The Doer

I have always prided myself on the ability to work hard and create/make. I’m less of a talker and more of a doer. A part of me feels that talking about something is wasting time and I want action. But I’m coming to realise, that we have to talk to get to the action. Talking and making a plan needs to happen, this is the foundation. This probably feeds into the impulsive side of my character, I want to do things, to make things happen now. But there’s another way, slow and steady, taking the time out to plan and map. This needs to happen for the fruit to thrive.

I am realising this more and more for my business too. Doing the groundwork, the talking it out for any brand or design project. Over more recent years I have come to realise the huge importance of this. And this topic has opened up many questions for me around the way I work, the type of worker I am. 

I would have always equated my value in terms of my work to a physical thing/item. To elaborate, a visual brand and all the elements that go with that, a poster, a brochure etc. I work this amount and the client gets this at the end of the project. Little emphasis did I place on the actual design thinking around that item, or what was involved to get to that end result. I suppose to a certain extent, it comes naturally to me, to problem solve, so because of that I didn’t place any importance on this way of thinking. And this is actually hugely important, because not everyone thinks like me. This is a skill that I never really identified before. I’m a visual communicator, a problem solver, an abstract thinker.

This is a part of my business that I am stepping more into. I am finally at that stage of realising the importance of this, because without the talking and the planning, you don’t get something that works, that connects. You just get something that looks good, with no meaning behind it. 

I feel like the stars have aligned, because last week I was awarded with an All-Star accreditation of Thought Leader in Brand and Graphic Design at the Business All-Star Awards. Now I really have to step into this title and to be honest I wear it lightly, but if this means more recognition for me as a designer and design thinking as a crucial element of the design process, I am very happy to accept that title. I put myself forward for the awards because I wanted recognition. And I really wanted to win something! I started my business in 2012, left a senior design role and built my business from scratch with zero clients. I have worked hard, created work that has elevated and positively impacted many businesses, so I wanted to acknowledge that.

The main reason I set up Treetop Studio, was because I wanted to deal directly with the people I was designing for. I wanted to sit down and talk to them, to really get an insight into why they are doing what they are doing, what drives them, what’s their vision for the business. My clients are at the centre of what I do.

But I also felt by going through the Business All-Stars auditing process, this in itself would be valuable as I would learn from it and see if there are areas in my business that I need to work on. The process was tough, there was an in-depth application form, various rounds of interviews, client interviews and even a mystery shopper. The award is based on three core principles of performance, trust and customer centricity, three principles that I strongly align with also. I’m very proud to be one of thirteen others to be awarded as a thought leader within their field.

I think this award has given me the push that I need to move more into this direction of planning, mapping, guiding my clients. I have always integrated a mix of design thinking, brand guidance & brand strategy within an overall visual brand project but never separated this as a stand alone service. Therefore, I am in the middle of planning content for a brand workshop that I will be hosting early in 2020. I plan to run these workshops throughout the year. I’m excited!

If you are interested in being the first to hear about my workshops, send me an email with WORKSHOP in the subject title and I will notify you as soon as I launch this new service.