Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
Well my name is Diana Velarde and I am a Graphic Designer. I am currently on my second year of college pushing to be a successful freelance outside of school for the time being.
Your current job :
Freelancer
In which city are you located:
Ottawa, ON
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Passionate
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
Creative Cloud Application (illustrator, indesign, photoshop, aftereffects, dreamweaver, glyphs) for design purposes. I also use brakets and github for web design/development.
What does your office space look like?
I am currently in the middle of moving so it is pretty messy. As freelancer and student I am constantly on the run and find my self doing work at school and coffee shops. At home i have my desk set up w my laptop, drawing table and mouse. I try to keep note pads or sketchbooks around so I can jot down ideas.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working ?
I don’t have a preferred genre but I do listen to music from around the world such as Korean, Greek, Persian, Dominican and Since I am from Peru I do ofter listen to Peruvian music.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
During a busy week my phone calendar will be fill of reminders just to keep in track and get things done quicker. I also take picture of the notes i leave on note pads just to look back and see if i missed anything.
What tips would you give to improve productivity ?
Stay away from social media! I usually check my notification at the end of the night before going to bed just to see whats up even thought am not a big fan of facebook or twitter because it is just a distraction checking pinterest or isntagram can feed your creative mind when you are working sometimes.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
I think I work at a faster paste and I am also a better problem solver. Before I go ask for help I make sure I try to fix whatever problem I have on my own at least once.
What is the best advice anyone has given you ? To never give up!
I mean there has been times where I have been so overwhelmed with work that I literally did feel like giving up specially with school and work but nonetheless seeing the out come of my work and seeing clients satisfy with my work or just regular people appreciating my work is very rewarding.
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
I ofter skip breakfast and thats the worst! but when am in a rush its often what ends up happening. I head to school and am there till probably 8 to 9 pm going to classes doing homework, doing clients work. When I get home I normally take a break from work and if there is something due the next day I will usually stay up later. On days that I don’t have classes I usually do client work or catch up with homework.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
I cant go on with out a mouse. Two minutes into using the trackpad on my laptop my hand will start cramping up and starts getting numb so a mouse is must!