Kate's First Year at Discovery Design

Today marks my 1 year anniversary working at Discovery Design. 

In usual circumstances, I’d be spending my day in the office collaborating with the team and tucking into a Fat Hippo burger at lunch to celebrate, however due to lockdown that won’t be happening today but I’m excited to be reunited with the team and getting back into the office once this is over.

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since I started working here, it feels like so much longer. This step in my career was the best decision I have made and look forward to seeing what the future holds for both myself in my role and Discovery Design as a company.

What have you learnt in your role as Designer at Discovery Design?

I have learnt so much since being here, but I would have to say the most beneficial skill I now have is the ability to use Adobe Xd for designing websites. This program quite literally has transformed the way that I work. I was introduced to Xd on one of my first days at Discovery and I have not looked back since. Beforehand, I was using Photoshop / Illustrator to create mockups for web design but Xd makes it so much easier, as well as making it look more realistic to the way it will actually look once the design is developed. It is also a much more professional web design tool as it has many features which mimic the way a developed website works therefore when you present a design to a client, the mock up is pretty much identical to the way it will look once it has been developed. 

What kind of design job do you enjoy the most and why?

I would have to say that I find branding projects the most enjoyable as I thoroughly enjoy the process from starting with nothing but a name or a brief concept from the client to creating the finished brand. I believe that research is highly valuable in the branding process and understanding the overall business, their audience and their goals as well as looking at design inspiration and different styles really helps me create the finished product as there are so many things to consider but the more you delve into these important aspects, the better you are able to create something meaningful for that specific business. Once I have done the important research behind the brand then it sets me up well so that I can really jump into the design process of creating the physical brand aspects such as the logo mark and brand collateral. 

I also really enjoy the web design part of my role as I can envision and design pretty much anything and Tom (Our Front-End Developer) is able to develop it. Myself and Tom work really well together and we have a very efficient process for web projects. I specifically like the initial part of the process, where I meet with clients to understand their business and what they need from their website then I spend time considering the overall look, functionality and the user experience and then I delve into designing the site. Once I have designed the site, I really look forward to seeing the website built and made live. 

What has been your favourite project at Discovery Design?

I have worked on such an array of projects over the last year and so many stick in my mind for being possible favourites but I would have to say my top 3 projects would have to be: 

1. The design of the new Discovery Design website which is due to launch over the next few months. I initially designed a new website for our business when I first started here in April / May last year, but with our client work being prioritised, the DD website was put on the back burner for a little while. However I am so glad this happened, as my skills as a designer have improved immensely, especially as my confidence with Xd has improved, therefore I approached our team and asked if I could redesign the site again to show off what we are really capable of with enhanced design, functionality and UX. I am really looking forward to showing this off once it has launched so keep your eyes peeled!

2. The brand development of Manhattan Bar & Terrace was a project I absolutely loved working on for several reasons, one being that I love NYC and another being that the idea for this bar was “stylish rooftop terrace vibe” which was really up my street on a design level as I am really inspired by high end brands, sleek typography and city life culture so I knew this project was a great fit for me as a designer. I designed 3 concepts to present to our client and had a specific favourite which I knew would work so well for this brand and was so glad when our client chose the one I was rooting for. 

3. The design of the new Better Living Outdoors website which we showed a sneak peek of on our social platforms earlier this week. Our clients have been onboard for about 6-months now and we have done a lot of work on their Google Ads and Facebook Ads strategy, with really great results. Their existing website lacks in brand consistency and user experience, so we have worked with the client to improve this and the new website really does push the boundaries to hopefully enhance their success even further. The new and improved design is modern, functional and really shows off their products, I am looking forward to the launch and to see how their new website works with the successful ad strategy we have in place for them. 

What do you think is in store for the next year?

I think that there is a lot in store for Discovery Design and our team in the next year, we have seen a lot of positive growth in the time I have worked here and this is continuing. We are working on a varied range of exciting projects in many different business sectors and look forward to promoting them in the future. I personally am pushing myself further with video / animation and will continue my self-development in this area as well as focusing on pushing the boundaries of design and creating even more beautiful, meaningful brands which have a successful online presence.