Sarah Zobel

Major: Apparel, Merchandising, and Design
Minor/option/emphasis: AMD-Merchandising
Company/Organization: HNI
Company/Organization website: https://www.hnicorp.com
Destination: Muscatine, IA
Timeframe: Summer
Advisor/Coordinator Email: annthye@iastate.edu

Responsibilities

• Researched trends and developed ten different palette options for the HON, Allsteel and Gunlocke brands • Conducted multiple market validation focus groups across the country with HNI dealers and designers • Provided reporting, analysis and feedback on customer validation research • Constructed a yearly product development plan for the CMF, marketing and discontinuation teams • Created brand identity design for the CMF team and designed several other related marketing materials • Developed and managed the manufacturing of a promotional giveaway item using HNI fabric for dealer use

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment throughout my summer at HNI was getting to brainstorm, create and photograph the palettes I created for each of the HNI brands. It was such a cool moment to be able to see my palettes displayed on HON's website at the end of the summer.

What advice would you give?

Never be afraid of asking questions.

Career Connections