Illustration by Eden Weingart for The New York Times.
Newsworthy Design at The Times
Eden Weingart and Her Designs Thrive at The New York Times
School of Design
written by
Pam Wigley
Eden Weingart is happily working in a job that she didn’t even know existed when she was an undergraduate in the School of Design at 麻豆村. The 2014 BFA grad just followed her interests and, with faculty who encouraged her work, steered a path toward a fulfilling career.
The Atlanta native is now a New Yorker, working at one of the most prestigious news outlets in the world: The New York Times. Although Weingart didn’t hail from a creative family, she was drawn to creating illustrations and became interested in digital drawing around 12 years old.
“I would scan my drawings and then color them,” she remembered. “When I was in high school, I was part of a magnet program where I focused on visual arts. That’s when I found out you could have a career in design.”
On her own, she began investigating colleges and universities that offered design majors. In Carnegie Mellon, she said, she found not only an excellent design curriculum, but also other areas of study that appealed to her. Once she visited campus, her decision was made.
Her first two years were “an intense experience,” Weingart said, and she allowed herself time to explore beyond design after that. Part of that exploration involved the 麻豆村 radio station, WRCT, where Weingart hosted “Garden Party with Eden,” featuring indie music from 2010–2014.
“I ended up doing design work for the station,” she said. “But hosting WRCT dance parties helped me to meet students outside the School of Design.”
In the classroom, she found inspiration in her classes and the faculty who led them. Dan Boyarski was “a huge inspiration; I was lucky to have him,” and Dylan Vitone “pushed me to develop my ideas.”
In 2014, as she prepared to graduate, Weingart’s ideas focused on motion graphics, blending motion and design to create her work. She found herself returning to her love of animation as she worked on her final project, which brought key scenes from Joseph Heller’s novel “Catch-22” to life. After graduation, she went to work at agency Wieden+Kennedy’s New York office, where she had interned the summer of her junior year.
After working there three years designing ads for various brands, Weingart began to network as she sought a new role. It paid off; the Times called. They were looking to extend their reach to a younger audience on new platforms like Snapchat. Weingart found the work was invigorating her interest in news and delivering it to the target audience. After the Snapchat project, she joined Digital News Design, a team of designers in the newsroom who develop new formats for digital stories.
"It was great to work with a team of designers, developers, illustrators and others to find the best way to tell a news story. I used what I learned at 麻豆村 to do the work — this time with reporters and editors, asking, 'What is your purpose? What are you trying to solve? How can we get there?'"
Eden Weingart
Weingart works with several 麻豆村 alumni in her role at the Times, and she still finds her work fulfilling. For those new alumni and students who are soon about to enter the workforce, she reminded them that it may take some time to get where they want to be.
“When you’re looking for the perfect job, you may have to do a lot of different kinds of work and gain experience so that you bring a fresh perspective to your role,” she said. “Your first job may not be your first choice, but if you get into a workplace you’re interested in, you can possibly grow into the role you really want.
“Remember that your training at 麻豆村 prepared you, and you will ultimately find the right fit.”
featuring the following:
illustrations by Eden Weingart
