Q&A: New Interaction Design Faculty Member Iris Sprague!
Iris Sprague is joining MFA Products of Design this year to teach our first-year course, Interaction Design Essentials. Iris, currently a senior product designer at Google, is also an award-winning visual designer and a lettering aficionado, holding both a BFA and MFA in Graphic Design. We sat down with Iris to learn a bit more about her own design evolution and ask her advice for the next generation of product designers.
You began your career as a graphic design intern, and you’re now a Senior Product Designer at Google. Could you share a little on the path that brought you to where you are today, and any key moments of learning or growth?
I kicked off my career as a graphic design intern at Marvel while still in college, which was a unique learning experience. It was an exciting time—I even got to meet some celebrities cough cough Thor! However, I quickly grew tired of working on graphics. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to design than just creating graphics for lunch boxes. I wanted to dive deeper, to explore the creative process in a more meaningful way.
During my senior year of college, I had a pivotal moment when I was introduced to the work of Stefan Sagmeister. His approach to design, especially his work with typography and lettering, completely captivated me. It was like discovering a whole new world within the design universe—one where every letter and space told a story. I knew right then that this was the path I wanted to follow, but with graduation looming, I felt like I was just scratching the surface
Iris’s GDMFA thesis project: Rope, a conceptual type foundry.
After earning my undergraduate degree, I took the leap to further my education and specialize in typography. This led me to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2013, where I enrolled in a graduate program. MICA was a game-changer for me. I quickly learned that the amount of effort you put in directly correlates with what you get out of the experience. I practically lived in the studio, immersing myself in the world of design to the point of delirium (seriously, there were some late nights that I barely remember!). But all that hard work paid off. My time at MICA accelerated my growth as a designer and laid a solid foundation for the rest of my career.
After graduation, I landed a job as a visual designer at a design studio in Seattle. It wasn’t long before I encountered another pivotal moment in my career. While I enjoyed the creative work, I couldn’t ignore this growing urge to understand more about the end-user and how design could solve real business problems. That curiosity drew me toward product design and UX. I spent my off-hours studying, creating mini case studies, and refining my skills—all in a bid to secure my first UX position in New York.
As I continued to dig deeper into the world of product design, I explored everything from product management to UX research. I began to see how I could make a real impact by enhancing user experiences, and I found myself pitching ideas to cross-functional teams and executives. Convincing them to fund major redesigns and proposals became a bit of a specialty for me. These successes paved the way for my journey to Google, where I started as a mid-level designer. My knack for rallying support around large-scale projects didn’t go unnoticed, and it played a big part in my promotion to Senior Product Designer.
Iris built out and implemented the Engineering/Design process alongside a scaleable design system while at Kustomer, an enterprise CRM platform.
What skills and competencies have proven the most valuable to your success within the world of product design?
In terms of soft skills, collaboration is one of the most important skills you can have. You need to be a good collaborator to encourage your cross functional peers to invest in your ideas.
Storytelling is another great skill to have. In order to convince executives or leadership that your projects are worth investing in, you need to sell them on the “why”.
In terms of hard skills, I feel like being a strong visual designer is becoming a necessity. I work primarily in B2B enterprise SAS, which isn’t usually known for great visual design. But because of B2C apps like Instagram or Pinterest, users perceive anything that doesn't look beautiful to be “old” or “outdated”. There is even some data that shows that if something is well designed, users are more likely to forgive some UX issues.
What are you most excited about in the course that you’re putting together for the upcoming semester?
I'm excited to give my students a crash course on a realistic look on what UX'ers do once they graduate. This is the course I wish I had when going into the professional world of design, so I hope my students gain a lot from my intro class.
Any nuggets of wisdom for students or career-shifters who’d like to break into or level-up within the field of product design?
Nothing happens overnight. Nobody is good at anything when they first start out, so give yourself some grace as you are learning and developing those skills. Also I would be humble; there are no stupid questions when learning a new skill and teachers are here to help you learn.
Anything else you’d like to add in terms of your own design practice, inspiration, or other creative pursuits?
I’ve been working in the digital arts for a long time, I think its great to get out of the computer and dabble in art in the physical world. I bought a home a few years ago so I have been enjoying playing interior designer for my home and I have been dabbling in woodworking. :)
