Starbucks Job Shadow

I had the wonderful opportunity to do my job shadow with Anna Ratkoviak, one of the interior designers for Starbucks. In the few hours that I was able to spend touring and observing the interior design department at the headquarters, I feel like I learned several new design process techniques, especially for the inspiration and brainstorming portion. Perhaps the most helpful of these is the use of an inspiration board, which can include such a multitude of images, colors, and objects. I've actually started one of these for one of my other design projects which is centered around designing a residential space.
Prior to this job shadow, I was pretty adamant about my desire to do residential design. Seeing all of the thought and regional personality that Starbucks puts into the designs of their stores, however, makes me start to think twice. While Starbucks is very much a commercial company, the design of their stores is soft commercial at most. They successfully create a third space—something that I think is very important.
I would say that overall, this job shadow will affect my design work because it has provided me with insight to the creative process of design professionals.