Kate Aronowitz tells me she first set out in graphic design because it felt like a discipline that helped her bring order to things. Many years later, she has a love-hate relationship with being labeled “a creative” because the creative process, as she sees it, is not just about art and design—it’s as much about solving problems as it is building things from scratch. She also believes everyone can be creative under the right circumstances.
As portfolio operations lead at Google Ventures, Aronowitz has collaborated with some of the world’s most inspiring and hardworking founders. And now she has the opportunity to shape and inspire the next generation of students at Savannah College of Design as the school’s newly minted executive in residence.
I usually am the first one up. I go downstairs with my dog, George, make coffee, and we go outside. I like having quiet time outside. I’ll walk him or go to Pilates. I read the news. As much as it pains me, I like to know what’s going on. I’m not naturally an early riser, but if I approach the day with a clear mind, my work is better.
I’m a big believer in reading a room. I think it’s more my predisposition. Even when I started my first design role as a junior designer, I often worked as a translator. When you get a design person and a businessperson together, they are often butting heads. I’m always the one saying, “Actually, I hear this.” Listening to what people are saying, watching their body language, seeing how much people speak up—it’s just being a very keen observer. I’m fascinated by people, and UX design is about solving real people’s needs. A lot of the time, they can’t express what they need; you have to listen for it.
I don’t create well in total silence. I like a lot of white noise. If I have to write, I prefer to write on an airplane or in a café. Silence is very deafening. I go to sleep listening to podcasts. I find it hard to design and create if I put an hour on the calendar and say, “You’re sitting and doing this thing.” My best ideas come to me if I can get the questions I need to work on a week in advance. I’m good at having that run parallel; I’m processing in the background. Whether I’m at the mall or watching a movie or baking, ideas pop into my head.
I find using my hands to be very helpful. Even if it’s business-case kind of stuff. I find it hard to be creative and type at the same time, so I handwrite a lot out. I find typing to be very constricting.
I work with really interesting founders. And I see my role as a designer more so now almost setting the stage and curating the conversations that allow creativity to happen. I am helping make founders’ ideas real. A lot of my day is being a really good listener and figuring out what problems need to be solved and figuring out how to do it quickly.
I’m an optimist. If you look at a problem long enough, you can truly come up with a solution that will delight people. I don’t believe there’s any problem that’s not solvable. I rarely get frustrated. I trust the process. If you iterate, put the right people in the room, and ask questions, you will learn something and you will move things forward.
I’m interested in expanding what creativity means. Creativity has been put in this place where you either are or aren’t, or there’s creative time and there isn’t. It’s thinking about a problem in a different way. Everyone has the ability. I’m so much more open now to who is in the room. I hate when people are labeled creative. When you label a person as “a creative,” it limits it so that this is the only person in the room who can be creative.
I’m a big list-maker. I break it into things. I am very strict about what fits onto my first list. I keep a running notes doc. I have a 2024 doc and it’s all the calls I was on that year. At any point in time, I can go back and pick up a thread where I left off. A lot of it for me is documenting and list-making so I don’t have to keep it in my mind. I can go back and check things.
I need my alone time. Driving or walking the dog. Time with a whiteboard. If I’m really feeling lost and I’m not sure what to do, if I just put a pen in my hand and draw out what I’m thinking I find it really helpful to just get out what’s in my head.
I’m very bad with distractions. I love doing the NYT crossword every day; it’s hard not to be following what’s going on [in the news]. I’m not great at tuning things out, but I have other outlets. I love baking and cooking. I started sketching again on my iPad. I have one of those expert Apple pencils. Even if it’s useless stuff like drawing a weird apple on my iPad, it centers me. If you can sit and noodle over the shades of red for an hour and a half, it’s good for your mind to be a better observer.
The rut I find myself in is more like self-doubt. I am a bit of a perfectionist. That is what drew me to graphic design in the first place. I was never attracted to fine art. I liked graphic design because it brought order to things. I hold a high bar for myself and always want to make sure I’m bringing value, so I do question myself. I have to remind myself this is part of the process: Knowing that sometimes things don’t work and that’s okay, and what can you learn from it.
You have to get small wins every day. A lot of what we do with founders is help them prioritize. Some problems can be pushed off. Just ask yourself, what’s keeping you up at night now? And how can you solve something immediately in front of you? A lot of it is taking big problems and breaking them down into bite-size chunks. It’s so important to close out the day and feel like you made some small steps in progress.
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