Take five with Karla Devenney, Graphic Design Manager at Tayto Snacks, one of last year’s Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management graduate. Learn about her career journey at Tayto, the challenges and excitements of leading an in-house design team for an iconic Irish brand consumed by millions of customers, her experience on the programme, how it transformed her career and hear her insights on what should Design Leads and Managers be keeping an eye out for.
- Tell us a bit about yourself.
I began my college journey studying Environmental Design at DIT but realised in my second year that it wasn’t the right fit for me. After a year off working in HMV, I enrolled in a FAS course in desktop publishing—a great shortcut to launching my graphic design career! My first job was at O’Sullivan Graphics in their print shop, where I had the opportunity to meet renowned artists like the incredibly talented Robert Ballagh, who was a regular customer.
A few years later, after some travel, I secured a position as the in-house graphic designer at Campbell Catering, now known as Aramark. Over the course of eight years, I designed food brands and signage for universities and corporate cafeterias, large corporate events and worked on tender documents for large multinational contracts. This experience laid a solid foundation for managing diverse projects independently, which eventually led me to Largo Foods (now Tayto Snacks) for a newly created role as Senior Graphic Designer. That was 11 years ago! Since then, I’ve expanded our small design team and enhanced what we offer the company through training, upskilling and advocating for the importance of design within the organisation.
- What is your role within the Design team?
I was promoted to Design Manager two years ago, leading a team of two designers, myself and senior designer, Deirdre Smith. Together, we create packaging, point-of-sale displays, digital assets, and many various ad-hoc designs for our brands, which include Tayto, Hunky Dorys, O’Donnells, King, Popchips and KP Nuts, as well as fulfilling internal design requests. In my role as Design Manager, I oversee all design initiatives, participate in meetings, manage projects, and strategise our design objectives for the upcoming year. We’ve even assisted with selecting interior elements, such as tiles for bathrooms and furniture for the boardroom!
- How has your role evolved since you moved from senior graphic designer to graphic design manager- has your day-to-day changed? Are you as hands-on in the creative process?
My daily routine remains quite consistent, but I’ve gained greater autonomy and responsibility for the design function. I take an active role in the creative process, as our team is integrated with the marketing department. We contribute to and oversee nearly all design work for Tayto Snacks. I report to the Marketing Director and as the Marketing team is quite small with only 7, we all work close together at our head office and factory in Ashbourne.
- How did you go on to create a design function in the organisation?
A lucky opportunity arose 6 years ago when a Marketing Assistant left the team. With the workload growing I approached my boss and suggested we hire a junior designer who could also take on some marketing admin duties and so the team was born!
- What is it like to work on an iconic Irish brand consumed by millions of customers? Is there a lot of room for innovation?
We are really proud of Tayto and all the design work we do for the brand and we are conscious it must be protected and preserved and remain iconic. We adhere to strict guidelines led by a leading market research institution and we focus on our distinctive brands assets being at the fore of everything we produce. For this reason sometimes creativity can be limited, but we always look out for opportunities to enhance our point of sale or find new ways to present the brand in different formats in a more sustainable way such as video and digital.
- How does Design and the work you do bring value to an organisation whose core function isn’t design?
Our Managing Director has often expressed that bringing in-house designers on board was the best decision ever made! With our extensive range of products produced right here in our factory, we can quickly adapt to packaging changes driven by new food regulations or customer requests. This process was far more expensive and time-consuming when handled externally. As part of the team, we are committed to aligning our efforts with the company’s goals, dedicating our full attention to our brands.
- What is most challenging about working as an in-house designer?
In the initial stages, the main challenge was convincing management that I could handle more than point-of-sale designs or minor packaging adjustments. Once they recognised our ability to undertake new design projects in-house, the cost savings enabled them to allocate more budget for television advertising and larger campaigns. Today, as the company continues to expand, the key challenge is ensuring that everyone is aware of the design function available to support and enhance the visual appeal of our corporate branding internally and externally.
- What was your experience in design management prior to the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management and what solutions were you seeking for?
Without a degree and after spending 8 years as a Senior Designer and then transitioning to a Design Manager only 2 years ago, I recognised that I had never had a true mentor. I understood that to advance my career and foster my personal growth, I needed to deepen my knowledge of the business aspects of design and learn how to effectively navigate that landscape, so this course stood out as being exactly what I needed.
- What were your key takeaways from the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management programme?
The course significantly boosted my confidence in my abilities, especially since I’ve frequently experienced imposter syndrome. It provided me with the terminology and resources to delve deeper into other areas of the business, showcasing how our design team can enhance various aspects and create a substantial impact.
- Which modules had the most impact?
I was pleasantly surprised by my experience with the Service Design module. I initially thought it wouldn’t be applicable to my role, but it has actually opened up new opportunities within the organisation and highlighted some areas for improvement that our design team can work on. Additionally, the Design Management module provided an excellent foundation, giving me a comprehensive overview of our design function.
- How did you implement your learning from the diploma into your work? What kinds of benefits did it bring to your organisation and career?
Since finishing the course I have improved our ways of working by having a clear design process and showing that design can be much more than just packaging and branding by improving ways of working for each and every department.
- Were you able to go live with your project?
The project I proposed is still in its early stages, but I’ve been given the rare opportunity to present my final assignment to our executive management team. I’m optimistic that they will support the project moving forward.
The initiative involves redesigning and improving the software used for processing orders on tablet devices. Through my service design assignment, I identified that the current platform is outdated. A redesign could potentially save each user several hours each week and strengthen our relationships with customers.
- Would you recommend the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management to others? And why?
Absolutely! I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found both James and the tutors to be delightful to listen to and connect with. It was an engaging and enjoyable experience, never dull. I also loved meeting my fellow students; we gained so much from each other. Working on group projects allowed us to get to know one another better and understand the unique contributions each person brought compared to my own.
It is still early days as I only completed the course in May, but it has certainly enhanced my role in the business.
- Design Futures: what should Design Leads and Managers be paying attention to?
In my opinion, I think fostering collaboration across various departments and incorporating diverse perspectives will enhance creativity within the team and bring new benefits to the business.
And as hybrid work becomes standard, design processes should adapt to facilitate remote collaboration and prioritise the well-being of team members.
You can get in touch with Karla via Linkedin.
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