Tops in Tech Design
Vivian Wang
As a product designer at Facebook Vivian Wang (A'11) reaches millions of people through her work.
Her aim: improving user experience.
That's one of the reasons why Wang was listed along with five other Carnegie Mellon University alumni to Business Insider's 2013 list of 75 best designers of technology.
"I really believe in our product and in making the world more connected," Wang said.
Having gotten a taste of what "driving the product" means as an intern at the influential design firm frog, Wang jumped at the opportunity to join more than 80 other Carnegie Mellon alumni working at Facebook.
"Design is involved from the very beginning of every project. I was a part of the team that worked on the latest redesign of News Feed. We wanted to address the feedback we're getting from people by presenting bigger and more beautiful stories, and unifying our web and mobile apps." Wang said.
Wang said she feels strongly that the kind of impact and influence she is able to have through her work at Facebook has everything to do with to her CMU education.
"CMU's School of Design is one of the top design schools in the United States, and what's great about a CMU education is that they teach you more than tools. They teach you the thinking and problem-solving approaches that you can apply to any field," Wang said.
Something else that added to Wang's repertoire was the ability to shape her own college experience.
"I had lots of opportunities in areas outside of design at CMU. I was able to take some entry-level programming and photography classes. I'm also really interested in history and languages, so I took classes in the humanities department," she said.
Wang said she owes a debt of gratitude to CMU's communication design professors.
"They teach you to become your own person, ask the right questions and be confident in your work," Wang said. "It really is great to have such inspiring people guiding you through your first couple years in the design industry."
In addition to Wang, Business Insider listed the following alumni as top tech designers:
- Justin Edmund (A'11), a product designer at Pinterest;
- Sabrina Majeed (A'10), lead designer at Venmo;
- Julius Tarng (A'11), a designer at Branch;
- David Yen (A'11), a product designer at Lore, and
- Albert Yih (A'11), a motion and visual designer at Wieden + Kennedy.
Related Links: College of Fine Arts | School of Design | VivianWang.com | frog | Hopes Pinned on Success | By Design | Carnegie Mellon Today