Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you:
Hello, I am Antonis Kodjamanis, graphic designer, and online tech savvy.
Your current job:
I work in the advertising industry as a graphic designer as well as a freelancer under gotnostudio
In which city are you located?
Currently, I live in Nicosia the capital of Cyprus a small island in the Mediterranean.
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
The one that really fancies what he does I guess.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc..)
Well, the answer to this one is kind of standard. In terms of software, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. As well as pen and paper.
What does your office space look like?
I prefer to keep it as clutter-free as possible. I like a clean area to work on with as less stuff around as possible.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working?
I’ll listen to anything but everything depends on my mood and what I feel like listening to at that particular moment. It can be mainstream, rock, trip-hop, Greek music. I can always rely on Spotify to come up with some well-crafted playlist for me, so listening to whatever genre of music has never been an issue.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work?
I am still trying to sort out this part. A little to-do list with things that need to be finished in a day is a good approach that usually works.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
Try to follow a GTD routine maybe? I am not sure if this applies to everyone but it works for me most of the times. A list of things that have to be done is a kind of productivity guide. Additionally, I try to keep notes of things that matter when I work so I can go back later and make sure that everything is going according to the plan, or at least is kind of going according to the plan.
You’re better than your colleagues to:
To be honest, so far, for the most part, I’ve had the pleasure of working with people that were more experienced than me in their field and had a pretty good creative scope. I find that you can always draw ideas and inspiration from experienced people but also explore new points of view. I think my edge over others may be in technical stuff and useless trivia.
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
“Someone somewhere else can do it better for sure” and “doubt your work if you want to be good at it.” I believe both approaches have truth in them and can work as a motivation to reach that extra mile.
What is your best tip for saving time?
Managing your time in the first place. If you have the flexibility to adjust the time frame of any project or task, try to be generous with the time that it needs to be completed. You will always need some extra time to go through the details and fine tune the areas that you are not sure about. On the other hand, you can try staying away from social media while you do some work. Here you go, time saved.
What is your routine start and end of the day?
I love coffee so I will have a cup of coffee for sure and go through some blogs and Behance. End of the day? That depends, but usually, it involves some kind of alcohol or after work drinks and a nice meal or a night out, maybe catch up on TV shows I like.
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
A Wacom tablet is sometimes handy. Also, a solid backup solution. Saving my work has also saved me a lot of time and frustration on more than one occasion. Not so much a gadget, but a pen and paper are always a huge help, for notes, drafting, doodling and such.
cy.linkedin.com/in/antoniskodj
