Co-ops and designers from web design firm iFactory spoke to students about their experiences at the company and design work in general at a networking event hosted by Scout on Oct. 6.

The employees discussed the importance of being an active member of whatever team you’re placed in while on co-op by talking with co-workers, attending meetings and pitching in whenever possible. As iFactory is a small company it’s especially important to build positive relationships with one’s colleagues, said Iona Holloway, Associate Creative Director at iFactory.

“The best work is the work we create together,” Holloway said.

iFactory has a special connection to Scout, a four-year old student organization that does professional design work and hosts design-related events on campus. Many former members of Scout have served as co-ops and later became full-time employees of the company.

“We actually have a very vast and well-connected alumni network at Scout because we have about 45 people in Scout in any given semester,” said Caroline Hegg, a third-year international affairs and economics combined major and Scout’s marketing and events director. “So we had someone who is now on co-op at iFactory reach out to us saying that they’d be interested in doing an event.”

As a web design firm, iFactory primarily serves educational institutions and non-profits. The company has had over 500 successful site launches, including that of Bennington College, which won the 2017 MITX award for Education Marketing.

iFactory also uses competition, assigning individual team members to design wireframes – barebones frameworks created to demonstrate a website’s layout. Holloway described the process as rewarding but stressful.  

“You face off with your colleague, you both create wireframes – one your way and your colleague another,” she said. “You pour your heart out and your colleague gets picked.”

Founded in 1992, iFactory reinvented itself several times, said Sean Sweeney, the company’s co-owner and director of sales. The firm began doing website design in 2004, with a six-page, four month project for the Harvard Kennedy School.  

The current co-op cycle has four positions available: interaction architect/user experience design, interaction design, marketing and content strategy, said Ashley McQuaid, senior interaction architect/user experience designer at iFactory.

Overall, both Scout and iFactory considered the event to be a success.

“It’s always really nice to hear about how different co-ops are doing in their jobs and how different design firms are developing,” said Jena Goldman, a fifth-year interaction design major and studio designer at Scout. “There’s a lot of new faces I hadn’t seen before and a good turnout. ”