Meg Vazquez-Pastrana, Head of Inventive for Shutterstock, speaks about development a thriving inventive staff and why not anything’s extra necessary than discovering your folks.

Three hundred and sixty five days into her position as Head of Inventive for Shutterstock, Meg Vazquez-Pastrana manages a hectic staff of 14 folks—video editors, designers, writers, challenge managers, and extra—as they serve the day-to-day and long-term inventive wishes of stakeholders around the corporate.

“My activity as Head of Inventive is basically an air site visitors controller who loves design,” Vazquez-Pastrana jokes, however her light-hearted remark is primarily based in an plain fact— her activity calls for top ranges of collaboration, coordination, and creativity to verify her staff’s efforts take off and land effectively.

Born and raised in Chicago, Vazquez-Pastrana studied Graphic Design and Representation on the Maryland Institute Faculty of Artwork (MICA) in Baltimore. Recent out of school, she discovered herself in Washington DC, operating complete time on design for the Democratic Nationwide Committee, whilst doing gig posters at the facet for traveling bands like Bloc Celebration and Sleigh Bells.

After yet one more politics-related design activity with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential marketing campaign in New York, Vazquez-Pastrana moved over to GQ mag as their Virtual Artwork Director ahead of taking at the position of Inventive Director at Splice.

We spoke with Vazquez-Pastrana to be informed how she guarantees her individuals are shifting, all in combination, towards better issues, how she ended up at Shutterstock, and what it takes to construct a thriving inventive staff.

Photographs through Meg Vasquez-Pastrana.

Shutterstock: What made you wish to have to sign up for the Shutterstock staff?

Meg Vazquez-Pastrana: As an artistic, I’ve at all times beloved the speculation of operating for manufacturers that champion creators and the inventive procedure. That, coupled with Shutterstock retaining a spot close to and costly to my middle, made me need to sign up for the staff.

SSTK: Some folks won’t have a excellent snatch of “Head of Inventive.” Are you able to sum up for us what you do? What does your activity name duvet?

Vazquez-Pastrana: My activity as Head of Inventive is basically an air site visitors controller who loves design—I’m kidding! However in point of fact, numerous my activity is assembly with stakeholders all over the corporate to grasp what their wishes and objectives are, how our logo foundations are both supporting them or missing, after which taking that data again to my staff and serving to prioritize what we’re operating on, after we’re operating on it, and what we may want to push ahead.

On the staff stage, I’m operating extremely shut with my management staff, overseeing inventive operations, design, video, and copywriting to audit our paintings and suppose strategically about how we wish to strengthen.

SSTK: There are 14 folks in your staff operating in several inventive arenas. How do you steadiness that and take care of seamless collaboration?

Vazquez-Pastrana: Collaboration is extremely necessary, particularly for a staff this dimension. Ultimate 12 months, we began to introduce one thing we name “agile operating teams.” That sounds very fancy however, in point of fact, it’s only a method for us to construction collaborative teams so we will be able to keep watch over every particular person’s bandwidth and provides everybody area to be inventive with out being too beaten with workload.

Each challenge may now not require heavy paintings from every of the ones staff individuals, but it surely creates a super rhythm for constant collaboration, conversation, and provides everybody a possibility to guide and feature their voice heard.

SSTK: So, how do you take care of a way of existence and creativity for your staff? How do you stay issues contemporary and thriving?

Vazquez-Pastrana: I beg the staff to appear outdoor of our logo, business, or even design for inspiration. One of the crucial designers on my staff created a separate staff room in Slack for inventive inspiration the place she’ll steadily drop in activates that get the staff considering outdoor of the field.

We additionally to find time to do the occasional Arranged A laugh™ match outdoor of labor. Certainly one of my favourite occasions was once a hacker-themed get away room that was once nice for staff development.

SSTK: What’s the largest problem going through you/your staff nowadays, and the way do you propose to triumph over it?

Vazquez-Pastrana: The business is at all times converting and has been converting hastily over the past 12 months or so. That signifies that my staff has so much to investigate and procedure—because it pertains to their workflow—as we attempt to stay tempo with the arena at massive.

SSTK: What’s an important lesson you’ve realized alongside the way in which?

Vazquez-Pastrana: An important lesson I’ve realized alongside the way in which is to LISTEN and to invite questions! I call to mind my position as an artistic lead as nearly being an investigator. That holds true whether or not it’s operating with stakeholders internally or being attentive to your target market.

It’s one thing I at all times ask my staff to do—put your self in anyone else’s sneakers: How may this resonate with them? What are they searching for? What are the ones deeper questions we will be able to ask that can make our finish consequence extra tough?

Footage through Meg Vasquez-Pastrana.

SSTK: If I’m a brand new entrepreneur, and I’m about to construct an artistic staff, what recommendation do you’ve gotten for me relating to hiring and vetting folks? How do I do know I’m selecting the proper folks?

Vazquez-Pastrana: My rule of thumb when hiring is to invite myself, “Do I believe I’ll revel in operating with this particular person?” Clearly, I’m doing portfolio evaluations and taking a look at resumes, however I do suppose it in the end comes all the way down to chemistry.

Will this particular person be the spouse I wish to flip to with an concept and obtain a “sure, and” from? Do I believe this particular person will convey a distinct standpoint to the paintings? What existence stories introduced them right here?

I believe variety in all senses is so necessary when development a staff—if everybody has the similar background, the paintings simply gained’t hit its imaginable attainable. It’s going to be uninteresting!

One thing more I really like about hiring is studying if the candidate or staff member has different leisure pursuits, talents, or pursuits outdoor the activity description. The ones moments had been one of the crucial maximum rewarding for inventive output.

A clothier with secret representation talents? A author who loves movie pictures? You by no means know what the ones pursuits will convey to the desk creatively.

SSTK: What defines a excellent staff participant for you?

Vazquez-Pastrana: I really like drawback solvers—if one thing is hard or irritating, are we able to paintings thru it in combination? As you’ll be expecting, issues don’t at all times move easily. Occasionally, it may be irritating.

I glance to my staff to take a deep breath and begin to take into accounts imaginable answers or techniques ahead.

Shutterstock Emblem Studio fixing issues . . . creatively. Meg Vasquez-Pastrana featured some distance proper, gesturing ahead.

SSTK: What are some necessary issues that folks within the inventive division steadily pass over?

Vazquez-Pastrana: One thing certainly one of my outdated managers (and mentor!) used to mention to our staff on the time was once that the inventive staff must be “amusing and simple to paintings with,” and that has in point of fact caught with me.

I don’t take that to imply that the staff at all times has to mention sure to objects outright. Somebody who has labored on an artistic staff is aware of that the workload will also be very tough.

BUT, I do suppose that through making our stakeholders our collaborative companions—development a real courting with them—in the end makes the whole lot so, so, so, such a lot higher. It provides the inventive staff a louder voice on the desk, it builds consider, and it makes area for the paintings to be FUN.

SSTK: All over your time with Shutterstock, which challenge are you maximum happy with, to this point?

Vazquez-Pastrana: Our logo marketing campaign: “If it’s for your head, it’s on Shutterstock.” We produced the advert internally, and I’m simply so happy with the paintings this staff can do.

SSTK: Out of your point of view, what makes inventory imagery, pictures, and tune so necessary?

Vazquez-Pastrana: An artistic ALWAYS wishes their toolkit. Personally, what we provide are avenues to decrease that barrier to access, to bridge the distance between concept and execution.

I take into accounts my very own inventive procedure, and what I’m ready to do is exponentially higher with inventory imagery, pictures, and tune than it could be with out it.

SSTK: What’s your favourite factor about operating within the inventive asset area and for Shutterstock, on the whole?

Vazquez-Pastrana: Growing is FUN. There may be such a lot pleasure in brainstorming and developing—the trial and mistake that comes together with seeking to convey an concept to existence. I think in point of fact thankful (and excited!) to be proper in the course of all of it.

License this cap symbol background by way of MURRIRA. Representation of Meg Vasquez-Pastrana through Nicole Schenck.

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