Tech Role Models: Clio Dill, Visual Designer at Huge - Meghan Duffy, Career Coach

Today’s Tech Role Model is Clio Dill. Clio is a visual designer at Huge and the founder of 0.4 Magazine, a scientific-based editorial focused on happiness. She transforms research, data, and academia into more accessible content so that anyone can improve their well being. She is passionate about using design as a tool to elevate inspiring people and ideas.

What’s your official title and how long have you been in this role?

• Founder of 0.4 Magazine (pointfourmag.com)
• Visual Designer at Huge Inc. (since Jan 2019)
• Previously: Lead Designer at Pilot Lab

What attracted you to this role?

0.4 Magazine

• There aren’t enough resources for people who want to improve their mental and physical well-being. However, there is PLENTY of existing academia and data on the subject matter — it just doesn’t exist in an accessible format to the everyday person. That’s why I started 0.4

Huge

• The opportunity to learn from a *huge* network of people. Huge is great at providing tools for growth, while cultivating an extremely supportive environment in which to do so.

Walk me through a typical day in your role. What activities do you engage in? What types of meetings do you join? When’s lunch?

9am-6pm: Go to team meetings (‘standups’ – these are internal check-ins); have coffee 1:1s to meet new other people in the company; client calls; do design work; try not to drink more than 3 cups of coffee

Try to have lunch away from my desk with a coworker because it helps me have a fresh perspective on my work when I take a break from it.

What skills/technologies help you succeed?

Being curious, enthusiastic, and willing (and wanting) to learn. And being a self starter — not waiting for someone to tell you want to do, but taking it upon yourself to find opportunities to make yourself a valuable team player.

Also bringing good energy — be nice. Nobody wants to work with a jerk.

I think those attributes will help you succeed more likely than any specific technologies — because new software is always coming out and the landscape is forever changing but if you can adapt and show that you are trying and also a good human, people will appreciate that.

What’s the most fun or creative part of your role?

I love doing design research. I think that’s really fun — using research to help inform how I formulate my design decisions. Again I’m a big fan of learning — so working on projects where I don’t know the material or field very well is exciting to me because it’s an opportunity to learn something new.

What are the biggest challenges you face in this visual designer role?

Not getting burned out.

I think it’s really important to get up frequently in order to refresh your mind — staring at a computer for too long can turn into a vortex situation and it can be difficult to have a fresh perspective if you don’t take time to step away and then come back to whatever you’re working on.

Go for a walk (and re-oxygenate your brain!), go talk to someone, just get up and move regularly.

What teams/individuals do you work with cross-functionally? Can you give an example of a time when you collaborated with another group/individual?

Experience leads, creative directors, UX designers, copywriters, strategists, client engagement services, integrated design (AKA marketing)

What’s an area where you’re trying to grow in your visual designer role?

Prototyping and motion! I can do basics but this is definitely an area I want to get better at.

Also coding. Not actually part of my role at Huge, but I want to expand my knowledge here.

Aside from technical skills, what personality traits/characteristics make for an ideal candidate in your role?

Kind of said this earlier but — being eager to learn, determined, enthusiastic, and NICE. Haha.

What skills (tech/non-tech) have you improved as a result of working in this visual designer role?

• Prototyping
• Presenting my work
• Craft
• Organization — this is a big one for me
• Editing — I tend to go wild with explorations and options so editing my own work down to the best options to present to the Creative Director is important

In your role, what metrics define success?

Being able to articulate your work, propose design directions, having excellent craft, taking ownership of your work, and being a good team player.