Product Designer at Mercury

Ida
Ström

IdaStröm (Product Designer at Mercury)

Ida is a California-based product designer from Stockholm, Sweden. She designs financial technology products at Mercury, and mentors young female designers through Mind to Mind.

She/her • San Francisco, United States • November 23, 2022

What led you into design?

After a lower back injury put an end to my ski racing dream, I found Product Design by studying art and design in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and San Francisco.

What does a typical day look like?

I wake up early to walk my dog Blue in Golden Gate Park. When I get home, I shower, eat breakfast, and start my workday. I’ll either work from home or I’ll go into the office.

I often have meetings in the morning, and then spend the afternoon designing stuff and talking to people on Slack.

At the end of the workday, I crave to get out of the house so I’ll take Blue to the beach, go for a bike ride, or hang out at the climbing gym with friends. At night, I’ll either go to the movie theatre or I’ll go to bed super early.

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What's your workstation setup?

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I move around a lot, so I’ll either work from my desk, the kitchen table, or sit in the backyard. I’m a big notetaker, so I always have a notebook handy. I aim to keep my workstation super clean because it helps me to focus, but I'm by default a bit messy, so it's often times a bit chaotic around where I work.

My phone is often in airplane mode, or at least the sound is off during my work hours. Like many people, my phone is a huge distraction to everything I do, and it takes a bit of work to get into the habit of not checking it while working.

Where do you go to get inspired?

Friends, family, food, nature, cool cars.

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What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?

I recently got an iPad and I’ve been loving it. I use it for sketching in FigJam, reading, writing, and as an extra screen.

I also went to Austin, Texas a while ago and fell in love with the design of Barton Springs Pool.

What pieces of work are you most proud of?

Not a piece of work per se, but perhaps I did something good to get to work with this many smart, funny, and kind people. I’m really proud of the people I work with.

What design challenges do you face at your company?

Balancing beauty, simplicity, speed, and security.

What music do you listen to while designing?

Any advice for ambitious designers?

Read and write a lot :)

Anything you want to promote or plug?

If you’re a female designer looking for mentorship or being a mentor, you should check out Mind to Mind! 😊