Nóra Kaszanyi, graphic designer

Published by Leonardo Calcagno

Who are you:

I’m Nóra Kaszanyi, a 23-year-old graphic designer, obsessed with all segments of visual arts.

Your current job:

I’m studying at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and If all goes well, I’m going to get a master’s degree next year. In parallel with this, I am working as a freelance graphic designer, keeping an open mind to new challenges.

In which city are you located?

Budapest, Hungary

 A word to define what kind of worker you are:

I’m diligent and punctilious person, who is difficult to break out of the minimalist style.

I like the practical and smart design solutions and like to immerse into the tiny details.

I try to include something special or unusual element in each project.

 What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)

Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Google Calendar, paper, pencil and last but not least, my head.

What does your office space look like?

If a genius can oversee the chaos, then I’m probably not a genius:) I love it when there is order around me because it also helps to keep order in my mind.

What kind of music do you listen when you are working?

I listen to many kinds of music but the particular mood that determines what I’m listening. Usually, some deep electronic music ( like Bonobo, Rival Consoles, David August, Moderat, or Burial…) helps to focus but sometimes I just play a ‘Best of 80-90’s hits’ playlist that fills me up with energy and It makes me sing.

Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?

Every morning I try to take stock of daily tasks and organize them based on priorities. I don’t insist on a strict agenda but always strive to finish my work before midnight.

The primary goal is to compress the major tasks into the morning hours because at this time I feel the most productive.

What tips would you give to improve productivity?

Set up personal deadlines yourself and don’t let anything to put you off your stride. Don’t check emails and do not try to solve everything at once!

If you’re out of the creative process to do something totally different kind of thing and try to isolate yourself from work (for me it’s playing piano).

You’re better than your colleagues to:

I do not think anyone would be better than the other because everyone is different in some respects and everyone has a strength. I think this makes the creative environment viable. My strength in mind-reading. I try to strengthen the ability to see deeply into the client’s mind to maximize our cooperation. Most of them have an idea in their head and my task is to give a visual form to these thoughts. This is not an easy way at all.

What is the best advice anyone has given you?

First of all: “Learn to say no.” This is the most difficult to follow up to this day but sometimes it is unavoidable.

The other useful advice is to don’t lose your creative style completely, even if you are not in that situation where you can express yourself perfectly.

I think it’s important to know that you don’t have to correspond to everyone’s taste because your own creative personality can be compromised.

What is your best tip for saving time?

Check out from Facebook and avoidance of checking emails will help!

What is your routine start and end of the day?

It’s not a big challenge for me to wake up early in the morning (without coffee!) in order to avoid working through the night.

I try to schedule the more problematic tasks into the morning hours because this time when I feel more productive.

I never start the day without reading emails but if I have to go to university this action is delayed. Sometimes it comes as a shock ( therefore I strive to check emails frequently ) and then I jump into the projects I’m currently working on. At the end of the day, I usually make a dinner or meet with my friends for a small talk. In general, I stay up till 1 am and I try to finish things as much as possible in order not to adjourn to the next day. Before I fall asleep I read the news and check Instagram feeds.