My first 10 months at Cite – by Jadene

This is the first in a series of blogs written by the staff here at Cite, recording thoughts on a topic close to their heart. We kick off with our latest studio recruit, Jadene…

In the beginning there was an interview, that interview led to a phone call and that phone call led to me leaving sunny Huddersfield and moving to Leicester to start my new role as a Digital Designer at Cite – The Digital Agency.

These first 10 ten months have flown by and I can honestly say that I’ve learnt a lot from them – in light of this I’ve jotted down 10 things I’ve learnt, heard or seen over the past 10 months.

1. WYSIWYG, bugs, orphans and children.

I think I heard all of the above within my first few hours at Cite. They’re not terms I’d heard flying around when studying or working as a freelancer so I was quickly brought up to speed with what these terms meant and who is most likely to use them.

2. Is it on the server?

If you can’t find something on the server then it probably does not exist or it would seem that way to whomever was trying to track down your PSD or latest export for a client. Working as part of a bigger team has meant that keeping my work organised and up to date has become a high priority.

3. Be ambitious but also have a dev head

The first project I took a lead on was for a waste management company. I initially designed the website with a purely design head on but soon learned that taking the time to consider how the designs would be built in line with the time and availability of the developers on the project is definitely something to bear in mind.

4. Kitchen Etiquette

Is a big deal.

5. Designing for retina and non-retina.

There is a difference.

6. Project Managers are shields

Working alongside a project manager has made the design process a lot easier – they are the bridge between clients and designers. They are someone you can bounce ideas off, eagle eyes for typos and encourage you to push a design that bit further.

7. Have you tried…

Is a phrase often followed by several variations of what you currently have in front of you or something completely new. Try it.

8. Everyone has something to teach you

This can goes beyond design and development. When working on different projects taking a step back from the screen and getting a fresh pair of eyes to look over things does wonders.

9. No day is the same

Very early on during my time here I realised this. One day I could be in a high-vis jacket taking photos on site around a recycling plant (see above!) – the next at my desk creating olympic themed mint animations! There’s always something to keep me busy.

10. Keep learning

This is my favourite point to finish on. The variety in any given day working for Cite provides an opportunity to learn new ways to approach a project individually and alongside others. The team structure at Cite makes it very easy to drop in on anyone within the company so the opportunities to come away having learnt something new are everywhere.

My role as a Digital Designer so far has been varied, challenging and fun – working alongside the guys here has made it even better.