Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
I’m Santiago de Souza from Uruguay. I’m a graphic designer, a bass player and I can prepare a great chicken stroganoff.
Your current job :
Back in october I started working at a BTL advertising agency doing some art direction. I also work as a freelance graphic designer whenever I got the time to do it. You can check my work at behance.net/negdesouza
In which city are you located?:
I’ve been living in Montevideo for the past 5 years.
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
Self-critical
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..):
Well, I’m not much of a tech geek actually. I’m the proud owner of a really cheap Waccom Bamboo tablet and I can work wherever Adobe’s suite is installed. If I had to choose and app for work, CamScanner is great for scanning sketches on the go. And TV Show Favs, you gotta have your tv series and cartoons organized.
What does your office space look like?
At work I share a big table with other four people, so it’s kind of funny to see how it gets more and more messy from monday to friday. I really like the high ceilings in the office and one of the walls is painted teal, which is my favorite color right now. We have this Keith Haring stickers all over, I just love them. At home is more relaxed, personal and organized. I got this pinboard full of stuff I’ve been collecting through the years which I really like.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working ?
Lately I’ve been listening to Modern Baseball’s new album A LOT. It’s really hard for me to work without any music so there’s always something on and the selection is always pretty broad (from Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino to Into it. Over it. and Motion City Soundtrack). Unless it’s friday, then there’s a special disco/funk Grooveshark playlist ready to get the weekend going.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
Actually I don’t. I’m pretty messy with my day to day work, but somehow things get done by the end of each shift.
What tips would you give to improve productivity ?
MAKE LISTS. It’s sounds obvious but it’s really easy to forget things while you are really concentrated in your project, and this way you have a constant reminder of what to do and when. My design process has always been pretty chaotic, and making lists has always helped me to get back on track.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
Actually I’m always trying to be surrounded by people which I consider better than me, and people which I can learn from. Healthy competition is an excellent way to get motivated and feel the need to improve your work.
What is the best advice anyone has given you ?
A former co-worker once told me that I should see design as a trade, like carpentry is. What he meant by that is that design should always be though as a mean to satisfy a need, that you should always seek function over ornament and that every project should be unique and done with love.
What is your best tip for saving time ?
In advertising is pretty common to depend on others to do your job (clients, suppliers, other colleagues), try not to rest yourself on that and get stuff done as soon as possible.
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
I usually wake up around 8:45 and take the bus to work. I get there, make myself some coffee and check the news and e-mail. After leaving work at 18:30/19:00 I usually stop at a friend’s coffee place near work. (Yep, I’m really big on coffee)
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go ?
Of course that would be my music player, it improves public transport considerably.