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Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
Hello, I’m Loris Stavrinides, a Digital Designer and Creative Director from Cyprus. I have over 12 years of professional experience and worked for a variety of well-known global brands and design agencies worldwide. Multidisciplinary knowledge in all areas of design, to motion graphics and digital illustration; and a big passion about movies, art and games.
Your current job :
I’m proudly one of the Co-Founders and the Creative Director of BLEND Digital Agency (blenddigital.com). We are an awesomely fun and professional team of very experienced and talented people that focus on the production of quality and creative digital work in web design & development, UI/UX, digital campaigns, video, animation, and digital branding.
In which city are you located?
In Nicosia, on the sunny island of Cyprus.
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Perfectionist. I’m just annoyingly obsessed with achieving the best quality results with pixel perfection and careful attention to every detail.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..) :
Adobe Photoshop for the power to create; Wacom tablets (Cintiq & Intuos) for the tools to create; Dropbox for cloud storage and ease of mind; and Microsoft Outlook for planning, tasks management, and always be reachable.
What does your office space look like?
Clean and organized, and always with notepads, sketchbooks and collectable figures.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working?
Depends in my mood. In general I avoid anything with lyrics as it distracts my focus. I love listening to deep soundtrack and epic music which inspires me a lot, deep house and progressive trance which keeps me in a productive mood, and also enjoy some alternative rock and metal when in need for more upbeat vibes. But whatever the choice, my colleagues will simply hate me for it!
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
Currently is a struggle between directing team members and projects with my actual work production time. For a successful balance I use Teamweek for planning the most of our time and resources, MS Outlook to track tasks, progress and communications, and in general I limit the amount of daily meetings and project discussions to allow enough time for my work.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Balance your hard work with good enough time off. Constant work will burn you off, and too much time off can make you lazy. Finding a good balance that works for you is important for freeing your mind and focusing on other things in your life, such as yourself and your family. Taking the right amount of break to switch off helps you being in a relaxed and improved productive mood when you get back into work.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
being the best worst foosball player in the office!
What is the best advice anyone has given you ?
Always speak up. Either your opinion, your concerns, your involvement or interest; simply never stay quiet and make people take notice of you, always in a respectful manner. This is something I was told at the early days of my career and has paid off big time.
What is your best tip for saving time ?
Use your bloody shortcuts!
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
I’m not a morning person so my start of the day is always slow. I need my cup of coffee, eat something for breakfast and take my time while I check my emails, schedule, tasks, and a quick glance on my social media and daily inspiration sources. I don’t spend too much time on these, could be between 15-30 minutes, but helps me start and prepare for the day. I then choose the right music to get right down to work, or I start ‘bothering’ my colleagues with project tasks or morning chit-chat.
At the end of the day I usually become more productive as the office becomes more quiet, and without too many emails or phone calls so is easier to concentrate and focus. For that reason I will often put extra hours in the evening either at the office or at home to catch up with my work. But whatever the case I will always stop at a certain point and hit the gym for an evening workout to unwind and clear my head before I call it a night.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
My TV media player. I don’t really watch local TV but I’m addicted to movies and popular TV shows so when I’m home, either working or relaxing, I always have a favourite show or a movie playing on the TV, even if is just as background noise.
http://www.loris-stavrinides.com/
https://www.behance.net/lstavrinides
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lstavrinides
https://twitter.com/lstavrinides
https://www.instagram.com/lstavrinides/
