6 Questions for Steph Urbanovich

Get to know Steph Urbanovich, BatesMeron’s newest senior designer! Steph is a lifelong creative with a bottomless curiosity, a love for making things (preferably silly ones) and experience spanning visual design, UX/UI, prototyping and more. A curious problem-solver who’s always up for a creative challenge, she’s a perfect fit for the BatesMeron team.

I interviewed Steph as part of our 6 Questions feature: a series of one-on-one interviews with people we work with who make us proud. Sometimes we like to turn the tables and put our staffers in the hot seat, so you get to meet them, and see just how special our team is.

1. To kick things off, let’s break the ice with a little Spill the Bees. From one card, drawn randomly: You have to appear on a reality show. What show do you pick?

I don’t really watch many reality shows, but I’d absolutely participate in a baking competition like Nailed It! because I can’t cook or bake to save my life, so it would probably be hilarious.

2. Your bio says you love making “preferably silly” things. What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever created that you’re secretly proud of?

I’m pretty proud that I learned 3D printing and Arduino just to make a tiny robot whose only purpose is to dance.

3. If you had to give a TED Talk on a completely random topic with zero preparation, what would you somehow manage to talk about for 20 minutes?

I could probably talk for 20 minutes about the plot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or old Godzilla movies. I have absolutely no idea how I would turn either of those into a TED Talk, but I’d find a way.

4. You’re stranded on a desert island, but you get one design tool and one non-design item. What are you bringing?

Definitely Figma, because it can handle pretty much any kind of digital design or illustration, and since I’m stranded on a desert island, I don’t think I’ll be sending anything to print anyway. And for my non-design item, definitely a box of snacks or chocolate to eat while I design.

5. What’s one design trend you hope never comes back…and one you’d happily see everywhere again?

I really hope Frutiger Metro never becomes trendy again. The excessive swirls, textures, silhouettes, and typography always felt way too busy and never particularly aesthetic to me.

I’d love to see skeuomorphism make a comeback, though. Design has become so flat and clean that I think it would be fun to have interfaces that are not only functional but also feel more playful and visually interesting. I like minimalism, but sometimes I miss things having a little more personality.

6. If you could swap lives with any fictional character for one day, who would it be?

I think I’d choose Moomintroll and spend the day relaxing in the countryside with my friends.