Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you :
Krista Hall, an illustrator and a graphic designer
Your current job :
I’m always working on a few projects at a time. One of them being for the city of Reykjavík on a meanwhile project, designing and organizing events for urban spaces. I’ve also been doing some freelance illustration work recently and doing the graphics for Spúútnik, a popular vintage store here in Iceland.
In which city are you located?
Reykjavík, Iceland.
A word to define what kind of worker you are :
Busy and chaotic but organized when needed.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
Photoshop, illustrator, indesign, Google calendar and Yo.
What does your office space look like?
It’s very colorful. I love being surrounded by plants, magazines, books and other stuff that inspires me. My current office space is in our tiny little flat in downtown Reykjavík so I try my best to keep it clean and well organized. But when working on some bigger projects I have the tendency to take over the whole flat with my drawings and sketches so I would say the office space adjusts to each and every project I’m working on.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working ?
When drawing by hand or painting I like to listen to some old relaxing vinyl records so that I don’t need to turn on my computer. When working on projects in the computer I prefer some electro tunes like Nicholas Jaar, Trentemöller, James Blake and Moderat and the smooth sounds of Handsome Boy Modeling School.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
Not really, it kind of varies from project to project. Sometimes I find it better to not try and organize too much and rather be open to the exciting things that can come from the unexpected turns my day can take.
What tips would you give to improve productivity ?
Never pull an “all-nighter”, I’ve learned from making that mistake too many times in University, thinking I was being super productive but usually ending up deleting all the crap I’d spent the night doing and starting all over again. And instead of spending half a day on making a to-do list, just start doing.
You’re better than your colleagues to :
Treat myself with an expensive cup of latte instead of making one at home.
What is the best advice anyone has given you ?
“Kill your darlings.”
What is your best tip for saving time ?
Once I was given a tip on how to organize a whole day in the work space and another day for some meetings and running errands and that has turned out well for me. I find it very time consuming to break up every day with just a few hours work and then having to rush to a meeting and coming back and get into the drawing mood again.
What is your routine start and end of the day ?
These days my morning starts at the very expensive but nice coffee shop across the street, meeting my friend who is a product designer and is working with me on the project for Reykjavík city. We compare our books and tasks for the day and then we walk over to my office space, swearing that tomorrow we will make our own coffee at home. If I have some spare time in the evening I try to spend it on personal projects, updating my website, drawing a bit etc.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
My graphic tablet and the beautiful light table my genius boyfriend built for me.
