How General Assembly’s design team stays in sync with Dropbox

Growing up, we’re often told to follow our passions. Some of us do, some of us don’t. What General Assembly (GA) is trying to do is give people the option, even if you think that ship has sailed.

The New York-based company started out in 2010 providing part- and full-time courses for anyone to change careers or add new skills. Today, it’s expanded that mission by partnering with companies to introduce new talent and train existing employees. So whether you’re a marketer who wants to learn front-end development, or someone with technical chops with interest in graphic design, GA is here to help.

To date, the company has reached over 500,000 students worldwide. They’ve done so thanks in part to their compelling brand, which they’ve created with the help of Dropbox. GA knows that shifting careers takes a lot of initiative. That’s why their brand identity is so important. “Our goal is to inspire people to try new things,” says Lizania Cruz, art director at GA. “We strive for a visual style that’s bold and action-oriented, while also friendly.”

To message its brand to corporate partners and students worldwide, the design team must stay connected with everyone at GA. “We work with every team here,” says Amy Meng, creative project manager. “We’re making sure our story is told consistently across our website, marketing emails, and business pitches.”

To meet those needs, the team generates a variety of content and file types. A typical project can include anything from a PDF whitepaper to JPEG images for social media campaigns. Dropbox serves as the hub for developing and collaborating on all these raw files. “Dropbox allows our designers to keep work organized and transparent,” Cruz says. “It’s more reliable and easier to use than anything else we’ve tried.”

GA also needs to keep its brand consistent across their global locations, which include London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sydney. The design team at New York headquarters provides a library of templates and images in Dropbox that anyone at the company can access. This has enabled local teams to create more effective, on-brand content more quickly than ever.

“It’s important that we keep our brand consistent,” Meng says. “Dropbox helps our regional teams feel closer to headquarters and create beautiful content for their audience.”

To see how Dropbox can bring together your design team, visit dropbox.com/business/try.