My preferred methods of communication

I am always fastest to respond on Slack. Email is fine too, although sometimes I forget it exists these days.

When I like to work

I tend to start around 8:30-9am, once my kids are out the door and on their way to school and kinder really, and finish up around 4:30-5pm. Thursday’s I do a half day and finish up at 1pm, so no meetings after then would be fab!

How I like to work

I tend to do most of my work from home. I like to go into the office at least one day a week to be around people and also it switches the environment up so I don’t feel stale. Sometimes I like to listen to music or a podcast in my headphones, depending on what type of work I’m doing.

Qualities I value in colleagues

Honesty and transparency are two important qualities for me. Also being able to take time to listen and really understand someone and trying to put yourself in their shoes.

How I best receive design feedback

Written feedback is fine, as long as it’s clear and cohesive. Written feedback can sometimes get a little blurry and taken out of context though. Jumping on a quick zoom call or face-to-face is always a good option.

Things that stress/frustrate me

Being able to brief correctly is a true skill. It can be frustrating when a brief is not clear and leaves me guessing what they want, pretty frustrating for a designer. Also, what I call ‘personal feedback’ can be frustrating and take the actual brief or desired outcome off course. This is feedback from someone that is personal, because they personally don’t like something. For example, “please change that colour of the heading because it’s yellow and I don’t like the colour yellow”… Feedback needs to be from a holistic stand point and always come back to the brief and have the projects best interests in mind.

How others can get the best of me

Reasonable timeframes and a heads-up about a project before it lands in the inbox is always helpful. Being honest and upfront with me allows for better communication and expectations.

How I learn best

If I’m interested in learning something, I tend to just dive in and give it a go, I guess I learn best by doing. Visual reference or watching a tutorial is also good.

How I like to be supported

I’m extremely bad at asking for help and support. This is something I have been working on over the recent times. I tend to have a ‘can-do’ approach to my work which is great, but can sometimes mean I take on more than I really should. I guess just a casual check-in is really all I need and I will be honest about where I’m at.

What motivates me

I tend to be a pretty self-motivated person. I’m driven by many aspects of life. Something I read, something I saw online, an interaction I had with someone. It really could be anything. Music motivates me and also stumbling across some work that really inspires me motivates me to push myself further.