Miranda Mann

“Becoming the first female designer at my company was something I asked for - not as a female, but as a designer who wasn't happy with the role I was in. Our company is a startup, so by nature our design team was pretty much me and my boss when I made the switch. So in short, I asked to be the 'first'.” 

November "Hall of Femme" honoree Miranda Mann has showed great poise in the early stages of her career. Having grown up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduated from USC with a BA in Art & Design, she is now a design lead at full service marketing agency, Darkroom, a role that she manifested for herself.  Specializing in UI/UX, Brand Design, Brand Strategy and Creative Direction, Miranda's excitement for design began in high school where she was the only female AP Design student in her grade, won an award in a state-wide design competition and worked as the main designer for a custom sportswear startup. 

During her college years, she was not only Darkroom's first female employee, but their first ever hire as a design intern. She quickly thereafter earned the title of design associate and joined the Darkroom team full time after graduating and subsequently gone from running Darkroom's social media department back to being a design associate to being promoted to design lead within the span of 16 months. 

Describing herself as loyal, passionate, and honest Miranda also prides herself on her candor sharing that “I don't think anyone on my team would say that I'm afraid to share my opinions. And I think having that attitude, not being afraid to make mistakes, and building my success without betraying my kind hearted nature has and will continue to show the people around me the value that women hold in every conversation.”  

When asked about her accomplishments that led to this point, she shared, “I think I've been blessed in that my glass ceilings were shattered without my knowledge.” Miranda didn't even consider if she was the first woman to do something or the only woman in her class, she just did it.