Design 101: 3 Things I’m Thankful For as a Graphic Designer

By Kyle Christensen

It’s finally upon us! The glorious day of Thanksgiving is happening this week. So, as this day of thanks approaches, we share what we’re thankful for. Since we’re all thankful for different things, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share what I’m thankful for here at Red Branch Media as a graphic designer. Today, I’m happy to share these 3 things I appreciate the most.

#1: Tasty Jams

“Oh Spotify, what would I do without you? Answer: go out of my mind!” – Jessica Draws of Creative Bloq (@CreativeBloq)

The most thankful thing I’m thankful for here at Red Branch Media is being able to listen to whatever we’d like. Spotify has become my best friend, and with it, it has become the driving force of my designs. It’s such a powerful part of my life because it can pull me out of those design ruts, spring the inspiration I need if I’m in a time crunch and help me work more efficiently and faster by getting me in my design groove. Music is also a big part of my life (I’m a drummer, fyi), and the fact that I can turn on my favorite metal music, reminisce on favorite bands and songs from my youth, or keep up on new music is a commodity that I can’t say “thanks” enough for.

#2: Work from Home Days

I’m also thankful for being able to work from home. I never knew how much I would appreciate it until it was offered to me. The ability to wake up, turn on your computer and get to work from the comfort of your home is a creative person’s dream. What’s my favorite thing about work from home days? Being able to kick up on the couch, sipping on a cup of coffee while running Spotify through my iMac — (that’s hooked up to my TV, than I can control from my work laptop…) it’s amazing.

It’s not just me that’s happy working from home either. A 2016 article from Flexjobs titled, “7 Stats About Telecommuting Work Job Seekers Should Know” stated: “Some 38 percent of employees who said they were able to work from home at least one day a week reported being significantly happier employees. Telecommuting workers were 48 percent more likely to rank their job a 10—the highest level—on the happiness scale.”

#3: Amazing Tools & Resources

The last thing I’m thankful for as a graphic designer here at Red Branch Media are all of the amazing tools and resources that are available to us. Not only do we have Adobe Creative Cloud at our fingertips, we also have the option to have dual-monitors (by the way, once you’ve tried it, you’ll never want to go solo again), resource accounts such as Shutterstock, Envato, Envato Elements, Video Blocks, Lynda, Sketch and wide desk to design a custom and homey workspace. Having instant access to these resources not only amplifies the quality of our design work here at Red Branch Media, but it increases productivity and reduces the time it takes to get a project done drastically.

Your workspace can affect your productivity. Learn how to set up the perfect workspace for you in my article, “Design 101: How I Design – A Peek into My Workspace.”

Although these aren’t all of the things I’m thankful for this year, they’re definitely my top 3… and I owe it all to my boss Maren Hogan and Jeremy Hogan. Curious to see what other designers are thankful for? Check out the article, “11 Awesome Perks Graphic Designers Can Be Grateful For” from UCreative. Now go out there and have a Happy Thanksgiving. As Stanley Hudson of The Office says: “Next stop, pies!” — because Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie and massive amounts of Cool Whip.

Kyle Christensen

Kyle is the Brand Director at Red Branch Media.

Kyle leads our Graphic Design Department at Red Branch Media. His ability to manage incoming tasks, collaborate with the design team, hit deadlines and keep our file storage system well-organized has helped to shape the design department clients love today. While he’s away from the branch, he spends his time playing drums, video games, cranking the latest emo, pop-punk and screamo songs on Spotify, drinking local Omaha brews, and enjoying life with his wife. Kyle has a BASA with a Concentration in Graphic Design and a Minor in Art History from UNO.