Smart, outgoing people learning and creating - Lead Designer Grand Studio Employee Review

If I had to describe Grand Studio with one word, it would be intentional. During my time there, it was evident how thoughtful the team was in creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to do their best work. It’s a tight-knit team of people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and areas of expertise. This team is very insightful with the work they deliver, leveraging research and strategic thinking in every project to design meaningful solutions to tough problems. The projects they take on are rewarding and with impressive clients, focused on identifying responsible pathways to make people’s lives better rather than generating flashy deliverables. With lean teams and full allocation to one project at a time, GS is an exceptional place to accelerate your growth—abundant with opportunity to develop new skills and take on responsibility. As an intern, my teams helped me build competency across research, visual design, and experience design through structured learning opportunities and hands-on mentorship. Lastly, I admired the transparency leadership had cultivated around career progression, DEI, work-life balance, and business ops. The compensation, benefits, and perks are quite competitive for an agency in this domain, and I know they reevaluate each of these on an ongoing basis. Overall, Grand Studio gives the other consultancies I’ve worked at a run for their money. It’s a fantastic, energizing place to work, and I look forward to seeing the company continue to grow and thrive in the coming years!

Nothing comes to mind—everyone was consistently receptive to and willing to apply feedback.

Great thought process, mental models and selling an idea

In the grand scheme of things, there are always layers of unseen practices that truly expose the character of companies and their employees. I find it very upsetting to know that, in challenging environments where solutions aren’t thoroughly processed—from business planning to budgeting—there are always promises made to those ignorant enough to be sold continuous lies, just to secure contracts and generate more revenue at the expense of anyone not on their gravy train. I found myself caught in the middle of divisive tactics that blocked work, killed deadlines, and destroyed overall confidence in the projects. What struck me as odd was that the head of it all seemed to be the absolute devil in disguise—plotting their takeover while sabotaging the solutions the entire time. Watching this unfold, and seeing others support it, made me realize that scum is scum, no matter how they package the lies or smile in your face. When deceit is used not only against external coworkers but eventually within the organization itself, the outcome is inevitable. The excuses are always the same—and when it all crumbles, no one should be surprised.