I always believe that VCD UMN Interaction Design Concentration is the right place to build hard skills and soft skills. I was prepared to be a designer with proper design skills and knowledge of design thinking and human-centered design, and I was also made aware of the future of media which led me to my career at Game4Change. The project assignments also gave me the opportunity to develop soft skills such as the ability to empathize with users, teamwork, communication, negotiation, as well as project and time management.

Hello, my name is Derrick. I studied at VCD UMN Interaction Design Concentration in 2014. Now I work as a UI designer at DANA. General qualifications for this career include Prototyping, Typography, Iconography, and User Flow. One of the skills that really help me at work is Creative/Critical Design Thinking that I got from studying at VCD UMN. The courses in Interaction Design also thought me a lot about new media and the future of information which led me to be able to create designs that can be useful for the future. Soft skills such as Critical Thinking can be the differentiating factor. Soft skills and hard skills are equally important in the workplace. Some of the soft skills that I implement in my work I developed during my study at UMN, including time management, teamwork, and decision making.

Studying at UMN VCD UMN (VBD Concentration) was the best decision that I will never ever regret. VBD taught me all, from the basics until to the most difficult knowledge, especially about branding. In here, I learned that the creative process is the key, from finding the uniqueness of the product to addressing them in visual designs. I’m now responsible for handling digital ads and paid marketing designs in the company that I’m working with (Ruangguru – PT Ruang Raya Indonesia). I discuss with C-Level and other marketing divisions every once a week about how to make our branding and products more attractive and more selling, and I always share my problem-solving ideas from the design perspectives, from the knowledge I got from VCD UMN. I also learned about leadership, responsibility, and teamwork collaboration. I’ve learned that communication and handling emotions while working in a team is important. And all of this hard-skill and soft-skill had combined and guided me to get three achievements from my company, The Best Intern of The Month for 2 months straight back in August-September 2019, and got Chief of The Month in Marketing Division in December 2020.

Hello, my name is Vania Hefira. I studied in DKV UMN Visual Branding Design concentration batch 2016 and graduated in 2020. Now I’m a Project Manager for several iOS-based apps on Appstore. During my 3.5 years of studying at UMN, I learned visual branding and design thinking concepts from great lecturers. Those skills boost me during my internship as a Product Designer at Kompas.id under Kompas Gramedia Group and during my time as a UI/UX Designer at Apple Developer Academy. Equipped with the knowledge and skills, I can create designs that provide solutions to problems in society. Aside from studying, I was also able to enhance my collaborative and leadership skills by participating in organizations and committees, for example when I became the Head of Seminar of Ultigraph 2019 to coordinate seminars and workshops with foreign speakers and audiences. These skills are indeed essential for me in the working field. Thank you UMN!

Hello! I’m an alumnus of VCD UMN from Interaction Design concentration, and now I’m working as a UX Researcher at DANA. As a UX Researcher, my job is to observe what our user needs, pain-point, current problem, as well as building new products to make sure all of the DANA users are satisfied. Everything that I do now, rely heavily on what I’ve learned from studying as an Interaction Design concentration student. I’ve learned a lot of different knowledge related to Human-Computer Interaction which helped me in my work current place. UX Researcher is very well connected with collaboration and teamwork, as well as the ability to brainstorm and evolve ideas. And I’m so grateful that I’ve got the chance to learn all of these soft-skills when studying at VCD UMN by joining community, organization, activity, and courses that require public speaking, collaboration, teamwork, etc. Thank you!

From aspiration to creation. As a Graphic Designer at Leo Burnett Indonesia, I am required to do ideation, directing, and visual execution to create advertisements and campaigns that give positive impacts on society.
I developed these skills during my study in the Visual Communication Design program at UMN especially in Visual Brand Design concentration. All the learning processes, the faculties, and the organizational life at UMN prepared me to enter the branding & advertising industry in Indonesia. Beyond just teaching academics, VCD UMN taught me leadership skills and the determination to always perform my best. Seeds planted in good soil will bring forth good yields. And that soil is VCD UMN.

I’m an alumnus from DKV UMN Interaction Design Concentration and now I’m working for Gojek Indonesia. Here in Gojek Indonesia as senior product design we are encouraged to use technology to improve the lives of users by providing the user’s point of view to internal discussions and collaborate with the rest of the product team to ensure that users will end up with the best products at hand. Every day we try to navigate through complex problems with a combination of well-defined flow, wireframes, information architecture, user journeys, and storyboards. By studying Human-Computer Interaction beforehand in University it helps equipped me for these impactful tasks. I’m also very grateful also to develop such a wide variety of softs skills during my time leading the Art & Design Student association such as excellent organizational skills, project management, collaborative teamwork with a wide range of people from various backgrounds which proves to be pivotal in the workplace.