We are very happy to welcome Melina to our GNGF team. We took some time to interview her and learn more about her (she hails from Germany!) and her perspective on design, especially design for law firms. Check her out!
What are some must know things about you?
I was born and raised in Germany; even after 10 years, I still feel like this should be the first thing I tell people. Three words that describe me in a nutshell are fitness, food, and Virgo. I have a passion for lifting heavy things while thinking about what to cook next. I am THE definition of a Virgo as I live off of organization, precision, and planning things. I’ve found these traits to be very helpful, especially in my design career.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned so far working with GNGF?
Strive for more. Every time someone asks me this, I can only repeat that I have never learned as much professionally anywhere else than I have at GNGF. It now comes naturally to me that I always want to enhance my abilities, especially if it means doing so outside of the office. I find my inspiration in my teammates as they blow me away with their knowledge and expertise all the time.
What is your favorite part about designing for law firms?
It’s unique, for sure. What I like most about it is that I get to give our clients an insight on design as a whole and teach them about the process. On the other hand, I enjoy receiving the same back by learning about the legal market. Now, merging the two together, I have the opportunity to create designs that speak both languages.
What do you predict will be the “next big thing” in design for the legal market?
I recently attended a networking event that really got me thinking. We have reached a time where the worlds of Millennials and Baby Boomers come to extreme attention; what the similarities are and where the two clash. It is of no surprise that technology falls in the bucket of differences. With technology, in this case, comes design and the legal market is the perfect example. We have evolved to think mobile first for a few years now, but because law firms’ clients can range between any age group really, a great deal of them are Baby Boomers who have a low percentage of even owning a smartphone. Millennials, however, are clearly on the opposite side and always have their smartphone on deck; gathering information from the web and apps. My concern is the neglect we cause on Baby Boomers by having an “up-to-date with the newest technology” kind of mindset first and foremost. This leads to my prediction that a big research project will approach to test the above stated UX thoughts and implement accordingly. Will we start creating a website for our legal market clients that helps their business to focus on both desktop first with the look of a dashboard for Baby Boomers and an “up-to-date with the newest technology” mobile first vision for Millennials? Is this even a big deal? I believe it’s important because people are talking about it and raising concerns just like me.
Where do you get inspiration?
I envy creative minds and their work, whether I find them on social media pages such as Instagram or random blogs. I always try and stay up-to-date with design approaches; what’s “hot” right now, and, most importantly, what works. I will forever love clean designs with sans serif fonts and bold colors. I see a lot of websites now that have those characteristics, so sometimes it takes longer than expected to really get inspired and go in a different direction. But when I do, it could be one design element, one layout, or one typeface that tells me where I want to go with my next project.
What’s your biggest design pet peeve?
Oh man, my biggest pet peeve is when designers don’t pay attention to detail when that is one of the key traits of our tribe. The smallest detail means everything. Since my world revolves mainly around web design, I look for intense pixel pushing and definitely want to see others practicing what they preach, as well.
Leave a Reply