I took the midnight bus from Belo Horizonte to come work at my dream place, Huge Inc. As expected, the traffic at the entrance to Rio de Janeiro made me arrive late. I managed to get to my apartment and meet one of the directors at 9:30 am, the official start time for activities at Huge.

On the first day, as expected, I came more dressed up than necessary. I was already assigned to a project, but I couldn’t start on the same day, so I went to an HR meeting to learn a little more about the company. The people who work at Huge are rhetoric geniuses; everything you hear seems to be exactly what you would like to hear.

I received a kit with some office supplies, all branded with the company logo, and some buttons. You start to feel part of something much bigger. My dream for a long time was to work here, and it seemed like the company encouraged me to say, “I made it.”

But back to the project I was assigned to, I started working the next day. When they showed me what was going on, I thought: I will never be able to do something this good. I kept imagining how long it would take for them to realize that I wasn’t as brilliant as the others. I took my things and went to sit next to the Senior who was on the project with me (a company custom). It took me a few days to get up to speed, but in the end, I was surprised by the project’s result. I was impressed by the capacity that can be explored with the right direction.

And I believe that for this to happen, four things are necessary, which are ingrained in the culture of the Rio de Janeiro team, as they must be in any Huge office worldwide.

1. Critique the work

This is definitely the best characteristic, in my opinion. You are making a layout, adjusting some details, and you call some designers to your side to give their opinions. Don’t expect an ego massage: during the process, 90% of the time a Huger will talk about your work to criticize it.

You have to learn to direct this criticism to your work in the most sensible and professional way possible. It doesn’t mean that your colleague doesn’t believe in you or your potential. At that moment, they are analyzing work that could have been done by anyone.

And that’s what makes everything turn out the best way possible. No one is afraid to make mistakes or to say that something is wrong, even with a small team of up to 5 people, all the other 40 designers will help you in some way to reach the best possible solution.

Of course, once finished and ready to deliver, colleagues won’t hold back on the compliments (if they like it, of course). And the satisfaction of receiving praise from someone who criticized your project during the process is even greater.

2. Sharing ideas

One of the most interesting things about working at Huge is always being informed about everything that happens in the world of Product Design. There is even a social network we use, called Honey, which was once an internal product of the company.

People make a point of ensuring that everyone sees everything that is interesting. And the funniest thing: they have no other reason to do it than caring about the team’s well-being. Just like ideas in projects: they are shared in the office and with other offices as well.

Several times a year, we have presentations of the projects developed in recent months. It’s amazing because we have the opportunity to show our creations to several designers and receive feedback from employees worldwide.

3. The perfect solution

The phrase you hear most in your first few weeks is: “There is no silver bullet” (until someone realizes you already understand). At Huge, the design methodology is put to the test, and just like your university professor always tells you to make 100 versions of a logo for an academic project, here you make 20, 40, 60 versions of wireframes and 2 or 3 versions of visual design.

In the case of product conception, it’s very easy to understand the advantage of this. You should try to do it in several different ways, even if you have already reached a result that you consider ideal at the beginning of the process, because this way you can look at the other versions and say: “I was really right.”

And even when you reach a solution, Hugers don’t consider it perfect, just the best option in that available time frame. Because like any design project, it can always improve.

4. The company atmosphere

Few things in my life in Rio are as interesting as going to work, and as strange as that may sound, it doesn’t mean I have a bad life, only that I work in an incredible place. Even today on weekends, I count the hours until Monday morning to start all over again.

The atmosphere among colleagues is great, I feel I can be completely open with my boss and my superiors. Sometimes I even think I can call the CEO on the company chat, but I know he has more important duties to fulfill!

On certain days, we get together for breakfast, and of course, it can’t be everyone together, but we try. We take coffee breaks and have fun talking about everything, and then we return with a clearer mind to work for the rest of the day.

On some afternoons, we have a beer (courtesy of the company) while finishing the day’s work, and on some occasions, we even have a glass of wine (we have a monthly wine subscription).

But more important than all the perks the company can provide is everyone’s good sense to know when to break the tension and when to focus on work (of course, no one is perfect, and I myself lose track several times).

Only in Rio

After these six months, I realize it was very much worth the risk of leaving my comfort zone in Belo Horizonte. As much as it is the city I love the most, and will probably love forever, with unforgettable people who helped shape who I am today, it was my time to go.

I have a new life in Rio, new challenges that, God willing, I will fulfill. I don’t know what my days will be like from now on, if I will manage to make new friends, if I will be able to visit the people I love in BH more often. But one thing I am sure of: I have amazing people to count on in a place where everyone is paid to not give a damn.

*All opinions expressed here are my own and have no connection with Huge Rio, Huge Inc or the IPG group.