A Day In The Life Of A Designer
First things first, I like a cup of tea in the morning.
My aim is to head out early every morning for a walk in the country air to connect, clear my head and start the day positively. I love opening my mind or having a laugh by listening to a podcast as I walk.
Then I check my emails, and reply before anything else. I enjoy corresponding with my clients very much and look forward to reading my emails, which is a joy to say.
I like to work in a quiet and calm environment so make sure my space is tidy and enjoyable, with my house plants, a jug of water and inspirational artwork, to feed the mind and soul.
When designing I always sketch by hand first, trialing different shapes, details and finishing touches. Putting pencil to paper is freeing and creative process, plus it’s important to nurture the skill. By starting on paper it helps makes sure the initial design is the best it can be from the beginning.
Then I scan this into the computer and set to sketching it up neat on illustrator. I’m a self proclaimed geek and am in love with illustrator. Creating clean, easily translatable designs, that can be arranged and coloured, thats my jam.
I have a Degree in Fashion Design and years of experience, but, essentially, I’m self-taught, the only way to hone design skills is through perseverance and time. Taking on varied projects and learning to grow though the most menial task. I’m a multi-product designer, and can turn my hand to most things. Over the years I’ve done everything from denim to children’s wear, sportswear, men’s and of course women’s wear, casual, going out etc. You name it.
Lunch time is a sacred time, I always try to take the full hour to eat a nice lunch and take a break. Then do any small house tasks.
Working from home can be challenging, it’s so important to stay healthy, I try to meditate to keep stress levels down and speak to people regularly to keep from feeling isolated.
I find having a deep focus playlist is really helpful to get into the flow mind set, often calming instrumental music helps me write and sketch. I highly recommend trying the focus playlists on Spotify.
I get a little nervous excited at the start of every project, I figure it is a good thing, this keeps me coming up with my best work for every client, and getting immersed in each project.
I normally work up until tea time, putting together social media schedules, planning my to-do list for tomorrow and doing all the small but necessary tasks that take less concentration. As I don’t commute it can be hard to turn off in the evenings, but it helps when you enjoy what you do.
When I do finish my aim for this year is to start making my own clothes again and have fun doing my own creative projects in the evenings, and always to read more. Like most people though I mostly watch some Netflix with my partner getting sucked into some addictive show.
There you have it, thats my life on a good day! I believe life is what you make of it and we are never the finished article, currently, I am working on tightening all my systems to make the process easy and enjoyable for my clients. And let’s be real, this is the ideal day, some days it doesn’t always go to plan, and that’s OKAY!
I would love to hear any tips you have for having your best workdays.
Love, Lottie xx