Albert Pereta (class of 2012) is the Executive Creative Director of Product Design and Head of Design at TwoTwenty at Pinterest after his own startup, Icebergs, which was also his senior project at SVA, was acquired by Pinterest. 

Read below what he’s working on today and what advice he has for current students. 

Where and what are you working on right now?

I’m an Executive Creative Director at Pinterest. I oversee the overall quality of Pinterest’s Product Design, and a couple of years ago I help found Twotwenty, our innovation branch, which focuses on innovation. One of our most recent projects was Shuffles, which has been very successful so far. It’s an app for creating collages, with cutting edge technology and all of  Pinterest content to play with. The visualization can be very creative and inspiring, but it can also be used to put together an outfit or decide which couch fits in the living room.

What impact has SVA MFA Design had on your career?

First, it’s about meeting amazing people who are in a similar stage of life and want to create amazing things. Those relationships you take away and the talent you’re surrounded with in the program are really special. 

Second, I didn’t go into the program with a specific goal, but with a desire to do something entrepreneurial. At the time, we only had one digital class with Andy Pratt, which was about app development. That class open my eyes and changed the course of my career. The iPhone was launched only a few years ago and it was already changing everything. I just knew I wanted to design the experiences and apps that were changing the world.

After a couple of years learning and exploring, I ended up founding Icebergs, a visual organization tool for creative minds. The project started as my graduation project at SVA. A few years later, Icebergs got acquired by Pinterest, and moved to San Francisco to join their design team.

I would probably pick a couple of themes. For something more intriguing and new, I would do something with AI (Artificial Intelligence). There’s a lot of going on in the space and might disrupt a lot of industries. I could also imagine doing something regarding health, environment or the food industry, where technology could provide a different angle and vision to do things differently.

My advice for the students today …

Don’t obsess over one idea early on. Nothing should be off the table, and you should push it to the point where you start feeling uncomfortable and out of place. Creative folk tend to prefer projects that allow them to show off their skills, and maybe help them land a great job. While that’s great, the program was intended to instigate entrepreneurship. Our skill are unique, and if use right a real advantage to build mind-blowing products and amazing companies, just as well as any business major from top universities. In fact, a lot of extremely successful companies have been founded by creatives. We think a little different and see products through a different lens. So, don’t let ambitious ideas scare you. 

Portfolio: albertpereta.com