Leslie Sakamoto
Brand Designer
Taco Bell
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Made an early commitment and went into college declared to get a leg up on my impacted program.
Took a job at a residential firm during the recession to keep working in a related field.
Made the jump from residential to corporate to flex my technical muscles.
Stayed flexible and diverse in the projects I pursued to get experience and keep my options open.
Education
High School
Career
Brand Designer
Brand oversight and strategy for franchise and new build locations.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Design
Problem Solving
Day to Day
Drawing reviews for projects about to start construction; this includes freestanding, license, and urban inline / cantina locations. Site strategy sessions for new freestanding and urban market locations with real estate team; we have to evaluate a site to determine if it will be successful or not based on population metrics and local competition. Construction conference calls for all projects under construction.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Design and Architecture are big time commitments in college and in the professional world. It requires a "dual-brain" approach: technical and creative, and those two tend to fight one another; which explains the large time commitment. If you're ready to commit, jump in as a declared major as most college programs are impacted. If you're not ready, take a few courses at a junior college to see if it's what you are passionate about and then transfer to a school with an emphasis on the technical.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Creative fields don't provide job security."
