Who?
Jodie Eilers. Eilers like eye-lers.
Turns out that design is the greatest wormhole: I get to be a part of any and every industry. I've been able to spent my career peering into myriad worlds of niche products, interesting demographics, and fascinating topics: molecular biology, installation art, healthcare for homeless, data visualization ethics, independent film, snow-surf-skate brands, k-12 education products, downhill biking, food trends, AI and ML of software giants, and so, so many others. I now work with companies whose messages and products I believe in wholeheartedly: primarily the health, wellness, and outdoor industries.
I've been a designer of just about every flavor for more than two decades. The fascination continues to grow; I love the science behind the aesthetics, overt and subtle communication challenges, the philosophy and social behavior theories behind the identity and marketing strategies, and the research involved in understanding the messenger and recipient.
My superpower is recognizing whole-system patterns. I align brand, product, and messaging with those patterns to facilitate the ideal communication between client and customer, and build demographic trust through consistency. Because my brain works top down, I gravitate toward solving branding and identity problems, but I also thoroughly enjoy illustration, data visualization, infographics, analog and digital page layout (catalogs, look-books, websites), environmental design (way-finding, signage), packaging, and working with photographers on product shoots.
When I'm not in front of a computer you can usually find me far up a mountain or a pitch of rock; even better if combined with foraging and/or travel. I have been teaching and co-chairing for the Washington Alpine Club since 2015 and it is a true labor of love. I'm a 200hr certified yoga teacher, have completed the AMGA Single Pitch Guide course and expect to test in 2021, and I'm working towards an Institute for Functional Medicine Health Coach Certification and AIP Coach Certification to support AIP retreats, giving people diagnosed with autoimmunity the tools and start they need for their journey. And I have enough wilderness skills to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Personality tests
In 2015 my coworkers and I completed the facilitated Insights Discovery personality test together to optimize our team communication and roles. It was eye-opening and allowed for proper team adjustments. In 2021 I completed the VIA Character Strengths Survey to aid in Motivational Interviewing techniques, and it has been an incredible tool for behavior modification for myself and coaching clients. Because of these experiences, I give these kind of tests what credit they deserve as a window into our beneficial differences.
Myers Briggs: I N T P/J
Strengths Finder: STRATEGIC-LEARNER-COMMAND-INPUT-ACTIVATOR
Insights Discovery: RED 86% BLUE 79% YELLOW 51% GREEN 13%
VIA Character Strengths Profile: STRENGTH #1, CURIOSITY
SparkType: MAKER/MAVEN
Strengths Finder: STRATEGIC-LEARNER-COMMAND-INPUT-ACTIVATOR
Insights Discovery: RED 86% BLUE 79% YELLOW 51% GREEN 13%
VIA Character Strengths Profile: STRENGTH #1, CURIOSITY
SparkType: MAKER/MAVEN
On Myers Briggs/Jung personality tests I'm almost a dead split between introvert/extrovert and right/left brain. HA! I like to believe that means I'm well balanced. So while this Jung score doesn't really seem to help much since the only one over 52% is N (intuition, at about 78%), I do identify with my slight introvert skew (52%) and INTP and INTJ descriptions resonate.
Strengths Finder
Strategic / Learner / Command / Input / Activator
Strategic / Learner / Command / Input / Activator
This score resonated. I'm naturally a whole-systems thinker and I am comfortable in leadership positions. As an example, a quick anecdote: I am a cochair for the Washington Alpine Club in Seattle Washington where I help run some of their biggest programs. A few years ago I was co-chairing the 16-week mountaineering program. In the spring, recent grads, instructors, and cochairs get together for two days in the forest for a skills refresher and talk about all the things that could be improved about the program. There was a stimulating discussion with many people offering feedback. I was suggesting solutions in real time that solved multiple problems at once, and people were very interested in implementing them. I was excited. In contrast, fellow cochairs were taking the feedback about the prior year's processes as personal criticism and having strong emotional responses. My curiosity and objectivity allow me to thrive in these situations. I enjoy opportunities to recognize and analyze big-picture strategy. I remember doing these kinds of things even in grade-school: making up games and projects and rallying people to join in: making ice forts, creating vast play-doh ocean scapes, digging ponds, and then frequently stopping everyone to announce what would be better if we changed a rule or a plan.
Insights Discovery
RED 86% BLUE 79% YELLOW 51% GREEN 13%
RED 86% BLUE 79% YELLOW 51% GREEN 13%
The strangest thing happened when my team at Microsoft took the Insights Discovery personality test together. Before you reveal your results to your coworkers, they guess what your highest scores would be by signing their initials in that quadrant. Weirdly, only two of 18 people suspected any red at all and even they were non committal about it (per the center in the image below). Where such high red and such low green would imply I'm less personable, my coworkers thought otherwise. Exhibit A:
VIA Character Strengths Profile
Curiosity, Perspective, Love of Learning, Zest, Gratitude, Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence...
Via Character Strengths are used heavily in the Institute for Functional Medicine coaching programs and are embraced by many in industries utilizing positive psychology and motivational interviewing to identify people's values and intrinsic motivators. It prioritizes 24 different strengths in 6 categories. My top 10 were: Curiosity, Perspective, Love of Learning, Zest, Gratitude, Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, Honesty, Creativity, Hope, Bravery.
Curiosity, Perspective, Love of Learning, Zest, Gratitude, Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence...
Via Character Strengths are used heavily in the Institute for Functional Medicine coaching programs and are embraced by many in industries utilizing positive psychology and motivational interviewing to identify people's values and intrinsic motivators. It prioritizes 24 different strengths in 6 categories. My top 10 were: Curiosity, Perspective, Love of Learning, Zest, Gratitude, Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, Honesty, Creativity, Hope, Bravery.
SparkType
The Maker/Maven
SparkType is a book and a test by Jonathan Fields to help you determine what kind of work truly makes you feel alive, gives you meaning and purpose. The Maker Sparktype feels most alive and happy making things. The Maven Sparktype feels most alive and happy when they are learning.
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Find me on LinkedIn or reach out via this contact form.
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