Hello! I'm Cat and as much as I may wish to spend my days lazily sleeping in the sun, as Lead Designer at Your Plan B, my day is met with a bit more activity than just any ordinary cat.
If I had to pick just one word to describe what I do, it would be: interpret. As Lead designer you would think most of the day I am designing away, but a title is just that, a title. In reality one's job encompasses much more than what one title can hold. The following details a day in the life of me, Cat. (Hey that's me!)
After my commute via bicycle, the first thing I do is to make sure nothing is on fire! No no, not real fire - I save that for our local firefighters. I mean anything that deserves immediate attention and must be dealt with directly. Once this has been met with swift action only then may the day's originally scheduled programming begin.
So what is in the morning's originally scheduled programming?
Meetings. Our office is designed in such a way that when working on joint projects we can turn quickly to one another to brainstorm, ask questions, etc.
Site Maintenance. With over 13 years of working on websites, we have quite a few sites to maintain, which we do with great aplomb.
Research. Every client is different, and this means constantly learning new ways to achieve their desired goals. Part of the day is always spent researching new technologies, reading reviews, and testing them out on our own sites.
Backing up. Depending on the size of the website, this can take five minutes to hours. And this MUST be done before making changes to the website. This is so that there is always a backup of what was previously on the web before any changes were made to it. This may seem like a step that could be skipped, but having that backup is crucial to maintaining a website.
The afternoon is usually when the actual coding occurs at my desk. By now I have compiled the list of tasks, the sites have been backed up, and I am ready to make any edits, or build out any newly designed sites. These do not necessarily happen everyday but they are part of my regular tasks. So much of working in this digital age requires back and forth communication before ever getting to the virtual drawing board. Once I am certain I understand what the client has requested, work begins based on the notes from the previous meetings.
Site Development. This is when the actual coding happens.
Browser Testing. These are enough to give anyone a headache out there. But having options is an incredibly good thing. As web designers we must design for the majority, but make sure that the sites we create will function on other browsers as well.
The day continues in this vein, until it wraps itself up in preparation to begin the next. Because each project is different, I am always learning something new, be it the latin names of plants, or the proper way to make a vegan raw drink. It keeps me on my toes, and definitely not napping on the favorite chair in the sunlight like your cat or dog may be doing right now.