The last ten percent
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A conversation with Jami Brames

What intrigued me most about design is that it sounded like it was always changing, so it wouldn’t be repetitive, and it sounded like I would have a new challenge to solve for in a visual way every day.

My mom was an art teacher, and my father worked for a furniture manufacturing company in the area. My mom always brought supplies home, and we set up spaces within our home to be as creative as we wanted. It was never a problem to get messy and creative at home.

I was always fascinated with how things functioned and worked. I would go through our house and actually take apart door knobs and door handles and disassemble them, then reassemble them to see if I could get them to not stick or just to take them apart and figure out how they functioned. I just thought it was so fascinating to see.

In my mind, designing an experience is about considering all the aspects of it. It’s not just thinking about the space, it’s thinking about the way a person navigates through the space and the subtle touch points that you may put into the space that speak back to the ultimate design intent.

For me, emotion is a part of the whole design process—especially that last ten percent. I think that’s whenever a person connects with the emotions you were feeling when you made a design. Ultimately, that last ten percent is how they walk away with the emotion you wanted them to feel.
- Jami Brames

The last ten percent of design is the extra effort that makes a project great. It’s not giving up whenever it’s good enough—it’s refining the details to make sure it speaks cohesively as a design. It requires you to be vulnerable and open to change. That extra attention and effort are things that OFS doesn’t take lightly because the results show in the long run.

What I like most about my job is working with the team of creatives here. I think that the most rewarding thing is seeing how ideas come together to produce something bigger. That’s the ultimate—to work at a company where you actually consider your co-workers friends or family. I mean, there’s nothing better than that.

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