People
Get to know the People Who Power Sommsation
Meet Crystal Langley
August 9, 2022
In today’s world, let’s face it: Everything comes down to presentation. Social. Websites. Newsletters. Online Experiences.
If it doesn’t pop, consumers click off. Luckily, we have an extraordinarily talented, seasoned creative at the helm of all things visual here at Sommsation. Meet Crystal Langley, Head of Design.
With an extensive background in branding and print design, Crystal is a sought-after speaker and visiting lecturer at San Francisco State University. I recently had the pleasure of getting to know her so that you might learn a bit about her, as well.
Read on for my QA with this Bay Area Badass.
Could you touch on your background a little bit and what brought you to the world of Design?
I’ve always been interested in technology and when I realized I could marry my love of art with my love of technology, I started creating digital assets on my first Wacom tablet. I somehow was recognized by an entrepreneur who lived in Brazil and he paid me to create website assets for him. I had hit a gap in my education at this time and decided to go back to pursue an official design degree. During and following graduation, I was a book designer which was great because it forced me to be rigid with my layouts. After a year, I was laid off and a friend of mine told me to apply for the Graphic Designer position at a game studio he worked at called Telltale Games (TTG). I worked with TTG on and off for almost nine years, with a two-year stint in Berlin for another studio. I learned so much from my role there because it turned out to not be a strictly design role, but actually a UI/UX role, steering me from a UI focused artist, to a Lead UI/UX designer. I quickly realized that having a graphic design degree working within a time when UI and UX wasn’t as widely recognized as they are now was insanely valuable. I saw how the trends grew within the digital design world, saw what failed, and got to experiment and develop my own skills through a unique medium. After the game world, I transitioned into software and found my way to Sommsation.
[Note: Sommsation's chairman, Bill Hagner, recalls, "We reached out to Crystal the week after Telltale Games shut down. We saw an opportunity to work with a rock star designer and moved quickly!"]
Do you have any major artistic/creative influences?
I’d say my old Director of UX is a major influence in my life. He taught me a lot about jobs in general and design within the workplace. Whenever I have creative/work issues or blocks, I call him for advice. He seems to always have the right answer or perspective and I constantly think “what would DRM do?” in work situations.
Usually my day-to-day consists of early meetings with our extended design team Remedy in Belarus; reviewing design sprints, and providing guidance and direction on all facets of brand and design for the team. In addition to my role as Head of Design, I am also the untitled Creative Director. If it is design, creative, visual, or UX/UI-driven - I am your girl!
Which wine(s) are in your cupboard right now?
I recently had a Saturday girls' trip to Sonoma so I have a few bottles of Reeve Wines (a friend works there) and a few wines from DaVero (shout out to our partner, DaVero!).
Do you have any advice for any new up-and-coming creatives out there?
Take nothing personally and grow a thick skin. You’ll somewhat hate everything you initially create but if you can look back on that finished product six months later and say ‘ah I don’t mind that’ then you’ve done a good job.
Any fun fact about yourself that you'd be okay sharing with the world?
Bay Area sports are kind of an obsession of mine aka Go Warriors!
