Becky Ingram’s Post

In a long and successful career, promotions will come many times. But there are some that truly stand out—those milestones that feel bigger and carry more weight. A mentor once told me that becoming a Creative Director is the most significant promotion in a creative's career. At the time, I didn’t quite understand it. As a younger designer, I thought reaching Senior Designer would be the pinnacle of success. How perspectives change... This year, we had our first big promotion—and one of my favorite parts of this job is celebrating moments like this. I am incredibly proud to announce the promotion of Summer Woodward to Creative Director. It has been an honor to watch Summer grow since she joined us as a Senior Designer in 2019. Her evolution into a leader has been nothing short of inspiring. At Meaningful Works, becoming a Creative Director holds even more significance. It means we trust you to take full ownership of projects, lead clients independently, and deliver truly exceptional, creative results. It means we believe in your ability to engage with Fortune 500 CMOs—and even CEOs—with confidence and expertise. Most importantly, it means you live and breathe the work, caring deeply about its quality and impact. Please join me in congratulating Summer on this well-deserved promotion, and wishing her continued success in this exciting next chapter. Jim Porterfield, Yan Budman, Summer Woodward, Meaningful Works, Dana Tiel, Madalyn Lee, Michael Mirchandani, Taylor Smith #promotion, #growth, #branding, #creativity, #advertising

🎉 Celebrating big wins: from job search to Disney magic! ✨ Congratulations to our incredible alumna Corey Nascenzi has landed her dream role as Senior Product Manager at The Walt Disney Company! The PM job market has been brutal. But Corey's journey shows something powerful: sometimes you need to pause, rethink our approach, and change the "how" instead of just working harder. In Corey's words, "Loving every minute of it! A heartfelt thank you to Bosky Mukherjee and this incredible community at PMDojo - you've truly been game-changers in my journey." To every PM feeling stuck in their search: The market is tough, but you're tougher. At PMDojo, we’re here to help high achievers especially women build the skills and mindset needed to rise—faster and stronger. If you need support in your journey, know we’ve got your back. #productmanagement #careergrowth #productleadership #careergrowthtips #levelup #jobsearch

Walt Disney knew that to truly understand and innovate, you had to experience things firsthand. He stood in line with his guests, walking a mile in their shoes to address their biggest frustration—long waits (sometimes up to 3 hours). At Arizona State University, where we've been named the #1 university in innovation for 10 years straight, we take the same approach when it comes to designing our student experience. At EdPlus at Arizona State University, we're more than just innovators using emerging technologies to advance digital teaching and learning; we’re a matrix organization working across disciplines to elevate the human experience. As a user experience leader, I know that the most meaningful impact often comes from focusing on the seemingly small moments—those everyday experiences that shape a student’s journey. Just like Walt Disney balanced his focus on the big rides and the long lines, we at ASU look at both the core milestones and those moments in-between. By understanding what students need most, and when, we can find incremental improvements that make their journey smoother, more personalized, and ultimately more impactful. Sometimes, the greatest innovations aren't about what's new, but how we can enhance what’s already there, creating a seamless and transformative experience for our current students. That's how we expand human potential and ensure every student has the tools to thrive. Learn more about the evolution of the The Walt Disney Company queue, and how both improving the current customer experience and innovation together are more powerful than they are independently - https://lnkd.in/g4RPJuCG. #Innovation #StudentExperience #HumanCenteredDesign #EdTech #Leadership

How This Internship Will Help Me Achieve My Goals My name is Okafor mary chimaobi, a passionate product designer eager to grow and excel in the design industry. In this blog post, I’ll outline how the HNG Internship will help me achieve my professional and personal goals over the next two years. You can learn more about the HNG Internship here. Professional Goals: Learn Advanced Figma Techniques: By participating in the HNG Internship, I’ll have access to advanced learning resources and mentorship from experienced designers. This will enable me to enhance my Figma skills and stay updated with the latest design trends and techniques. Work on over 10+ Major Projects: The internship offers the chance to work on diverse and significant design projects. This hands-on experience will allow me to apply my skills in real-world scenarios, building a robust portfolio of work. Achieve a Senior Designer Position: Through the experience and industry connections gained during the internship, I aim to position myself as a strong candidate for senior design roles, either within the company or in future opportunities. Personal Goals Improve Work-Life Balance: The HNG Internship promotes a flexible work environment, encouraging interns to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This support will help me implement effective routines to balance my professional and personal life. Learn a New Hobby: With the emphasis on personal development, the internship will encourage me to pursue new hobbies outside of work. I plan to dedicate time to learning the guitar, which will enrich my personal life and creativity. Milestones: Year 1: Complete 5 major projects: The internship will provide the platform to work on and complete significant design projects, setting a strong foundation for my career. Earn a professional certification: With the resources and support from the internship, I aim to gain certification in a specialized design area, enhancing my credentials. Year 2: Secure a senior designer role: The experience and skills gained during the internship will position me to achieve a senior designer role. Successfully balance work and personal life: By implementing effective work-life balance routines, I aim to maintain harmony between my professional and personal activities. The HNG Internship is a critical stepping stone towards achieving my 2-year objectives. I am confident that the skills, experience, and support gained during this internship will propel me towards success in my career and personal life. https://lnkd.in/d65W2qzp @https://lnkd.in/dQSHJrzQ @https://hng.tech

Exciting news for all Disney enthusiasts! The newly redesigned Disney Careers site is now live! As someone who first applied for the Disney College Program back in 2012, I can attest to the excitement of applying through their career page. Take a peek through the link below and who knows, you may even be greeted by a special character! ✨ #DisneyCareers #LifeAtDisney

Achieving My Dream Job at Walt Disney Company Discover how I turned my lifelong dream into reality by landing a job at the Walt Disney Company. Join me as I share my journey through the interview process and the joy of finally getting hired. #DreamJob #WaltDisneyCompany #CareerSuccess #JobInterviewTips #DisneyJobOpportunity #JobSearch #ProfessionalAchievement #CareerMilestone #DisneyFan #JobHunting

The majority of the experiences we remember in life are the really good ones and/or the really bad ones, rarely any in between. We tend to skip over or have minimal memory of the average ones. The ones that were just, "eh". Most of your competition are providing these "eh" experiences at best. The ones that are not memorable. This is why providing amazing client experiences can be a major differentiator, putting you in a category of one, and act as a lever for significant growth.

A not-so-magical quarter in the kingdom for our friends over at The Walt Disney Company. Earnings for the parks segment were uncharacteristically down as this growth engine is seeing signs of slowing down. While revenues for the segment were up +2%, we saw an operating income (profit measure) dip of -2% (that is the wrong way as you know). Let’s see what was going on: 🛑 A “moderation of consumer demand” was the reason to blame for the decrease in earnings, at least at the domestic operations. Revenues state-side were only up 3%, not bad but not enough when we talk costs. Attendance was flat compared to the prior quarter and the average guest spent only went up by +1%. International operations were a little better with revenues pushing +5% due to a +4% growth in attendance (still some COVID lags to make up for) offset by guests spending less by about -1%. It’s important to point out that when looking at a different lens, theme park admissions across the company were only up +2% whereas the cruise line was able to drive a +5% increase in revenues (Cruise is still hot - let me know if you want to go in on a ship!). 🚧 Cost side is where they felt the squeeze. Overall, expenses were up +4% (you’ll note that is more than the +2% in revenues - whoops) with labor pushing up a whopping +11% primarily due to inflation. Tech spending did not help either pushing +9% in infrastructure costs. Admin costs were up about +5% due to higher marketing spend. So, a slight up in revenues with a much higher up in costs led to a profit decrease of about -$75M or -3%, 🎯 Looking forward I (and the company) think it will be a struggle for a few more quarters. The ongoing dips in demand will continue as we see a slowdown in the theme park industry. I would not be surprised if we saw a more aggressive discounting strategy in the short term to drive volumes - we’ll keep an eye on per caps. Other fun facts I picked up from the call: >The Olympics are hurting demand at Disneyland Paris, not helping (surprised by that) >The #1 most guest-satisfying thing at Animal Kingdom is Avatar land (I would have bet the safari) >And StarWars Land ranks #1 in guest satisfaction at Disneyland (I happen to be a Cars Land guy myself) ### 🎢 Want to learn more about the business of theme parks? Give me a follow Tay Mauro #Disney #themeparks #earnings

Love seeing the process and growth that people experience inside Career Strategy Lab 🎉 Advancing your career is so much more than just external stuff like redoing a resume or portfolio, reaching out to people on LinkedIn etc. Sidenote, SO much growth comes from within and that's when we see things really shift for people – they start getting more interviews, moving further along in the interview process, and finally get offers for roles they actually want! PS: Have questions about Career Strategy Lab (the UX career coaching program I run that's *not* a boot camp) ... then check out the post below or send me a DM here on LinkedIn.)

Cheryl Overton is 💯 right. Big shoutout to Disney for being bold and not buckling to backlash or following in the footsteps of corporate withdrawals from equity initiatives. Organizations that are in it for driving better business results will have impact and are in it for the long haul. Organizations that understand DEI is not a fad or a phase or a trend are committed to creating and sustaining fair and equitable workplaces. Leaders and companies that understand this are making the right decisions and will reap the benefits of an inclusive organization that delivers authentically for all audiences. Organizations that are withdrawing from DEI do so at their peril potentially risking hits to their brand reputation and customer loyalty. Because bottom line - DEI equalizes the playing field and raises the bar for everyone. Disney gets it.