Meredith Stevens and Miss Bongo Prix
Meredith Stevens is the VP of Digital Design for Miss Bongo. She and her talented staff of designers create exciting digital content for the text messaging service. Combining a strong background in the visual arts with a deep understanding of technology, Meredith Stevens provides valued services to her company.
Ms. Stevens spends the summer in Santa Monica, California and the winter in Bondi Beach, Australia. She loves to surf and kayak. She also enjoys landscape photography as a hobby. Ms. Stevens speaks five languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Being multilingual enables her to speak directly to her staff in various countries. It also enhances her international travel.
Miss Bongo is a paid SMS service with a presence in France, Australia, and the UK, as well as other locations. The titular Miss Bongo is a quirky monkey character with a lively sense of humor. When customers send messages to the service, it replies with a fun, personalized digital sticker (a “perso”) and amazing facts about themselves and their friends. Young users love the cheeky tone of the messages and the cute, spunky graphics. The stickers are unique and collectible. Ms. Stevens has helped her company to build a successful brand in several countries. Her unique talents bring great benefits to the company and engage the customer for future interactions.
What do you do in your spare time?
When I’m at home in Australia, I love to surf and kayak. I have a deep connection to the ocean. I also love yoga. Yoga is a centering activity that helps me to feel calm in the midst of my busy life. I travel between Australia and California frequently, but I also travel internationally for both business and pleasure. I visit galleries and museums wherever I travel.
What’s your favorite type of food?
I love Japanese food. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Japan and to taste the cuisine the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I love their creative use of seafood. People may have the impression that Japanese cuisine is mainly comprised of noodles and sushi. I recommend ordering a variety of dishes that you wouldn’t normally try.
I also love classic Italian food. It’s my comfort food when I’ve had a difficult day. I am learning to be a better cook and to create Italian dishes at home for my friends and myself. Italian food has an easy learning curve. Creating delicious food is fun and fulfilling.
I always try new dishes whenever I travel abroad. My parents are amazed because when I was a child, I was a picky eater.
What are your aspirations in life?
I would love to see Miss Bongo Prix have a global reach. I feel that our service can offer fun and friendship to young people everywhere. Whenever we start in a new country, it’s so exciting to see how the service grows. I love incorporating designs from each country in our service.
On a personal level, I hope to live a fulfilled life. I feel that I’m well on my way to this goal. I would like to have a family someday. With all the time I spend traveling, it’s been difficult to settle down. It will happen if it’s meant to happen.
What is your favorite thing about working in your industry?
I love being able to use my imagination to create new things. Miss Bongo Avis is such a wonderful canvas for my work. I feel like I am using my talents every day. I am never bored. I also enjoy working with my digital design staff. They bring me many valuable new ideas.
The spirit of collaboration in my company makes it all worthwhile. Every department is engaged in making the service as fun and fresh as it can be. Our goals are to create repeat customers and to reach new audiences. I feel that we have done a great job so far.
What’s one piece of advice you can share with others?
When you are choosing your field of study in college or university, make sure you choose something that will enable you to make a living. Graphic design gave me a good balance between practicality and artistic fulfillment. I’m not saying that you can’t choose a major to please yourself, but make sure that you have a plan for your career. I have too many friends who were stuck in retail jobs after college because they didn’t have a solid plan.
