Meet Dave
A few notes for upcoming designers.
Dave is a colleague. He’s incredibly friendly, hard-working and talented.
He’s full name is Dave Valentino Weiss, which on its own merit, is very cool. He also doesn’t mind when you smile at his Austrian accent because it sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s... which it does sometimes. This is awesome, especially when he spots you in the gym.
Dave joined the agency I work at as a intern quickly gaining a full-time contract as a junior designer. Today my boss said he was being promoted from junior designer to senior designer. A quick note, due to the structure and dynamic practises at the agency, full-time staff members will often proceed from graduate/junior level (where they act as understudies & mid-levels) to seniors (where they are often accountable for both projects and freelance resource).
The reason I’m writing this post is because not only does DVW deserve a big congrats, I believe his approach so far, serves as a great reference for upcoming designers.
Things Dave did well from the get-go:
Creative design — Dave is a natural creative, he can take a square and make it move like a circle on a static webpage. He’s a dream for designers/UX architects with lower visual skill to collaborate with.
Clients-facing skills — Dave is charismatic, I’m not physically attracted to the dude, I’m just saying if I leave him in a room with a client to go pee, I know that he can carry the discussion with ease. Something you don’t expect to see in junior designers. Approachability that pulls and holds clients is an appealing attribute to an employer.
Common sense — Sounds obvious, but a great deal of graduates I meet or send me portfolios produce work that makes no coherent sense. As a UX designer, I’m looking for a visual execution that supports and amplifies the content, rather then hinder it. Dave even as an intern understood the importance of contrast, functionality and the foundations of UX design.
Collaborating — Dave likes to put his headphones on as much as the next designer. He also likes to sit down next to you and share a screen, knowing two heads are better then one.
Things Dave is doing well at now:
Managing projects — With our lead designer on sabbatical, wrestling columbian drug-lords, Dave has taken the opportunity to step up. Showing an ability to manage himself and other designers with little stress. Sure he may of been stressed at times, but he certainly didn’t announce it to the office floor, something a close-knit team can appreciate.
Learn — Dave will be an exceptional creative director one day because he realises the foundation of his evolving skill-set is learning. Being an understudy for visual design & creative did not stop him asking for lessons and support in interaction design.
Supports others — Being the friendliest of humans, Dave is very approachable for those who have a problem. Where it be a developer pondering an interaction, or a freelancer needing guidance. Dave doesn’t hide behind his junior status, nor does he act like the most important man in the room. He simply steps up and helps people, expecting nothing in return.
This may all seem a bit bromantic, but again not only did I feel Dave deserved some congrats but felt he’s progression offered a strong criteria for upcoming designers.
Congrats Dave.
Note: the dude didn’t know why I asked him to stand for the above picture.
