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A Day in Design
By Karen Lenihan
UCDA Designer Magazine, (Vol. 28, No. 2)
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Karen Lenihan, Designer magazine Advisory Board member, is a senior publications designer in the Office of College Relations at Rivier College, Nashua, New Hampshire.

"Oh...cool job...." is the typical response when I tell people I'm a graphic designer by profession. "It must be wonderful to be creative all the time," usually comes next. I usually regale them with a description of my typical work day: I breeze into my office around 9 a.m. with my steaming french vanilla cappuccino or frozen ice coffee depending on the season, and the latest issues of my favorite design magazines. I take my seat at my ergonomically correct desk and power up my 1GHz dual processing G4 with flat panel cinema display, only after closing my office door and hanging my "do not disturb...design in progress" sign on the door of my private office. I forward my calls to voice mail and for the better part of the morning, I conceptually design the latest and greatest admissions recruiting publication. Before heading off to an early lunch, I stop down the hall for an inspiring and motivating brainstorming session with my colleagues. After lunch I return to my desk and start production and design of the brochure I spent the morning planning. At five o'clock on the dot, I end my day and look forward to another fulfilling day tomorrow.

What a wonderful day in the life of a graphic designer, right? Here's a version of my typical day that's a little closer to the truth: I show up to work before the sun has come up. Of course, I have my morning beverage of choice, but instead of leisurely sipping it at my desk, I watch it grow cold as I check the 100 e-mail messages and 20 plus voice mails I've somehow acquired overnight. I spend about an hour returning calls...answering questions about file formats, e-mailing the college logo to everyone on the planet, confirming that I did in fact send the latest ad to meet yesterday's deadlines, the list goes on and on and on. Just when I'm ready to get down to work (you know...the creative part), the "walk-ins" begin. We all experience "walk-ins," those people who just show up unannounced and need a brochure printed by the end of the day. After handling the "walk-ins," I remember the specs for the latest brochure I'm working on need to get faxed to my printer, so I run down the hall and wait in line to send a fax to a number that always seems to be busy. When I return to my desk, there's of course a new fax on my chair that needs immediate attention, a last minute ad request, and a slew of new e-mails and phone messages. I return my printer's urgent message that the stock I chose is discontinued, that my press check has been moved up two hours, and that today's deliveries need to be confirmed.

Before I know it, it's late afternoon (an early lunch was never on the agenda), and I haven't had a moment to start the not one, but 13 projects that need to be designed today. I forego the conceptualization part of the design process, and jump right into redesigning our alumni magazine. I skip the brainstorming session with my design colleagues, because let's face it, I'm the only designer on staff. I get about an hour into the magazine redesign, when I realize I need to switch gears and begin typesetting the latest graduate catalog to meet tomorrow's deadline. And so my day goes on and on and on. And after dark I leave, not because I'm finished with my work (because there is, in fact, no end), but because if I stare at my hip looking cinema display monitor for another second, my head might explode.

And so when people ask about my typical day, instead of describing an exciting day in the life of a designer, I should have described a day in the life of a designer/typesetter/production artist/art director/print buyer/ and the many other hats today's graphic designer wears on a daily basis, especially those in college and university settings. With shrinking budgets typical at the majority of educational institutions, we are forced to become more than just designers. We don't just come up with a really cool concept and design a publication, instead we deal with budgets, printers, stock selection, photo shoots, press checks, freelance copy writers, and a never-ending list of other responsibilities. Frequently we're even forced to perform manual labor as we lug boxes of publications across campus to their final destination.

When do we find the time to be creative? On some days the answer for me is that I cannot. It's the end of the day before I sit down and actually have the time to think through the latest project I am working on. More often than not, looming deadlines force me to begin designing at my computer, when I haven't even had the time to formulate an idea in my head. And as designers we all know, the best design happens independent of the computer. When we are able to lose the restrictions of computer applications, when file size, resolution, and CMYK values are non issues, we are able to let the creative juices flow and come up with truly inspiring concepts.

As college and university designers, we truly are multi-taskers. But, if given the choice, would we want it any other way? I'll let you answer for yourself, but for me the answer is a resounding no. I may complain that the ten or so other hats I'm required to wear interfere with my creative process, but would I relinquish control of print buying and art direction and my many other responsibilities if it meant I had more time to be creative? Absolutely not. For me, the many hats I wear make me who I am as a design professional.

While I won't admit this to my colleagues, I am not creative all the time. I have peaks and valleys when my creative energies ebb and flow. During my low creative times, I truly enjoy the many other tasks I perform...there's nothing like a simple typesetting job at the end of the day to help me unwind, or a trip to my local printer to discuss stock selection and press runs. And while these jobs are time consuming and interfere with my creative design time, they force me to manage my time, to plan ahead, and to divide my attention and all those other skills future employers will always value. These multiple tasks make my day unpredictable and exciting, and let's face it, as designers, we're always up for a challenge. And what's more exciting than a day of juggling the 10 or more hats we've grown accustomed to wearing on a daily basis. It's those hats that make each day different from the last, and that have helped us grow our resumes beyond just designer to any combination of titles that describe the work we do every day.

So on days when I can't find time to be creative, when a deadline is looming and I can't seem to focus on a single project, I remember that my creativity comes from within. All of my daily experiences make me who I am as a designer and a person. Above all else, I try not to lose sight of the fact, that although I am the sole designer at my college (a lonely Mac user in a world of PCs), I am not alone. I am part of a community of design professionals, who experience the same thing I experience every day. And as some of the more mundane daily tasks begin to consume my day, I appreciate the fact that the many hats I wear make each day a little different from the last, and I find myself looking forward to savoring an afternoon of creativity after a day of accomplishments.

No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the University & College Designers Association.