Things That Help You Design Twice as Fast
In this time and age where speed is a priority for many industries, it’s important to teach yourself how to be fast and steady. To stand out from the rest, you need to learn to design fast, maintain good work ethic, and produce great output. Why is becoming a fast designer important today? The simple answer is this: “TIME IS MONEY” Your client needs your quality design as fast as possible. When you learn how to speed things up the right way, you will be more valued and sought-after. Learning how to design fast is understanding that the quality of the design is still the top priority. A valued, sought-after designer is optimal because he is both excellent and fast. This is what you should aim for. 1. Have a clear vision of the design in your head. Take the time in between to think about your design – how you want the end product to look like and how you can execute your plan. The image should be clear in your mind by this stage so when you do the design, all you’re actually doing is putting the steps together. It’s more about creation rather than ideation. When you have a clear vision of the design, you’ll certainly design faster. 2. Set a schedule and stick to it. Make a workable plan on how you can focus on the job at hand. But remember, the strategies are secondary. The key is for you to recognize that your time can be easily squandered. At times, others will waste your time, but most likely, it’s you who actually does the wasting. If you really want to be a fast designer, you need to make an effort to be one. 3. Set a time budget before starting a project. Before doing any sketch or design, create a time budget. When you consider the time you have for a new project, it will greatly impact the way you approach your work. Be smart when making design choices. 4. Find inspiration. These days, smart designers take advantage of Google. The search engine is faster, less expensive. 5. Broaden your horizon If you like to design innovative projects or create groundbreaking ideas, you have to jump out of your comfort zone. Explore other avenues to feed your mind with new materials. Watch something you generally wouldn’t. Do something you ordinarily stay away from. 6. Work smarter. A rule of thumb for every designer: a great design is about a great layout. Regardless of how much time you spend on color selection, photography or typography, you can’t move forward if your layout is inferior. This is why many designers fail to meet their time budget. 7. Sketching should always be the first step. A hand with a pencil is infinitely faster than a hand with a mouse. If you sidestep sketching and start on working on Photoshop right away, you’ve already wasted hours of work that you think you’ve saved. 8. GET ENOUGH REST. Getting ample rest is important to stay sharp to finish the task. As much as possible, avoid working for over eight hours a day. If that’s unavoidable, take power naps or short breaks. A 15-minute rest can truly do wonders for your focus. Becoming a fast designer doesn’t happen overnight. It takes practice and discipline to learn this skill. But if you put your energy and time on mastering how to be fast, it will certainly pay off. Contact our Client Relation here!
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking in The Workplace
Another step means another lessons to be learned. I do believe that when we take another steps in life, we’re going to face another problem, challenges, which makes us learn new things. Including at work. Having the ability to know the core of the problem and the solution is needed, and I think that is a general requirement for us as employees. A research from American Management Association in 2010 also found that critical thinking and problem solving could be a strong point for the employee. Having these skills does not mean that we have to be able to answer all questions and solve it all, it means that we have to be able to think more, analyze, and observe the problems, until we can get the solutions in a reasonable period. Here, there are some tips that I found could help us to enhance our skills in problem solving and critical thinking: 1. Having a Better Understanding of the Problems By seeing the problems from many different perspectives, it could help us to have a better understanding of the problems. Also, we can compare it with other similar-or-related problems, then we can find more information that may become the answer to the problems, or at least give some learning about how to handle the problems. Or, if we got stuck with the problems, solution is not the one that we have to find anymore, but focusing on how to minimize the impact that could happen from the problem. 2. Create Several Assumptions Just because solutions were effective in the past doesn’t mean they’ll be among the best possible solutions now. Do some research in order to find the solutions, but don’t depend with unreliable sources. I’m fully aware that every problem may have different solutions, but there’s nothing wrong with researching, right? 3. Explore your Creativity Exploring your creativity and imagination could help you in finding the solutions. Believe it or not, creativity leads you to various ways or findings that you probably never think of before. 4. Follow Up Last but not least, follow up is very important after the solutions are found and implemented to the problems. This helps you in evaluating whether your critical thinking process works or not, and helps you to grow. If any of you have more tips to share, I’ll be glad and very open to any discussions! Contact our Client Relation here!
Content Marketing: Are You the Creator or the Target?
Innovation is the key of any successful company today. For many companies, however, the pursuit of innovative ideas is missing a key element of creativity. Today, the term creativity is being embraced in offices around the world with some of the top companies. Being creative at work generally means taking risks, which might make you hesitate. Fear of the unknown is a powerful thing, especially when it means you might fail. Linda Naiman, Founder of Creativity at Work, stated that unlocking creative potential is key to economic growth. For innovation to grow, organizations must create an environment that supports creativity; exchanging knowledge, ideas and shaping the direction of the future. Organizations led by creative leaders have a higher success rate in innovation, employee engagement, change, and renewal. There are two simple ways to start being creative at work, which are willing to fail and don’t be afraid to try. Here are more details about those two ways. Be willing to fail Behind every creative genius are stories of failure. Likewise if organizations wish to cultivate creativity they need to establish cultures where the risk of failure is accepted as part of the deal. The truth is if you’re not failing some of the time, you’re not stretching far enough outside of your comfort zone to keep learning and growing. One of Sue’s clients recently added the ‘The Best Idea That Didn’t Succeed Award’ to their suite of annual awards to give employees the permission to fail and boost innovation. Owning, discussing and sharing our learnings from failure gives us the courage to be creative, teaches us the value of failing quickly, and normalizes failure as part of the innovation journey. Let Them Test Their Wings Laura DeCarlo from Career Directors International stated that, to learn to fly we have to test our wings, and that can mean being given the chance to test and try things, within reason. Like any parent watching their babies fly for the first time, some guidance must be given to avoid death (and disaster). But the truth is in the workplace, you either let them try to express their creativity or you will kill their drive and desire to contribute. As future leader, you can learn creative thinking in your employees, but it’s also good to remember to recognize and praise it. It can be all too easy to turn down an idea because you think it won’t work, but holding the creative thinkers in your workplace means that innovation will be limited, and they’ll be less likely to keep coming up with new solutions. It’s not just the employees who shouldn’t be afraid to try new things, and possibly the managers as well. Contact our Client Relation here!
Berbicara di Depan Umum, Sebuah Ketakutan atau Alasan Belaka?
Sepenggal kata bijak dari seniman Salvador Dali ini membuat saya memutuskan untuk membahas topik yang sepertinya tidak ada habisnya dibicarakan baik secara langsung maupun artikel, baik itu melalui para ahli hingga seseorang yang ingin mengutarakan aspirasinya secara online seperti saya ini. Ya, topik tersebut adalah berbicara di depan umum, atau Public Speaking. “Have no fear of perfection–you’ll never reach it.” — Salvador Dali Hanya dua kata, tapi bisa membuat sebagian besar orang-orang yang mendengar dan mengalaminya tidak bisa tenang selama dua jam atau bahkan dua minggu? Hmm, memang semua orang mempunyai alasan tertentu mengapa mereka memilih untuk tidak melakukan public speaking – atau berbicara di depan umum. Namun, mau sampai kapan kita menolak diri kita untuk tidak berbicara di depan publik? Sebagian dari kita mengatakan bahwa diri mereka bukanlah pilihan yang tepat jika dipilih untuk menyampaikan presentasi atau informasi di depan teman-temannya atau mungkin masyarakat umum. Biarkan orang-orang yang sudah berpengalaman saja yang melakukannya. Ada juga yang mengatakan bahwa mereka takut salah, sehingga memilih untuk menonton saja dibanding berdiri di depan publik. Dan yang terakhir, adalah rasa takut akan di nilai dan dihakimi oleh orang yang melihatnya. Tahukah kalian bahwa kalian sebenarnya juga bisa menjadi orang yang menurut kalian itu ‘berpengalaman’ dalam urusan berbicara di depan umum? Tahukah kalian bahwa yang menghalangi kalian untuk menjadi orang yang ‘berpengalaman’ itu sebenarnya adalah rasa takut jika melakukan kesalahan itu sendiri? Tahukah kalian bahwa semua yang kalian pikirkan di atas itu bisa jadi sebuah alasan? Mungkin saja. Oleh karena itu, saatnya kita mulai mengubah persepsi seperti itu sehingga kita memiliki keberanian, atau bahkan senang untuk berbicara di depan umum! Bagaimana Caranya? Hal pertama yang perlu diperhatikan adalah meyakinkan diri untuk tidak takut akan melakukan kesalahan serta belajar untuk tidak menghindar. Sifat takut akan melakukan kesalahan dan menghindar membuat kita tidak berkembang. Jika kita terus menerus takut dan menghindar, selamanya kita menjadi tidak mampu berbicara di depan publik. Oleh karena itu, hapuslah pikiran negatif dan sifat menghindar bahwa kalian tidak bisa berbicara di depan publik. Karena dua hal tersebut yang menjadi penentu apakah kalian akan selamanya menjadi penakut, atau menjadi pembicara handal di kemudian hari. Jika kita sudah menghilangkan rasa takut dan menghindar, maka hal kedua yang perlu kita lakukan adalah dengan latihan. Ya, di dunia ini tentu saja tidak ada yang instan. Apakah Thomas Alva Edison dapat menemukan lampu pijar dalam hitungan jam? Tentunya tidak. Ia harus mengalami 1000 kegagalan terlebih dahulu. Namun, jangan jadikan kegagalan sebagai sebuah beban. Jadikanlah kegagalan sebagai sebuah pelajaran. Mulailah berbicara di depan cermin terlebih dahulu untuk mengendalikan ekspresi dan mengatasi rasa takut dan tegang akan terlihat jelek di depan umum. Ingatlah bahwa kita bisa karena terbiasa. Hal terakhir yang perlu kita perhatikan untuk mengasah kemampuan berbicar di depan publik kita adalah dengan mengesampingkan alasan akan dihakimi atau dikomentari. pertama-tama, buatlah pikiran tersebut menjadi “All-things-positive”. Jika kamu merasa kamu dikomentari, baik itu baik atau buruk, ingatlah bahwa itu adalah pertanda yang bagus di mana orang-orang memperhatikanmu. Karena perhatian publik adalah salah satu kunci utama adalah public speaking. Sebagai penutup, apa yang saya bahas di atas mungkin adalah salah satu di antara jutaan artikel yang membahas mengenai bagaimana kita mengatasi ketakutan kita akan berbicara di depan umum. Namun, yang ingin saya tunjukan di sini adalah, ketakutan tersebut hanyalah sebuah alasan yang membuat kalian tidak pernah keluar dari zona nyaman kalian. Mari, kita jadikan ketakutan akan berbicara di depan umum tersebut sebagai kesadaran untuk melangkah menjadi pribadi yang lebih baik lagi, bukan untuk dijadikan sebagai sebuah alasan. Contact our Client Relation here!
The Future is Now: Neuromarketing As a Marketing Principles
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking in The Workplace
