I’ve started to learn that organization and teamwork works hand in hand. I thought I was decent at organization until interning. I am usually quite organized with my files, Photoshop layers, research folders etc. but this is when I was working for my eyes only. I’m more likely to go with the flow and let my work area get a little jumbled when I’m lost in a project or determined to get done.
When working in a team, you have to account for everyone working on the project. A Photoshop file may circulate between multiple designers and the art director, especially if it’s a project that takes a while, lasting more than a working day. The horror!
I have very little experience of working in teams. My only experience is in Design Team Class and The One Club Boot camp, and even then, we didn’t complete one another’s work. It became so tedious to constantly make sure everything was labelled and easy to follow universally and not just for myself. I had to get out of my comfort zone.
I recently had to recolor a lot of our new inventory jewelry for Khol’s website. And like a lot of projects as I mentioned before, it took a lot of trial and error. Not naming my layers or saving photoshop files were one of them. This caused a little loss of time since the color was not the correct match to what was needed. Therefore, the next designer had to re-start the entire file after I left. It was dreadful, but it was also a learning experience from my failure.
Another thing you need to do is back-up! In the office, there is the shared folder that anyone can achieve files from. Having an organized folder with correct names makes it easier for anyone else to locate it. I have made a folder with my name and position with all projects I’ve worked on and placed it in here, so when needed for reference or other projects, it’s an easy find. There is also the company’s dropbox where we back up some of the work. After some time, this became a routine.
Emails. Lots of emails! As I mentioned in “Fast Pace, Deadlines & limited time” , we get tons, so organizing this surely made things a lot easier and got things done faster to keep up with the pace.
So the takeaway is, it’s not just about looking neat. As interns, we already have to keep up with the fast pace, deadlines, limited time, failing… disorganization just makes our lives harder and puts more pressure on us. Keeping your workspace organized will give you peace of mind and save the team precious time.
