Employee Spotlight: Magaly Cardona

Volusion is what it is because of the people who work within its four walls. So we thought we’d tell you more about some of those people. What makes them tick? Why do they come to work each day? And what do they look forward to doing when they leave the office? In this Employee Spotlight series, you’ll get a glimpse at one featured employee each month. This month, we talked to one of our Associate Web Designers, Magaly Cardona.

What do you do here at Volusion?

I’m an Associate Web Designer for our in-house Creative Services department. My team and I mostly do custom web designs for clients, site redesigns and personalizations for existing ecommerce stores. We also create new themes for our merchants to help them set up their stores on their own, along with many other creative tasks.

How did you get into the field?

It was far from easy. Coming from a big family of doctors, orthodontists and engineers, I remember telling myself that I wanted to pursue a different path but still wanted to help people with whatever career I choose. I was confused as to what to do with my life, but I knew I wanted to do something in the creative field. I was very much interested to know what people do to create stunning designs, which can be found in anything that surrounds us.

I love creation, and I loved the idea that someone had to do a lot of thinking to be able to come up with beautiful results. So I decided to pursue my studies in Graphic Design, and I started doing some freelance work to grow my portfolio and to learn to manage myself with different types of projects. I also spent a lot of time doing long YouTube, Skillshare, Udemy and other tutorials and programs to learn what other designers were doing, and to keep myself updated in the field. I can tell you I’m a survivor of many sleepless nights but it’s all worth it at the end.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

I think the most challenging thing about my job is having the client understand that aesthetics and functionality go hand-in-hand, and that sometimes less is more. This can depend on what industry the client is in, but thankfully we’ve had a lot of pretty cool clients that understand our design process and trust our judgement. As long as we keep good communication with our clients everything works out great.

What are you most proud of in your career? What about outside of your career?

I’m very much proud to be where I am today as a designer. I constantly feel myself improving, and I look forward to advancing in my field. I love that I’m helping a large community of sellers grow their businesses into a success and that I get to learn and be inspired by the great leaders and designers out there. In my personal life, I’m proud to be surrounded by great people that in some ways had helped me grow. I’m also doing all the things I love and accomplishing a lot of my short and long term goals.

What do you love most about Volusion?

My team. I love being surrounded by people with great personality. They’re all great listeners, helpers, supporters and they know their stuff. I couldn’t ask for a better team.

What’s the first thing you do when you get off work?

Depending on the day, I either go to the gym or get home and take a nap with my cats. They know when I need it.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love to do DIY projects for my home; I also do yoga or enjoy a long relaxed bath bomb spa session.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

I have to say moving far away from home to a place I hadn’t visited before where I didn’t know anything or anyone. To me this was challenging and rather intimidating, but at the same time very exciting. I learned a lot about myself, where I am in my journey and where I want to be.

Where are you going on your next vacation?

Awhh! There’s so many good places I want to visit and check off my bucket list! As for now, hopefully, I’ll go to Perú or Serbia soon, where I have new friends and extended family I can visit.

If you could open an online store, what would you sell?

I would sell handmade home decor. I would like to help people in some way style their home and have something they can cherish and enjoy.