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September 24, 2020I met McKinsey at an event in Copenhagen, where I studied architecture in extreme environments, worked in the solar industry, and with a materials recycling startup. Before the event, I had no idea McKinsey had design integrated into the firm.

A recruiter reached out to me after seeing my profile on the event’s digital platform, and that’s how it all started. I interned at McKinsey for six months, then got an offer to start as a junior designer. Now, I’m a junior capabilities and insights analyst working on projects from product to service design in McKinsey’s design studio in Stockholm. Although McKinsey doesn’t hire many architects, they were open-minded about the skills I bring to the studio.

Creating a virtual meeting room

I recently worked on a project together with senior designer Adam Wittsell where we created an immersive 3D environment to enhance the client experience for remote interactions during the COVID-19 crisis. We designed a virtual space that provided common ground for the client and presenters to be together in an immersive environment during a four-hour presentation.

I built the 3D environment and co-created the storyline together with the four experts who were delivering the presentation. During the presentation, my role was to control camera movement in the virtual environment. It was a guided virtual gallery walk setup where we shared a screen during the video call. The client did not have VR glasses, but it was still an immersive experience similar to playing a video game. Through this format, we reduced PowerPoint slide use to a minimum and offered a more engaging presentation.

The client was very impressed, as they likely expected another PowerPoint presentation, but instead all of our slides became posters and 3D objects in our virtual gallery. The dashboards were displayed directly on devices in the virtual space, and we played videos on the virtual screens. The new presentation format made the content more tangible, and discussion flowed naturally as if we were in the same room.

Although this format delivered a big “wow” effect, it was also deeply helpful in terms of understanding the project structure and making deliverables tangible. It was a highly iterative collaborative process that delivered a fantastic output, and illustrated how all offerings and different project streams can come together in an actionable way. Now, McKinsey teams are applying this technology to other projects, like a customer experience project with a global technology company.

Bringing business to design

That collaborative environment created by bringing together people from a mix of backgrounds and areas of expertise is special to McKinsey. For example, I worked on a project where a business strategist was able to communicate the business value of design to the client. That’s one reason I wanted to be here. Design is often associated with fluffy work that beautifies stuff, but a well-designed service or product adds business value. Our multidisciplinary teams bridge the gap between design and business.

Another example is a healthcare project I worked on with researchers and medical professionals who are experts in their fields. I focused on the usability aspects and information sharing aspects that design thinking can solve. We’re making a playbook that uses graphic design and illustration to help our client explain to its partners across the world how certain processes work. We’re navigating these highly complex healthcare topics and using design to make them easier to understand. For a project like this, you need people who have critical design thinking skills.

Advice for recruits

Many people in my onboarding group, myself included, wondered if you have to fit a certain mold to do well here. But in reality, McKinsey brings together diverse, global teams with experts from every industry. Just bring the best of yourself, and don’t try to be someone you’re not.

The pace of work here can be overwhelming at first, but it’s amazing how much impact you can have if you apply your skills to the right projects. I’ve also found that the confidentiality of our projects brings something really interesting into play. In architecture, people do things so their name will be on something, but at McKinsey, you work for your purpose. When things are left confidential, you can examine how your work brings you meaning.

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About Gabriele

Gabriele is a physical product designer and junior capabilities and insights analyst based in Stockholm, Sweden. Prior to joining McKinsey, she was an architect at RACELL, a renewable energy company, and co-founder of BeResourceful, which aimed to enable circular economy in the construction industry. Gabriele has a bachelor’s in architecture from the University of Brighton and a master’s in architecture and extreme environments from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

For more information on McKinsey's design career paths, visit mckinsey.com/TechCareers.