students with design professionals, and mentorship via ADPlist. LinkedIn was another useful tool for Rosie, as she used her position as a Georgia Tech student to connect with alumni working in UX/Product Design for advice, coffee chats, and portfolio reviews. And she’s more than willing to return the favor: “If you want to chat more about LMC, design, recruiting/career stuff, or just have a coffee chat, feel free to send me an email (rosie@gatech.edu) or schedule time via my website!”
This story was written by LMC major and CoLab Communications/Editorial Intern, Sarah Engel.
For further inquiries, please contact Senior Academic Professional Jillann Hertel.