Learning

You most definitely can teach an old dog new tricks. Learning is so important to every aspect of life and business. Within my work I am always learning – every job comes with an aspect of something I may have not tried before. In addition to that, technology is always changing.

When I first started work back in the late nineties, the internet was in its infancy, mobile phones didn’t exist and live streaming was but a science fiction idea.

We have to move with the times and always be up to date with what’s going on. If I wasn’t open to learning I wouldn’t be able to do my job. And oh wow the new technology makes my job so much easier, most of the time!

I also feel it helps in understanding my clients and their needs if I learn a bit about either the field they are working in or the place the work they need will ultimately end up in.

I love learning, I get great enjoyment from finding out something new. I also love it when I have a challenge I need to overcome, and in doing so learn a new skill or even an aspect of software I’ve not needed to use before. I’m currently learning about Web Design – I’m by no means a web designer and never will be – but learning to build my own website and how websites are put together has been a huge learning curve and has led to a much deeper understanding of how websites function, and what my customers need when it comes to elements which will require my design input. Knowing how a logo or even a whole branding design will be implemented across a customer’s website is imperitive to ensuring consistency across all applications and formats.

And of course, the big new thing we’re all learning about at the moment is AI. I have been using it experimentally over the past few months and it really does make a difference to some aspects of my work. I don’t think it will ever take away the nuances you get with human thought processes and creativity, but it is a fantastic tool when used in the correct way. I’ve primarily used it creatively to see things from a different point of view and point me in creative directions I may not have thought of, it’s like having someone else in the office saying ‘have you thought about doing it this way?’. Like any tool or piece of software, it is extremely useful and great fun, but doesn’t do what I would do, or think how I would think, and ultimately that’s why my customers use me and not AI.