Halfway Point at Penguin Books, DK Life

To mark my halfway point in DK at Penguin Books, my seventh week was a pretty busy one. I’m glad that I am feeling much more relevant and valued as a member of the team, working on editorial spreads for new revisions of books and research presentations for the global DK. 
I feel it is important to highlight the notion of criticism in the design world. It’s a tricky thing to take, something that can turn your day upside down and send you in a downward mental spiral. But this uncertainty perhaps is simply part of the design process. Finding your feet is never supposed to be easy.

Here are some pointers I feel I have learnt this week:

1. You’re more likely to get more work and opportunities if you go to meetings, so always try and go when you can.
2. Don’t always assume someone will have seen your email or something you left on their desk. Reprint it and take it to the meeting.
3. Always take up the offer of having a catch up and share the list of all your tasks.
4. Present a microcosm of your work and explain your thinking.
5. Try not to see criticism as not doing your job properly. Understand that something won’t always be perfect during the design process.
6. Always check what time people sign off for the day.
7. Work is like hot potatoes, get it off your plate as soon as possible.

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