Q&A with Industry Dive design project manager Kati Mazza
This is a Q&A with Industry Dive design project manager Kati Mazza. Mazza supports the design services of studioID, Industry Dive’s global content studio.
About Industry Dive: We keep business leaders up-to-date with the latest trends in their industry. Over 12M business leaders across 26 industries read our 29 publications. We also help marketers tell stories that create connections, enhance trust and drive leads.
What is your story? How did you end up in design operations? How did you end up at Industry Dive, a business media company?
Working in design operations at a media company, it feels like I’ve come full circle. I’ve been interested in journalism and the media for as long as I can remember. My dad is a news producer and editor, so I was exposed to that world at a young age. I remember going to work with him on ‘bring your kids to work day’ and falling in love with the environment. He wrote a story for my siblings and me to record on camera that I’ll never forget. We sat at the news desk, got mic’d up, and read from the teleprompter with the greenscreen behind us. The excitement and passion I witnessed through his career quickly became my own.
Fast-forward a bit. I followed in my dad’s footsteps and studied journalism at Drexel University with the hopes of becoming an on-air correspondent for entertainment news. Four years and three co-ops later, I found my footing in photo and video production. Producing became my life — I had a dream of climbing up the ladder, moving to New York, then California, and working in TV and Film. Then the pandemic hit!
Like many people, I was unemployed and reflected on what I wanted from life and my career. I ended up expanding my job search to include project management. I had worked with many project managers in the past and always appreciated how they kept everything on track. When I saw the design project manager job posting at Industry Dive, it felt kismet. It was an opportunity to continue working in the creative field and build upon my experience in video production. The more I read about the company and met with members of the design team, I knew this is where I belonged.
What is your role like as a design project manager for studioID, Industry Dive’s global content studio?
My role as a design project manager is multifaceted, to say the least! Without completely sounding like I’m in a job interview — the day-to-day of my job includes managing all aspects of our design projects: scheduling, resourcing, project tracking, file management — all that fun stuff, but that’s just skimming the surface.
I started my career in photo and video production, so I’m very comfortable in a creative environment. I’m so lucky to help support an amazing team of designers who not only create incredible work for our clients but educate me about the design process along the way. Amber Gray, our design operations manager, encourages our team to explore the many avenues of being a design project manager, to find out our strengths and how we can improve our craft.
When I first joined the studioID Design team, I was very vocal about not wanting to work in video production anymore and was excited to learn the ins and outs of my new role. It’s really funny how life works sometimes; I’ve been dipping my toes back into producing, and it feels really good! The collaboration across the studioID design team is unlike anything I’ve experienced.
What are some of the differences between your current role and the one you previously had in video production?
This is a tough one for me to answer, especially since I’ve been helping manage video projects lately!
My role as a project manager is more process-oriented than in my previous roles as a producer. Managing resources and tracking progress is a huge part of my day-to-day. I love working in a creative environment, so as a design project manager I’m able to think a bit more outside the box and weigh in on design decisions.
Video production is a bigger puzzle and, as the producer, you have to know every single piece and where it fits. Producers wear many different hats, so flexibility is important. One day I could be on a casting call or scouting a location, and the next day I’m on set pulling wardrobe, styling props, and directing an interview. You never know what each day will bring!
My experience in post-production has been extremely helpful in my current role as a design project manager. Post-production is where the magic happens. It’s where the stories take shape and come to life! When it comes to graphic design and video editing, the two are almost interconnected. Graphic design is all about communicating ideas through static imagery, colors, lines, textures, and shapes. Video editing focuses more on creating stories through moving images, visuals, and sound. The visual assets a video editor uses are often made by a visual artist, illustrator, or graphic designer.
What have you learned working with freelance designers in a remote setting?
Communication is everything!
I’ve learned to become more introspective and reflect on my own working style. Keeping myself organized is so important — I’m a huge note-taker and to-do list-maker. I write everything down in a notebook; this helps me retain it all. I’m in constant communication with myself through my notebook. The same goes for how I communicate with others — especially when it comes to our freelance designers.
I’m an empathetic communicator but also very clear. My goal is to make sure people are aligned at all times and know what is expected of them.
What are some ways you feel like you’ve grown as a project manager since you started at Industry Dive?
It’s funny you ask this because I recently had one of those ah-ha moments realizing how much I’ve grown over the last year. A lot of the growth came from resources I’ve been given at Industry Dive. I am so much more confident in myself and how I contribute to the team.
Not having any graphic design or “real” project management experience before this was nerve-wracking, and it had me second-guessing myself. When I first started at Industry Dive, Gray provided me with the tools to succeed in my craft. During our one-on-ones, I expressed my desire to understand design work from the perspective of our designers. Partnering with Kendall Davis, our art director, Gray created a custom course to help me better understand the fundamentals of visual design. She also challenged me to learn and review our processes and think of ways in which we could improve them.
Within this last year at Industry Dive, I’ve taken on more responsibility, managing a wider variety of projects. My overall knowledge of visual design has grown, something I couldn’t have accomplished without the support of my manager and team. It’s much easier for me now to navigate tricky projects and bumps in the road. There’s still so much to learn & improve upon — I’m so excited to see what comes next!
