Megan Bailey currently works at Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group as the Design Specialist. In this role, she directs CG’s visual brand as well as manages CG’s social media presence. In addition to her fierce passion for design and social, Megan is an avid Netflix binge-watcher, proud Davidson College alum, huge basketball fan, and amateur foodie. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn and Twitter.
What attracted you to the design profession? Did you have particular mentors or experiences that opened the door to the profession for you?
Designers are first and foremost, storytellers. I began designing in high school when I was on the yearbook staff. Cliché I know, but it hooked me. To be able to draw the audience in and tell a compelling story was what attracted me to design and turned into a fascination with brand development and management. My experience with design has evolved as well, and what’s kept my interest, in addition to brand building, is the integration of user experience design. Design should be a seamless and intuitive experience, not jarring or detracting in any way, and that challenge is a fun one to tackle.
What’s your proudest accomplishment?
Creating a new visual brand identity for CG. It was a very fun, challenging, and empowering experience to be able to drive a brand visually, not just replicate what had already been laid out for me as a designer. Being relatively young in age and experience, it was an immense undertaking for me and I take great pride in what I’ve accomplished.
What’s your favorite font?
Champagne & Limousines. It’s clean yet funky. I don’t use it for work but I try to throw it in other designs.
What is your favorite word?
Facetious.
Where do you see yourself as a designer in five years? In ten years? In other words, what issues do you envision will be important to you as a designer at those benchmarks in your career?
I’d like to get my MBA, broaden my horizons beyond design, yet keep design at the core of what I do. I manage our company’s social media presence, in addition to my role as our lead designer, and being able to have a wider purview into the company’s marketing presence and strategy has made me think about the broader impact that I could have. I think design is incredibly important to any organization and I’d like to see the impact of design on organizations in general move up the food chain into a C-level role. Design should always have a seat at the table.
Each month, AIGA Charlotte strives to highlight one of its members. If you have any ideas for our next spotlight, please contact Mark Iafrate at miafrate@charlotte.aiga.org.
