At the risk of sounding cheesy, as soon as I took one step into the office for the first time, I could literally feel an energy, a buzz about the place and the people within that felt like home and the kind of place I wanted to be. It's exciting to be a part of a smaller company with big ambitions. And with big ambitions the people need to be top notch...and they are. Smart, enthusiastic about what they do, and some are seriously witty as hell.
The endless supply of tootsie rolls! (Kidding!)
When I first started working here, the biggest cultural surprise to me was how healthy everyone eats here. Maybe the WholeFoods two blocks away has a huge influence on that but I'm certainly not complaining. There's also good amount of people that bike to work and it won't take you long to find a running buddy or soccer teammate.
On more of a work note: I think the most surprising thing has been the sheer amount of things we can do and accomplish. Small teams make for more nimble projects and more responsiveness for clients. You will never be bored here (in a good way).
The most interesting thing on my desk is probably my ol'skool metal Slinky that visitors to my desk are encouraged to play with when they stop by. Although the random array of fruit at my desk is a close runner up. Right now I happen to have an apple, a blood orange, and a banana arranged to create a smiley face. I almost don't want to eat any of it…almost.
I sit in a row of desks surrounded by my fellow Designers and Strategy peeps. Have a question for someone? Just ask, they're right there. Collaboration with everyone here is so easy. And when I have a technical question all I have to do is swivel my chair around and someone will either have an answer or know where to look. Every now and then I even get to "consult" one of our many adorable office dogs, to which they often respond with licks in the face.
In the summer, when I'm not at work, you will likely find me playing volleyball at North Avenue beach with one of my co-workers. There is a great sense of work-life balance here and I can't speak enough about how nice it is to actually work with people you not only like, but make plans to do things with outside of the office too.
I try to tell my parents that I help clients look at their business problems in a different light so that we can work with them to create the appropriate online solutions tailored to what they need. We basically guide clients through the process of defining their goals, creating a strategy that will get them to those goals online, execute on that strategy through Design and Technology, plan for the future, and make sure course-correct along the way.
What day is it?
There really is no typical day and that's what I like. I get to work on a variety projects and since I am on both the Strategy and Design teams I get to switch between disciplines as well. I get bored easy, so the variety is right up my alley.
You can email me: christine.mortensen@vodori.com