Made by Design | Zara Francis-Roban on the Importance of Graphic Design

You’d be hard-pressed to adequately summarize Zara Francis-Roban’s contributions to Atsign. As the company’s resident graphic design intern, her work entails more than mere photo editing and video-cropping. Zara’s ability to render ideas into something visually digestible makes her a valuable asset to each department.

But while Zara’s eye for design is applicable to many diverse spheres, her inherent love of innovation is what drew her to the world of tech. As she explains it, “Everyone in the industry has these ideas that seem impossible. And once that idea ends up working, they need an image to create the brand for it and really bring it to life. That’s so important. And it goes to show that graphic design really has a place here [in tech].”

As the only graphic design intern, Zara’s work for Atsign was essential and irreplaceable. However, being a one-woman team came with its own obstacles.

“I think my biggest challenge throughout the intern program was not knowing how my projects would be perceived. I just had to go with it and hope that I brought an idea to life well,” she shares. Despite her fears, she emerged from the internship with a fully animated video (which you can watch here).

Now that the internship has ended, she says, “I think it’s made me realize that I have something to bring to the table. I can be a tool to other people who need that kind of artistic assistance, while also exercising my own creativity and ideas.”

Zara’s newfound confidence was supported by Atsign’s team-based mentality. “I think everyone here acknowledges the importance of diversity, and how valuable it is to have a lot of different people working on one project. And I think that this is something that Atsign really utilizes in a way that sets us apart from other companies,” she says.

In terms of what is next for Zara, she hopes to continue helping companies identify and build their brands. When asked where she sees herself in the long run, she says she’d like to see herself as a creative director or a similar position. Her experience at Atsign has been an invaluable step towards fulfilling these dreams.

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Originally hailing from Bermuda, Zara majors in Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. To learn more about Zara and her experiences, check out her LinkedIn here.