How Ginny Taylor Went from Industrial Design to Product Design at CarMax

A conversation with Ginny Taylor, Manager of Product Design at CarMax

When I was first applying to CarMax, Ginny Taylor was one of my first interviewers. I didn't know it then, but she would quickly become one of the most influential mentors and friends in my design career. In my first week, I was transitioning onto a product she was moving off of, and instead of just handing me a file and wishing me luck, she spent the full two weeks onboarding me carefully, answering every question I had, and making sure I felt set up to succeed. On top of that, the Miro file she left behind was the most detailed, well-structured piece of design documentation I'd ever seen at any company. I had never seen that level of structure, detail, and care put into documentation.

That level of rigor is just how Ginny operates. Every time she presents or leads a workshop, I walk away wanting to be a better designer and make better work. So when I had the chance to sit down with Ginny and ask her about her career and advice for junior designers I jumped at it.

Ginny Taylor's path into UX design started with realizing that she loved the why behind design more than the final form.

As an industrial design major, Ginny found herself less interested in sketching thirty variations of a coffee maker and more drawn to the questions that came before any sketching started. Who is this for? What problem are we solving? Why does this matter? That instinct, the pull toward strategy, research, and understanding people, would eventually lead her out of physical product design and into the world of UX.

Today, Ginny is a Manager of Product Design at CarMax, where she leads designers and runs the design internship program. I sat down with Ginny to talk about her career journey and, more importantly, what she's learned from being on the other side of the hiring table, and what advice she'd give to students and junior designers trying to break in.

From packaging to product design (with a pit stop in grad school)

After two years in packaging design, Ginny loved her workplace but knew it wasn't her forever path. She'd been reading about the future of technology and kept coming back to the same thought: someone needs to advocate for the people using these products.

"I was reading too much sci-fi," she said, laughing, "and I'm like, the robots are coming for us all. Technology is the future, but no one's there to advocate for the users of technology."

She enrolled in the experience design program at VCU's Brandcenter, and it was there that she started getting intentional about her career. She asked herself the questions that a lot of students skip over: Do I want to be a researcher? A strategist? A UI designer? A product designer?

During her time at the Brandcenter, a CarMax designer named Matt Reamer came in to teach a unit on chatbots. Ginny loved it. When Matt later reached out about a product design internship at CarMax, she applied and got the role. That internship became the start of her career at CarMax.

The moment that got her hired

I asked her what she thought set her apart in that internship interview.

Ginny started off with a story, "The interviewers say, can you show us your design process?” But instead of flipping through slides, Ginny pulled out a literal roll of tracing paper where she had documented every step of a chatbot design project. It wasn't even a class assignment; it was something she'd done completely on her own.

“I unroll it on the table, and all of their jaws just drop."

It worked because it answered the question hiring managers are really asking: How does this person think? This is a theme that keeps coming up across these interviews. The best candidates are literally proving their process. Whether that's showing your work in a tactile, unexpected way or tailoring your application to the specific company, it comes down to going beyond the standard "I follow a double diamond product discovery diagram." Show them something they haven't seen before.

What she looks for when hiring interns (and it's not what you think)

Now that she’s on the other side of the table, Ginny has conducted countless intern interviews at CarMax. When I asked what stands out, she started with something that might sound old-fashioned: professionalism.

"It might sound stick-in-the-mud," she said, "but those little things help build trust. Were you prepared for this? Are you taking this seriously?"

She was quick to clarify, she's never had a candidate show up in a raggedy t-shirt. But the ones who clearly came ready and prepared to have a conversation immediately stand out. Beyond that, she looks for clear, concise communication and varied examples.

"We ask five to six behavioral questions, and when someone uses the same example for every answer, I'm like, give me some fresh stuff."

Personal projects tell her more than you think

One of the most encouraging things Ginny shared is how much gravity she gives personal projects. These projects can be some of the most revealing to a student or designer’s real design process. 

She told me about a moment during her own internship interview. The interviewer asked when she'd last designed something, and Ginny mentioned she'd just been stuck in a terrible airline check-in line, so she redesigned the experience in her sketchbook right there.

"That's the kind of mindset I'm looking for," she said. "I can teach you better visuals. I can teach you research methods. But I can't teach you into liking it." 

When she sees a personal project in a portfolio, she gets excited. It signals that someone cares about design enough to do it when no one's asking them to.

On user testing: just do it

I asked Ginny how students can get more reps with user research when they don't have access to professional tools or participant panels.

"I don't care if you're testing with your grandma and her friends. Just do it."

That act of practicing asking better questions, to test with classmates or your family. Ask the people in your life, it could be your local barista or bike mechanic. The point isn't who you're testing with; it's that you're building the habit of asking questions, listening, and letting what you learn change your direction.

She also shared a story about her husband, who had an idea for an app. She gave him two questions he could ask literally anyone, whether at work, at the gym, or wherever. What's your favorite app for [blank]? What do you like about it?

"Bam," she said. "That's discovery."

The one thing she wants to see in your portfolio

Ginny wants to see that you can have your mind changed.

"I love the examples where someone thought one thing, tested it, and realized they were wrong," she said. "That's the most important thing. I need to know that you can change your mind."

She wants to see the mess of an imperfect case study, the moments where the research didn't match your assumptions, and you adjusted. That's what tells her you're ready to do the real work.

"Did you even want to ask questions? What questions did you ask? How did those answers impact what you were doing?" she said. "That's what I'm really looking for."

On getting into the room

Ginny said that the hardest part of the job search is getting an interview in the first place. Between the Automated Tracking Systems (ATS) filtering out resumes that don't have the right keywords, LinkedIn profiles that aren't optimized for the right roles, and the reality that applying online without a reference can feel like throwing your resume into the ocean, there are a lot of barriers before you ever get to show what you can do.

Her advice: apply broadly, tailor your resume to each posting, and use the language from the job description. She also pointed out something that's easy to overlook: words mean different things to different companies. Making sure your experience shines in their terms is really important.

She also highlighted an approach she's seen work well: customizing your portfolio for the role. When someone puts together a presentation tailored specifically to the job they're applying for, Ginny notices.

"It shows that you can communicate to an audience. Can you design something for who's going to see it and who's going to use it? That's literally the job."

If you can't get hired yet, keep building

For designers who are stuck in a gap, whether between graduation and a first role or between jobs in a tough market, Ginny's advice is to keep going and document everything.

"Pick up whatever you can. Have a mentor or a group to bounce things off of. Document whatever you're doing really well and make it as meaningful as possible."

She also raised an idea that I think more people should hear: working in an adjacent field can absolutely translate. If you're somewhere managing projects, solving problems, and working cross-functionally, those are the core skills that matter.

"The parts that are the most important to me are problem solving, working with a team, and communication," she said.

Find your people

Ginny also emphasized the value of community and peer feedback, something she credits much of her own growth to during her time at the Brandcenter. "You can just show your design to people and have them help you make it better. Finding people who will be ruthlessly honest with you is important."

Whether that's a cohort from a bootcamp, a group of classmates, or a few friends who will tell you the truth, that feedback loop is an incredibly powerful way to accelerate your growth. 

Takeaways

Per Ginny’s career, we’ve seen that there's no single correct entry point into design. She went from industrial design to packaging to grad school to an internship that became a full-time career, and every move taught her something she still uses today.

I love how practical her advice is; she's not asking junior designers to have a perfect portfolio or five years of experience. She wants to see curiosity, honesty, and a willingness to let research change your mind. She wants to see that you care enough about design to do it even when no one asked you to.

And if you're feeling stuck or unsure about how to get started? Remember: you can test with your grandma, redesign an experience from a bad day, and ask two simple questions at the gym. The work starts wherever you are, you’ve just got to start it!