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The Mentor Feature series features past Design Mentors from AIGA Chicago’s Mentorship Program and gives them a space to highlight their own mentors who have supported and inspired them to get to where they are today. AIGA Chicago would like to give visibility into our own Mentorship Program by recognizing the benefits of not only having a mentor, but being a mentor to another.
We interviewed Adrian Aguilar about his personal experiences with mentorship and being a mentor for AIGA Chicago.
Tell us about yourself. How did you get to where you are today?
I got started in digital advertising at Critical Mass. They took me on as a pup as an intern and I really cut my teeth there with all things digital. The cool part about that experience was it was a mix of digital product and advertising, so we got to write some cool stuff and got to sell it a little bit more. From there I went on to Wunderman Thompson, which is more of the same but with a bit more experiential focus. And from there, I went on to Deloitte Digital where I’m at now and I’ve been doing a lot of product design consulting here.
It’s been a lot of learning things fast, implementing them in a digital space, and also becoming an expert in things really fast. So that’s been really cool to do here, but overall I’m a UI designer. I focus on making things super pretty but also look at things with the UX perspective.
Who has helped you along your way?
It’s actually surprising, the robust amount of people who have had my back. To name a few: Pete Pona, Gil Perez, Val Jencks, Andy Kenney, Nigel Dennis, Jaclyn Hamer, Keith Henneman, Fritz Duggan, and Cassie Matias. They’re all people I still connect with as I continue to grow and as I climb this ladder. They’re people who I can bounce reality maps off of and can really get a sense of what to expect and what to do here.
Every now and then when I get a win, I share it with them as well. I make sure to keep those bridges open and they’ve always been welcoming and open to me coming back.
What have they taught you that sticks with you?
There’s definitely mentors who teach me about the craft, right? It’s always about perfecting the craft. Then there are people who have connected with me on soft skills; the people part of the equation. How do we connect with people to gain that influence, to gain friendship, to gain loyalty, and collaboration?
And so there are moments where you could deliver feedback better and really take into account the human experience. It’s really escaping from the work and it becoming this psychological tightrope maneuver of just learning a bunch of different personalities and navigating them.
Why is mentorship important to you?
With mentorship, I learned to reinforce the things that I already knew or wanted to keep learning. So by sharing that knowledge and seeing someone else go through the experiences that I’m coaching them through helps me to coach myself. It helps me have that empathy for myself.
Also you learn new things just from the way different people think. If you are an open book to not only your direction — we’re just coaching because we’ve been there — there are new perspectives to learn from and good ideas come from anywhere. I think for me mentorship was a good chance to learn things I didn’t know and to find out more of who I am as a creative and who others are and how that landscape looks.
A moment that stood out for me was being able to hire one of the mentees. We got to hire an extremely talented mentee named Alex at Critical Mass and it was this cool continuance of that mentorship role. The notes that I passed on getting reflected in the interview process, in the portfolio, and in the resume, actually having success metrics was really cool to see first-hand. With mentorship you get to really see what’s out there; some diamonds in the rough you wouldn’t have seen otherwise because the interview process or the recruitment process is so wild.
It’s kind of like a music audition, right? They need to see you rock out and to see your potential, but if you never have that chance it’s really tough.
How did you find the Mentorship Program?
I found out about the mentorship program through Eric Irving. I had been a mentee and got to make a lot of connections and Eric encouraged me to try being a mentor. I was like, “I don’t know if I’m there yet to say anything.” It was a pleasant surprise because my intro session was about refining your skills and portfolio and stuff, which are things I had heavy opinions on just from my mentors teaching me about my portfolio and how I should set up work. So I realized I had some knowledge to pass on; proven stuff that got me a job and maybe could help you get a job. So we had step up your portfolio game sessions, and it was really fun and I got to see a lot of people become successful from things we passed down.
What was the transition from mentee to mentor like for you?
It was interesting because I think imposter syndrome is something that never goes away. Like we should desire to never arrive and that feeling is something that’s just innate to you and it’s what keeps you getting better and better. But at the same time, that feeling can prevent you from taking risks and chances that you should take just for the sake of growing as a creative or as a person.
So when we first started out I found it very difficult to speak in a big room with people looking at me for guidance. I felt like I didn’t know half the things I wish I knew, but leaning into a partner like Eric and having that support pillar to be able to bounce off ideas and get them validated was very instrumental in me becoming the mentor that I am today. A good mentor creates new mentors, right? Like a good leader creates more leaders. My mentors helped me get there, but I think Eric served instrumentally to help me really find my voice and be comfortable with it.
My mentors were so generous with their information and it made me want to be that way. It becomes a thing that’s innate and so you want to give back. I’m sure Alex has mentored some people as well, it’s this idea of just giving back and pushing forward.
Leave us with something you’ve learned and still live by today.
I have one thing that rings in my head that I say as often as I can: Everything you will learn or can learn, you’ve already known. The concept that knowledge is not given, but uncovered or released. That gives you some type of empowerment to be like, “Well I already knew that, I just needed somebody to show me.”
You go into these situations in life where things are so brand new you have no idea how they’re supposed to go, but for some reason it works out. That’s because it’s always been there and is just being uncovered little by little. So that paired with patience and just believing in yourself a little bit is pretty magical.
I like to tell my mentees it’s already hard enough, so don’t get in your own way. Be the person who believes in you, because the last one we need on the team is yourself. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do.
There’s no set game plan of when things are supposed to happen. I was a 29 year old intern and it worked out. I quit a full-time job and Critical Mass was something I wanted to take the leap on and I just did. I gave up benefits, I gave up a salary, and said “f*** it, I want to be an intern!” And that’s just how much I love this game. I love digital.
When my mentor, Gil Perez, showed me digital I thought, “I won’t work a single day in my life if I do this.” I was so wrong about that but that original concept is there of getting to play with pictures, it’s a puzzle, it’s fun. We’re playing a video game for work, who else gets to say that?
That’s actually the best part of Deloitte Digital where I’m at now. There are so many smart people here that good ideas come from everywhere and they’re very open to making it a team effort. Eventually we’ll make the calls of what we need or don’t need, but bring it, bring the ideas.
What’s a great thing you’ve seen or read?
The Alchemist. I have read the Alchemist in every station of life. When I was an intern The Alchemist carried a certain message, and then you get to this point in your life, where you’re still like in this middle ground — they say ACD is the hardest working position because you’re doing everything — and I’m reading it again and there’s a whole new message. It’s a great book to reference back and forth just to lean into the magic and be a kid again to recover that creativity and also to see what’s the shared wisdom that’s lasted forever. What are the universal truths?
Adrian’s first iOS app!
Anything you want to leave us with?
I’m just super grateful. We recently released my first iOS app ever and that was a huge milestone here at Deloitte. It’s the USGA app and I remember texting my mentors and saying, “there’s no way I could have been here without the stuff you guys shared with me.” It sucks that the busier you get the harder it is to prioritize mentorship in the design community, but you can lend that focus within your organization. Like if you see interns coming in, can you get a one-on-one?
I think it goes a long way because those people will forever remember the person that took the time to just talk to them about the craft and the work. I hope it’s something that never goes away from me. It’s something that I always want to lean into and I hope I keep collecting mentors as I go on.
We are very grateful to Adrian Aguilar for taking the time to be interviewed and provide resources for this article. Stay tuned for more interviews with mentors, to be announced on our Instagram and LinkedIn.
If you’re interested in becoming an AIGA mentor, contact Leslie Presto (presto@chicago.aiga.org).
If you’re interested in joining the AIGA Chicago board in any capacity, please reach out to Kelly Knaga (kel@chicago.aiga.org).
Interviewed by Donnie Gardner. Edited by Samantha Boudiab. Graphics created by Donnie Gardner and Samantha Boudiab.