Alumni Stories – June Kang

I am June Kang, a Design Strategist at APCO Worldwide. I partner with multidisciplinary teams globally to help the creative community at APCO and client teams by leading projects through all phases of the design thinking process, including the development of strategy direction, conceptual design exploration, critiquing and refining final execution and ensuring that design integrity is maintained through execution phases.

 

What issues are you interested in working on?

I have been interested in how to integrate design thinking into a creative consultancy’s value proposition. I have been working on how to tie it to the consultancy experience by leveraging strategic designers and nurturing an environment where we can design a solution and stories that truly inspire, influence, and engage audiences to act, specifically in CSR area.

 

What inspires you most and keeps you creative?

New creative business ideas, campaigns and smart designs keep me creative and propel me to be creatively-open and strategically driven.

 

Who would you love to be your mentor?

I would love to be mentored by Nora Yoo and Eric Ho from my studio 2 class. Their constructive feedback has truly changed the way I see the entrepreneurship and design thinking in the field. Having two different perspectives provides such a dynamic learning experience.

 

How has the MS-SDM program challenged you to grow as a strategic designer?

The program really broadened my paradigm by making me question the conventional wisdom which has made me grow as a strategic designer.

 

What book are you reading right now?

I am reading Adam Grant’s new inspiring book, “Originals: How Non-Conformers Move the World“.

 

What was the best advice you ever received?

Rules and systems were created by people not by nature. Always question the default and explore whether a better option exists.