Natasha Jen is a partner at Pentagram New York, where she leads high-profile projects for global clients. In this exclusive Twos Talks interview, she discusses her career path from discovering graphic design in college to becoming a partner at one of the world’s most renowned design firms.
In this episode, Natasha shares:
• How she discovered graphic design in college
• Meeting Paula Scher and her team at Pentagram
• How she got the internship at Pentagram as a student
• The impact of early confirmation and recognition as a young designer
• Her step-by-step journey from intern to Pentagram partner
• Why project management skills are crucial for designers
• Key factors that help designers advance in top design firms
• How she approaches hiring new designers at Pentagram
• What she looks for in portfolios when evaluating candidates
• Strategies for rebranding companies with dedicated communities, like Reddit
• The importance of dialogue and collaboration within the design community
• Additional skills that make a designer’s work and career more visible today
• Her favorite architect and graphic designer

TimeCodes
00:00 Intro
00:20 Natasha Jen
01:35 Why Graphic Design?
04:40 Internship at Pentagram
09:55 From Intern to Partner
18:10 Opening your own studio
20:20 Why Pentagram called?
23:00 A partner at Pentagram
25:44 Ad
26:39 Designer's Portfolio Tips
32:15 Art Director tips
33:50 Reddit Rebrand
36:50 Getting back to community
39:00 Additional Skill You need to Know
42:10 Favorite part of design
46:28 Natasha Jen's favorite designers

🎨 Design and artwork courtesy of Pentagram.com

Intro animation by: Miray Erdeve
👉 Subscribe for more episodes of Twos Talks
👉 Merch:
https://shop.twosstudio.com/
👉 Full Twos Studio video archive and exclusive articles: https://twosstudio.com/
👉 Support us on Patreon: 
https://www.patreon.com/cw/twosstudio