Tell us a little bit about you… What role do you do in AA9?
Anything digital! As the digital and online design world has developed since the late 90s I’ve tried to keep pace! I’m a designer and animator and have always taken a user centric approach since before UX was a thing.
Tell us about your journey with Anytime After Nine
Well it’s been a long one so far, 24 years and counting. I’ve seen a lot of technology and trends come and go, but the core design principles have persisted.
What does a typical week look like for you?
Never the same! The industry we work in is very fluid with changing timelines and priorities. Flexibility is key, prioritising those jobs that need it.
What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk?
Apart from enjoying a fresh brew (custom breakfast tea and earl grey mix), it’ll be check emails. The plan for today will probably be different than the one I thought it’d be yesterday.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
Music. I need noise to let my mind get focussed, otherwise it gets distracted.
One downside.. it means I can’t share a home office with my partner, as she needs silence to work!
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A herculean effort, I am not a morning person at all!
Where do you look for inspiration?
There’s so much out there in so many forms, art, design, photography, written content, that you just need to be open to it. Appreciate what you can see and appropriate borrow what works for you.
What’s the secret to running a successful project from start to finish?
Planning, planning and more planning! The first brief/call/kick-off meeting with any client can make the world of difference.
Best advice you’ve ever received?
There’s a couple, from a design perspective: “A design is not finished when there’s nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing left to takeaway.” It’s not that design should overly simple, just that everything that’s there must add to it, not detract.
From a production point of view “we always label our layers”.
Working on lots of projects can mean that files can get pretty unwieldy and picking a job up again after 6 months or a year can take some time to get back up to speed. A good naming convention will always help!
What is your favourite thing about working at AA9?
The team, it’s a cliché I know, but to stay here so long it’d have to be.
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