Pros
My fellow designers were awesome and supportive. We collaborated well and helped each-other out when we had the time. Additionally some of the projects on the surface level are cool opportunities and good for your portfolio (branding, packaging, video, photoshoots etc.) working with big brands and local companies, so good variety.
Kontras
The grind mentality is a live and well. "Design fast" is one of their core values, which any designer should recognize as a red flag. This means there was very little time dedicated to the creative process but what they expected in the few hours they gave you was tremendous. Think full blown campaign storyboards, merchandise lines and advertising campaigns briefed in the morning and expected by the end of the day. Each designer was burnt out and many quit within the short time I worked there. The culture was also pretty terrible. We liked to gather in the mornings for 30 minutes and drink coffee and talk before settling into work and were pressed by management to stop those gatherings and start working earlier (this was before 9am). We were questioned by higher ups when we were seen taking lunch together and asked what we had been talking about. And when we asked for raises or stated we could not work on the weekends we were told that it was a generational difference, humiliated and dismissed. Lastly, during Covid they were quick to have everyone return to the office starting in the summer of 2020. Most of my peers felt unsafe but felt pressured to return. This was when Vermont guidelines still advised those who could work from home to do so. I wanted to safely visit my family for the holidays and was told that it would get in the way of work (since I needed to stay home and quarantine). Few of us held out and had to repeatedly vouch for our own health and safety which was exhausting.