![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxMjU2MTAxMzMz/gerlindegruber_portrait_big.jpg)
Who are you:
My name is Gerlinde Gruber, I am a woman.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NzMzODg3/yobilaumssorten_yo_gerlindegruber2.jpg)
Your current job:
I am a self-employed Packaging Designer.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNzkyOTA2NzA5/workstation_gerlindegruber.jpg)
In which city are you located?
Vienna, Austria
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
precise
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NjY4MzUx/tucholski_packaging_gerlindegruber2.jpg)
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
Cutting mat, cutting knife, folding bone, some punching knives, lots of carton and paper, iMac, iPhone, iPad, Adobe CS, CAD-software
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NjY3ODYx/swingpackaging_aufschwung_gerlindegruber2.jpg)
What does your office space look like?
I am working in my home office in a flat in a Viennese house from 1900. You can find piles of a carton, lots of scribbled paper, many packaging prototypes and a piano as cutting table here in my office room.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NjAyODE1/swingpackaging_aufschwung_gerlindegruber.jpg)
What kind of music do you listen to when you are working?
It depends on what I am working on: When I am building mock-ups I listening to stimulating music like rap, techno or to make me jump around I put 90s euro dance on. When I am drawing, creating or planning I often hear alternative, singer-songwriter and everything between Falco and Vivaldi. But half of the time in my office it is very quiet.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NjAyMzI1/roughcutboard_picnic_gerlindegruber.jpg)
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
Every morning, I grab my to-do list from yesterday, cross out some points and bring some new on.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NDcxMjUz/klotz_jewellerybox_gerlindegruber.jpg)
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Give your ideas a face by leaving the draft phase very early for building prototypes.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NzMzMzk3/wodakwanessa_martoschka_gerlindegruber.jpg)
You’re better than your colleagues to:
Being good at understanding people is very helpful when you have to differ between what customers say and what they really want.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NTM3Mjc5/milchring_kissingboxes_gerlindegruber.jpg)
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
don’t give a f***
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NTM2Nzg5/pago_fruitjuice_promotion_gerlindegruber.jpg)
What is your best tip for saving time?
First things first.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxMjU2MDM1Nzk3/fune_sushi_takeaway_gerlindegruber.jpg)
What is your routine start and end of the day?
There were no routines in my life except for the fact that I am having breakfast with coffee every morning. In September I became a part-time teacher for packaging design in a higher technical school here in Vienna, so there is now this routine to teach students every Monday and Friday.
![](https://baronmag.ca/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTU4MzE3NDgxNTI0NDcxNzQz/hotbbqfestival_burgercrate_gerlindegruber.jpg)
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
I called it “my smartbook”, where I write every briefing down, scribble some designs or make notes. But… is something a gadget when it’s not powered by the current?
Instagram and Twitter: @ggerlinde