PAVE Guides Student’s Journey to POP Career
- Jo Rossman, LEED AP IDC
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Adrianna Kimmitt had noticed in-store POP displays for years. “I have always been fascinated by them, and I would take pictures. I just didn’t know what profession created them,” she says. Now she’s well on her way to being a driving force behind them, and she credits PAVE Global with several steps along that journey.
Discovering the industry
One summer, while the graphic design student at Savannah College of Art and Design was seeking a project between semesters, she found the PAVE Student Design Competition. Ulta’s sponsorship that year appealed to her interest in
design and branding for the beauty sector, so she entered with a concept that organized products into makeup looks to aid discovery. The project sparked an interest in 3D design as she built a paper model of her concept.
She began applying to PAVE scholarships and was drawn to the Bish Creative POP Scholarship and Experience. The winner would receive a cash prize and a one-week mentorship at Bish Creative in Chicago. Kimmitt was inspired by the breadth of Bish’s portfolio and wanted to see firsthand how a physical display comes together. While her entry did not win the cash prize, something unexpected happened.
With more entrants than ever in their third year of sponsorship, Bish designers had trouble picking a winner. They brought two entries to Jerry Fox, president and CEO. “Both looked great, so I said, ‘Let’s just do two.’ We brought both here for the week experience.”
During the week, Kimmitt shadowed designers in various disciplines and was exposed to the entire POP process from ideation through retail execution.
“I learned so much about materials, print, and how displays are produced. They walked me through the production process, so I learned the steps, the skills needed. I got to see what it would look like to be in this career,” says Kimmitt.
Experiencing a display in the store after watching it being produced inspired her and changed her career goal. “I realized how far a display can go, especially an interactive one. There is so much opportunity to engage consumers,” she says. “I went from wanting to do branding work to wanting to get into point-of-purchase design.”
Deepening her knowledge
When she went back to school, Kimmitt kept in touch with her mentors, followed the POP industry, and looked for her next PAVE challenge. Another opportunity arose with the 2026 Shop! Scholarship + Experience, which offered a chance to attend Shop! Marketplace in New Orleans. “I applied to everything from PAVE that fit me, but I really wanted this one. I wanted to go to the show to learn more about the industry and see the displays that win awards,” Kimmitt says. She entered and won.
Meanwhile, back in Chicago, a position opened at Bish Creative — an unusual occurrence at a company where retention is the norm. Before they could recruit, Fox received an email from Kimmitt noting that she was planning to move to the Windy City. He recalled his team’s impressions of Kimmitt as a personable quick learner who adapts well. “These are things you can’t learn by looking at a resume or portfolio,” he says. Fox consulted his team, and they decided to call Kimmitt to discuss the idea.
In New Orleans, Kimmitt deepened her knowledge at Shop! Marketplace, networking and learning about other aspects of the industry. She also had a chance to see her Bish Creative mentors in person, where they formally offered her a position. “I never had one actual job interview,” she says. Likewise, the Bish team did not have to sort through hundreds of applications.
Today, she lives 20 minutes from the office, where she does graphic design work for Bish while remotely finishing final courses for her degree. She’ll graduate in November, and the company has plans for her, training her to design in 3D.
“I want to eventually design the displays you see in the stores,” says Kimmitt. “When I’m shopping, I drive my family nuts, always pointing out the displays and taking pictures of them and figuring out what makes them work. Point of purchase is consistently interesting, and I enjoy the puzzle-solving aspects of it.”
Connecting for the future
Fox is optimistic for Kimmitt’s future. “She’s going to do great things here,” he says.
“We mentored her, we inspired her to fall in love with the industry, and we connected her. This is what we encourage all PAVE supporters to do.”
Kimmitt credits PAVE with helping her get through school and beyond. “PAVE has made a huge difference in my career as a designer by providing an opportunity to go in person and see aspects of the industry and pick people’s brains. I wouldn’t be where I am today without PAVE.”
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