Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
I’m Ira Baranova, a visual designer who’s stuck way too deep in illustration.
Your current job :
Visual designer & head of UI/UX team at Ester Digital.
In which city are you located?
There are three cities in my life: Tallinn (where I’m currently based), Lviv and Odesa.
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Curiosity. Also – excitement, the one that children usually have.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
Procreate for fun and work, Sketch for work and fun, aeropress for my morning coffee, notebook & a highlighter for making task lists on a daily basis.
What does your office space look like?
Full of light and plants. And there are always some sweets there.
What kind of music do you listen to when you are working?
Post-something, especially postpunk. A bit of weird IDM. And for the days when I need to concentration more than anything else, there are Japanese ambient artists like Hiroshi Yosimura and Susumu Yokota.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
As I said earlier, I’m a huge fan of lists. Also, I switched from doing evening yoga to early-morning yoga recently – and it was one of my best decisions ever.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Treat yourself. Stay curious and take your chances to learn something new on each project. And, for the sake of efficiency, use hotkeys!
You’re better than your colleagues to:
Each of our team members is a unique snowflake. In a good way. I don’t know.
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and to make mistakes. That wouldn’t make you worse – only better.
What is your best tip for saving time? Prioritize every single thing and don’t touch your phone that often.
What is your routine start and end of the day?
Take a walk home and spot as many dogs as possible in a city park on my way. if there are birdwatchers, can there also be dog watchers?
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without? Ipad Pro and Apple pencil almost replaced my sketchbooks.
