Hey Michelle, What Do You Do?!

Michelle Murphy is the managing director at Use All Five, and she got her start with the company after being a much-beloved former client. She lives in Los Angeles with her Insta-famous rescue dog, Watson, and she loves almond milk lattes and long walks. People always ask her what she does for work, so we did too.

Do people get what you do? If not, what’s the most often heard misinterpretation?
If I use the word “project manager” people get it mostly! It’s very rare that someone completely can’t understand my role. The weirdest misinterpretation is when someone thinks I’m actually designing or developing the products we make. 

What’s your elevator pitch to describe what you do?
I straddle two roles at a digital design & technology studio - production & operations. For production, I partner with our clients in the Arts & Culture and Technology industries, and lead an internal team of designers and developers to translate our clients’ visions into digital products that their audiences will love. For operations, I focus on employee satisfaction - from hiring to work happiness - and ensure our processes run smoothly and effectively.

How would you describe what you do if it was your best friend asking?
I am part therapist, part cat herder, part cheerleader, and part schedule & budget queen.

If someone were to ask at the end of a long day at work, how would you describe the day you just had?
Every day is so different! But probably a mix of exciting new potential client meetings, reviewing the inspirational design and development work coming out of the team, some sort of 1:1 with a team member, a funny anecdote from our very active slack channel, and long walks with my dog, Watson.