Q&A with Our Creative Director
Recently, a Graphic Design student at the University of Missouri-Columbia reached out on LinkedIn and asked if I‘d be willing to help her with an assignment for her Capstone class by answering some questions about my experience in the design world.
As a Mizzou alumn, who’s been through their Graphic Design program (some years ago), of course I agreed to help.
In answering her questions, I found that it was actually an interesting process for me to reflect on where I started as a designer to where I am in my career today. A great deal has changed in the industry over the past 18 years, but at the same time many things remain the same.
As a student, I wasn’t required to interview a designer in the field. But, in looking back, I can see how valuable that knowledge would have been for me at the time. So, I thought I’d share my responses in case they are helpful for other designers entering the design world.
Here we go!
What does your typical day at work look like?
I always start my day by checking and getting caught up on email and slack. I then review my tasks for the day and re-prioritize as needed based on any changes in deliverables. I then start tackling my tasks, which vary depending on the day, but generally include:
- Reviewing staged web work our development team has built to make sure it properly reflects the designs they were given, as well as catch any bugs in functionality.
- Review and provide feedback on our designer’s work. This could be website designs, a logo, branding, social creative, etc.
- Since I’m a partner in the company, I also handle business tasks such as invoicing, creating proposals for new work, and responding to client emails.
- I may have a few client calls to discuss a current project, or with a prospect to discuss a new project.
- Generally, Creative Directors don’t do much hands-on designing, but because we’re a small team, I still get to do some design work (website design, logo creation, brand books, etc.).
I end my day by again reviewing my tasks and getting things in order for the next day.
How many other designers do you work with?
I currently work with one other designer. In the past, I’ve worked with teams of 2-4 designers.
What is it like working in collaboration with a team?
I really enjoy it. I have quite a bit of independence in my work, but it’s nice to have brainstorm sessions and critiques as a team where we bounce ideas off of each other. Also, if I’m unsure of an approach or get stuck creatively, it’s nice to have a team that can help.
Our design and development teams work together very closely when working on a website project to ensure we are designing things in a way that makes sense from a development perspective and vice versa.
How do you approach starting a new project? What’s your creative process?
The process is slightly different depending on the work, but in general it involves:
- An ‘exploration’ or discovery. This is where we ask the client all kinds of questions to understand as much as we can about their business and what they are wanting to accomplish. This includes things like their goals, target audience, brand personality, etc.
- Research & inspiration. It’s important to do research and be aware of a client’s competitors. I wouldn’t want to design a logo that looks very similar to a competitor. It’s also important to be aware of what already exists. This helps to get the creative juices flowing and I start to identify elements I like and form ideas. There are a lot of creative resources available for inspiration, but my go-to is typically Pinterest and Awwwards.com—and of course Google. Internally we have a slack channel where our team shares inspiration throughout the year, so that’s a good source for me as well.
- Sketch & establish basic design elements. I don’t always sketch things out first, but usually I do. I will at least always have a plan on how I want to approach the design before I get into the design software (Illustrator, Figma, Photoshop, InDesign). I explore font options and create a color palette. These may ultimately change once I get in and start designing, but I ensure I have a foundation of creative elements in place, and a solid design direction I want to go in.
- Iterate. A good piece of advice that I had to learn is that it’s okay to fail. Sometimes you don’t know if something will work until you try it. Even if you think you have a good idea, there may be a better one. That’s where it’s great having a good team of designers to bounce ideas off of. It’s also nice to get feedback from people outside of the ‘design bubble’, since they aren’t as close to the work and often bring unique perspectives.
What was the most challenging part of transitioning from school to the professional world?
Good question. You’re making me age myself here. When I graduated, I was very efficient in print design and not as much with digital. My first job was at a digital marketing company, so I had to learn a lot of web design on the fly, so that was tricky. I’m thankful for it now, since digital design is the world we live in. Experience in both print and web design has made me more well-rounded.
I guess I’d also say just knowing the right questions to ask a client and how to explain my work. A big part of what I do is interpreting what the client says in order to create what they are looking for. Clients often have a hard time putting into words what they want, so knowing the right questions to ask is helpful.
Once I have a design ready to present, I need to be able to explain why I made the creative decisions I did. If a clients asks why something is blue or why an element is positioned in a particular place, I need to be able to explain it. They may still have me change it, but it helps if I can explain my reasoning.
Would you recommend catering your portfolio to your preferred area of design or showing a bit of everything?
Ensure the majority of your work is your preferred area of design. Then, include a few projects that are outside your area of design to show you are well-rounded and capable of doing more than one thing.
In general, I’d say to make sure that any work you include is work you are proud of. If it’s something you don’t really love, don’t show it and come up with something new. If you don’t love it, chances are others won’t either.
What is something in your design career that you wished you had known earlier?
Trust your gut.
What has been the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing clients have success and thrive. Obviously that is due to many different factors, but playing a role in establishing a brand’s identity—more than just their logo, but their messaging, personality, how they are presented to the world—is really rewarding.
What advice do you have for someone starting out as a designer?
Our mantra at Leverage is: Be Useful. Be Kind. Be Fearless. I think that nicely sums it up.
Always do your best to be useful. If you don’t know how to do something, learn how or ask for help.
Try to always be kind, even if you don’t agree with someone.
Don’t be afraid to fail. I’ve learned a lot more from my failures than my successes. Don’t be afraid to (respectfully) stand up for work you believe in.
Be humble and never stop learning. Learn from your peers. There is always something new being introduced—a new design tool, a new approach, AI, etc.
How do you network and connect with others on your career path?
I did a lot more of this early on in my career, but I need to be better at it now. St. Louis has a ton of creative agencies and there‘s a lot of cool events that happen throughout the year that allow you to connect, such as participating in STL Design Week, AIGA, and things of that nature. And LinkedIn of course.
Also, as different projects require capabilities outside of our in-house services, such as videography and photography, I’ve made a lot of great connections and collaborated with some really talented people over the years.
What advice do you have for building strong client relationships?
Treat them like an extension of your own company. Be transparent and have open communication.
How do you balance work with your personal life?
Prior to having kids I wasn’t good at balancing my work with my personal life. I worked quite a bit. After kids, it has put things into perspective and I’ve realized it’s important to put more energy into what’s most important to me. I now do a better job of not checking email on nights and weekends. I’m not a doctor, I’m a designer, nothing is so important that it can’t wait until the next day.
What skills or experiences have been most valuable for your career growth, and how do you continue developing them?
Good communication skills. As you move up in your career, you’ll do more presentations of design work to clients—so being able to present well and explain the work is key. Again, this is also helpful when starting a project, so you ask the right questions to really understand what the client is looking for.
The more you practice, the better you will be.
