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Tag Archives: graphic designer
Lost in translation
I love remote working. It suits me down to the ground. I have a nice little office where I can shut out the rest of the world (complete with table football I might add…) and fortunate for me, I’m not easily side tracked by the need to clear up the kitchen or the fact that another episode of How I Met Your Mother is on on E4…
However, I know that remote working isn’t for everyone and is not always a suitable option. I have had experience in the past working with a website design team based outside of the UK and personally I found it very tough. The situation had arisen outside of my control whereas I was no longer a graphic designer, a skill I have honed for many a year with education and experience to match, I was now a marketing assistant/beta tester/user experience designer/CRM co-ordinator/social media guru. With no time to learn the skills I needed, I was out of my depth and I knew it. Thrown in at the deep end, I did the best that I could. In order to get the job done with the remote team there were many channels of communication from our base in the UK. There were Skype calls, conferences and chats, JIRA queries, e-mails and office visits. It was a complex, decision making website that was being produced, complete with ever stricter enforcements of compliance legalities, and the boundaries were being moved on a daily basis, often by government legislation. This made communicating with the overseas team a daily necessity to keep up with progress, new demands and bug fixes. Things were taking time and deadlines were missed. Would this have been a different story had everyone involved been based in the same office? I think it would have been. We knew it wasn’t working, but there was no obvious solution, all we could do was learn how to improve for the future.What did I learn from this?
1. I learned that when working remotely, a single point of contact is essential, otherwise wires get crossed, things get missed and everything can get lost in translation. 2. A key decision maker is important. This goes hand in hand with a single point of contact. We can be meeting the needs of others involved, but is the client or person in charge happy with the output? 3. And processes. If there are processes in place, make sure that everyone knows what that process is and follows that established process. It’s sometimes trickier than it sounds, and sometimes it seems pointless, but if some people are following the process and others go off piste, it can lead to chaos… 4. Communication is key. I personally work 99% of the time with my clients via e-mail. It works for me and my clients. I have my instructions written down, I make a list of what is needed and I do it. Getting things in writing is always a good method in my eyes. Even if I have a meeting with a client, I will e-mail a round up of what I understand they are looking for with an expected date of delivery. 5. Deadlines. Know when a deadline is and work towards it. If the boundaries move so will the deadline and always keep clients informed. Oh, and be realistic with those deadlines. 6. Know your strengths and weaknesses. I am a graphic designer. I am 100% confident I can turn around a good job within a fair timeframe. I can even turn around a good job in a tight timeframe but this can lead to other clients being let down which I don’t like to do. If something isn’t my forte I think it is only fair to inform a client. I now have a whole load of contacts within the industry so can easily pass you on to someone who is more skilled in that field. 7. You can only do your best. Based on your experiences every day is a learning curve. Doing the best you can is often well received, however, in some circumstances this just isn’t enough and in those circumstances you will know it. In those times it is best to have a good think and decide what is best for you.So, the moral of this tale is…
If you’re considering using an external resource always know what you’re looking for before you approach a remote worker. As we are not there to discuss things at every point, set out your guidelines and needs, and really think about what you want. From a graphic design point of view, it is our job to bring your design to life, so if you have any ideas just let us know beforehand and we can get the results you’re looking for much sooner. Know when you need it for and give us the time to work our magic and keep us informed if the goal posts change. I know I try to accommodate everyone and am sure others do too. If you get your instructions and ideas down from the start, you will not need to keep a constant check on progress and so remote working will not become a problematic issue. And now as more and more companies are offering the possibility of remote working, trust is an essential part of working with a remote team. I personally feel proud that my clients trust me enough to give me the tasks that they do.To sum up
Working with a remote worker is a great option for some industries, but I know it’s not great for others. As a graphic designer I will always produce something and so you can see the fruits of my labour. I feel that I am a lot more productive working remotely as I am not involved in office life, be it meetings or conference calls, helping out others in a pickle or doing the “can you just….” tasks. I spend each day working towards a goal, hence why I meet the targets my clients set me. Having worked in a variety of environments, I know which one I prefer. This may change in the future but for now I love being a freelance remote worker as it gives me the flexibility I am looking for. In some ways I do miss office life, but I now provide a value for money service for my clients from the comfort of my own home. And did I mention the fact that I don’t have a commute? That for me and the flexibility I now have is worth missing out on office banter any day of the week.Thinking in pictures
I have been trying to think of something profound to add to this quote, but to be honest I think it speaks for itself, but I will have a go none the less...
In my line of business I have to create a BOOM moment, I have to make you look again and to take notice. I do this in tender documents and presentations, I do this in infographics and e-shots, I have to catch your attention and BOOM you've been enticed in.The art behind what I do is quite simple; I think in pictures. I make the complex simple, I make the complex digestible, there is more to graphic design than merely making it look pretty.
Jazz music was once described to me as a conversation. A call and response, you don't talk over someone in a conversation, but you're engaged and what you add next is in response to what has been said. You take their theme and take it to the next level, thus engaging a listener. This too is relevant in the design world, what I add as a designer adds and enhances what is already in place, but in this case engaging a viewer to read on. Take a tender for example, how many tender applications must a possible client receive? And how do you make your's stand out from the crowd? By creating hook points through branded text boxes, quotes, diagrams and images, entice the viewer in to read your finer points. Like jazz, your tender is a conversation. Engage a reader in the right way and they will respond by looking, and BOOM they've been enticed enough to read the small print. Creating the hook points are similar to a recurring theme in music, make it recognisable, make it memorable, have stop off points where they feel safe to break off for a cup of tea. In many ways music and art are very similar, they are both creative expressions of opinion through more than words. I may've been making the simple far more complicated than I needed to throughout this blog, but in simple terms, get the image, style and feel right for your audience, and people want to hang around for more...
Tags: Graphic design, graphic designer, infographic, jazz, music, presentation, tender
Do you have a degree?
Do you have a degree? Asked nobody, ever, hiring for a graphic design position.
At a time when every school student is freaking out about exams, exam results and life in general, I just thought I'd share my experiences of the design world and getting that foot in the door... I went to a senior school where the arts were something for oddball people to do, something that would get you nowhere in life and something that we really shouldn't talk about. So of course, I was attracted to them. I was the kid that always had a colouring book to hand and remember when I was off school with chicken pox drew all of the Roger Hargreaves characters, I was that rock 'n' roll. In my heart I was always was going to be an artist. Skip on a few years back to senior school. It came to that time when we were all filling in our UCAS form. We had talks from previous students; doctors, lawyers, accountants and what not, but no artists. The UCAS form was a real dilemma; UCAS or Art Foundation or what? "Students simply must go out and get a degree in something meaningful, it's the only way" was the general vibe of what I was up against. I was clever enough to have done anything, but at this point I was digging my heels in. Art is what I want to do - why should I only have it as a hobby? Why should I do something with my life that is somebody else's decision. Grrr. And so I did an Art Foundation course and went on to do a degree in Illustration with Animation, and nobody cared. Luckily for me it wasn't £9000 a year or whatever the ridiculous fee is these days, but it was time ill spent. The only good thing I got from university are my friends. Oh, and the title of my website. I was described as having an Off The Wall approach. I took it as a compliment, I'm not wholly sure if it was.... I left university with a somewhat bizarre portfolio of experimental animation and a selection of drawings in red and black. I did enjoy my playing card project though, I will have to share that with you sometime. And so it came to finding a job. During my time at university I had sought out work experience of my own. I had done a few graphic design projects for friends, but on the whole was unable to achieve anything of note. I wrote to companies, rang up companies and even managed to speak to companies, but due to the university I was at and it's lack of connections, I was not allowed to go ahead with anything as I wasn't one of the 50 universities they worked with. That and some companies mentioned insurance policies which I don't know what they were expecting me to do? And so finding a real job, in the real world was really hard. I worked in a hospital, I worked in a bar and I applied for hundreds of jobs a week all with little success. I applied to work on a cruise ship (just one application this time!) and got the job as a cruise videographer. Did he ask if I had a degree? Did he look at my video portfolio? No on both counts. On the cruise job I dabbled in poster and flyer design, but predominantly worked on the video - this was the experience I needed to break it into Hollywood blockbuster direction or so I thought...! The boss saw my posters and sent it out across the ships as a template for DVD and photo advertising - see I told everyone I could design, but nobody had believed me! Back home in the UK I continued to apply for hundreds of jobs a week, and stumbled across a web design agency in Preston. First question; do you have any experience? No... But happily they liked me and although they didn't give me the job, they gave me work experience on live briefs doing live things. These folks were Curly Kale and I still think they're awesome. With this under my belt, I came to my next very few and far between interview, and felt I needed to impress. But I had a new weapon now, experience! My portfolio had real things in it now and I could speak as if I knew what the real world of work was like. I landed the job! Years later, I still work closely with the lady who saw my potential, the Marketing Director of The Cordant Group. To both of these folks I will be eternally grateful as they could see potential and helped me grow as a designer and without them I wouldn't be here.So in brief, what was all of the above about?
Well, if I was to do it all again, yes I would do the ship again as that was a super awesome experience, but a degree? I'd really have to question that part. In this particular field, experience is what opens up the doors, not the whole cap and gown bit. If you are pursuing a degree - good luck and try to get some experience along the way. If you're not pursuing a degree it isn't the catastrophe that some paint the picture it will be. Whatever choice you make, dive in and get messy, because getting a foot in the door is tricky and competitive and sometimes soul destroying, but finding the experience you need will give you the confidence and something interesting to say should you get an interview. Being a graphic designer is the easy part, but getting others to believe you is the tricky bit.
Tags: degree, Graphic design, graphic designer, university