Things I’m great at and enjoy doing
Adobe CC & Microsoft Office
Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat are the bread and butter of my designs, I love using them and have been since 2012. Using MS Office has been a great bridge between design and other departments to track projects and provide transparency.
Designing logos and print collateral, retouching photos, and creating murals from scratch are just a few of the things I am able to do in the Adobe CC. Office has been a great tool to create presentations, log work hours, and store and sort through critical information for projects.
Constantly Learning & Growing
To be a professional is to be someone who wants to learn new techniques, tools of the trade, and evolve. Both as a person and a designer, I love absorbing and using what I’ve learned in order to work smarter and sharing my knowledge to help my team grow.
I am currently in the process of teaching myself UI design as thats the next career path I would love to take. Previously it was focusing on the tools of the Adobe CC, and now soft skills such as fostering client relationships, maintaining clear deadlines, and perfecting my communication are my focus.
Attention to Detail
Being able to make things look pretty is something all designers are able to do, but my attention to detail has been a skill that has separated me from others. Having a “measure twice, cut once” mentality saves time and money down the road.
Becoming one of the go to members of my team for quality control has helped me to really grow in this skill. Whether that be double-checking my own work or checking the work of other designers, I have been able to catch mistakes before they become problems.
Designing as a Problem Solver
This is the most useful piece of info I took from my time in college and that I use everyday in my professional career. Each project presents new obstacles, my job as a designer is to see whats in front of me and be able to overcome it.
The list of examples is always expanding. Anything from prioritizing a hot project that just came in that needs to get done, understanding complicated client feedback and working through the processes to give them what they didn’t even know they needed, to picking out the perfect font.
Print Production & Prepress
Even though we are all operating in a world that is more and more digital, to know how to set up files for print, and to have them print well, is a skill that takes patience and one where it pays to look a few steps ahead in the process.
From formulating and printing color blocks to assist the client in finding the exact color they want in their artwork, measuring precisely where artwork will fall in an elevation, to formatting logos and artwork to be cut out of vinyl. Production can be a tough process, but one that I enjoy.
Leading By Example
I feel that realizing you’re a leader in your team happens for everyone differently. Either by your hard work and dedication, some area of expertise, or being a source of inspiration and guidance. For me I’ve learned it pays to be a good person and to love what you do.
This one is probably my most proud achievement so far in my career. Taking the opportunity to confer with a team member and assist them in their design question or technical issue. Helping in building our design schedule and running morning meetings has been a fun challenge as well.