April 15th marked World Design Day – a celebration of the importance of design in all aspects of our lives. To tie in with this, we thought it would be fun to follow Creative Digital Agency’s Design Manager, Daniel Grey, through an average day.
Getting started
Anyone who knows me will tell you that mornings and I are not the best of friends. I wake up around 8, and after a little bit of self-motivation to leave the warmth and comfort of bed, I get started on my morning routine.
Once I’m up and ready and have let the dog out, it’s a case of grabbing my lunch from the fridge, and making the trip to work.
My working day
First thing I do when I arrive is to check through my emails and respond to what’s necessary. After that, it’s a thorough examination of the team’s schedule for the day – I need to make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible, and that we’re on track to reach our deadlines.
Then I get to the nuts and bolts of my work, which takes a number of forms. I’ll research for the Graphic/Digital design projects I currently have, sketch out my ideas, design websites/logos/brochures, create videos and animation – and much more. Through all of this I’m consistently in contact with my team.
It’s up to me to keep the design team engaged and inspired, as well as myself. I have to approve everything before it leaves the studio, making sure that it matches the brief and is up to the high CDA standards.
In between all of this, I’ll steal a few minutes to have lunch. It’s hungry work, through my day I’m consistently testing my creativity and managerial skills – so it requires a comfortably full stomach. I’ll usually have a sandwich, some fruit, a yogurt, some nuts, and a bag of crisps – Doritos, if you’re offering!
Heading home
On the journey home I’ll de-compress a little and think through some of the ongoing projects we have. When I get home it’s time to have some dinner and relax in front of the football, though if there’s no football I’ll work my way through a TV series.
After that, I’ll fall into bed ready to get up in the morning and do it all again!
