55 min listen
Culture and Habits for a Three-Person Design Studio with Designer and Agency Boss Kristine Neil — The Busy Creator Podcast 77
Culture and Habits for a Three-Person Design Studio with Designer and Agency Boss Kristine Neil — The Busy Creator Podcast 77
ratings:
Length:
42 minutes
Released:
Feb 22, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Kristine Neil (@TheKNeil) is head of branding and design company Markon Brand Design. She purchased Markon when it was an old-fashion sign company, and has since transformed it into a small creative studio, now boasting a team of three.
In our conversation, we cover the quirks and rituals used by the team at Markon, Kristine's personal productivity habits, and the general challenges that face all busy design teams nowadays.
GET THE EPISODE
Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 77 (MP3, 41:52, 25.3 MB)
Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 77 (OGG, 41:52, 19.9 MB)
SUBSCRIBE TO GET NEW EPISODES
Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android
Show Notes & Links
Kristine describe her work as "varied"
Markon is a small agency focusing on branding for small- to medium-sized businesses
Kristine purchased Markon rather than founded it. Previously, it was a sign company.
The Markon team is now three strong — Kristine, Mike, and Jenna
"It's a scary thing to say 'I need some Help'."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Kristine started by adding contractors/freelancers before bringing in full-time employees
Prepare to Share — an article and podcast episode about bringing additional people into your workflow
Kristine is a systems person, admits to being slightly ADD
"Get ideas out of your head. People aren't mind-readers."
—Prescott Perez-Fox
Tweet This
"Always organize things for how they'll work in your absense."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Single Point of Failure — a bottleneck for decisions or skills
Many freelancers/solo practitioners struggle to stay organised
Kristine previously worked as a GM for a manufacturing company. This taught her systems and regimented behaviours.
"Have a system. It doesn't have to be fancy."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
"Meta-work" the work surrounding work such as scheduling meetings, checking email, managing your software
Ben Elijah, previous guest on TBCP, described "Productivity Pornography"
United We Brand by Mike Moser on Amazon
"We don't always have the time to treat ourselves as a client."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
"We don't just make the things. We make the ideas that make the things great."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Space150, design firm who redesigns their identity every 150 days
"It's no longer acceptable to set a brand identity and let it ride for 20 years."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
The Sunk-Cost Fallacy
Sweat Equity
Phase-In a brand vs. "Shadow Op" to replace everything
Esso became Exxon seemingly overnight[av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZkX01wFbE' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
Todd Henry, twice a guest on The Busy Creator Podcast
Kristine Neil on Twitter
Kristine Neil on LinkedIn
Markon Brands on Twitter
Markon Brands on Facebook
Markon Brands on Instagram
Markon Brands on Pinterest
Tools
Whiteboard
Scrum and Agile development
Remember The Milk for iPhone
Google Drive
Swiffer Duster
Slack
Dropbox
Basecamp
Jira
Freedcamp
Techniques
Divide your whiteboard by category and by day. Slot tasks accordingly.
Create a file-naming system that makes sense — plan ahead for others reading in the future.
Don't become a Single Point of Failure
Pomodoro Technique
Only keep the immediate future on the Board, save long-term stuff elsewhere
Test systems to find what works best
Get outside opinions on your brand/company, at least annually
Use Slack to post videos and gifs — especially after a tough day at the desk
Habits
Host "Board Meetings" with your team every morning
Build starting documents ("templates") when you have repetitive projects/tasks
Audit your own brand. Be willing to walk away from your previous website.
Create a routine strong enough so you don't need an alarm clock
Shut down between Christmas and New Year
TRY AUDIBLE.COM FREE FOR 30-DAYS
Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial
Get The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al & Laura Reis as a free audiobook
In our conversation, we cover the quirks and rituals used by the team at Markon, Kristine's personal productivity habits, and the general challenges that face all busy design teams nowadays.
GET THE EPISODE
Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 77 (MP3, 41:52, 25.3 MB)
Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 77 (OGG, 41:52, 19.9 MB)
SUBSCRIBE TO GET NEW EPISODES
Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on iTunes or on Android
Show Notes & Links
Kristine describe her work as "varied"
Markon is a small agency focusing on branding for small- to medium-sized businesses
Kristine purchased Markon rather than founded it. Previously, it was a sign company.
The Markon team is now three strong — Kristine, Mike, and Jenna
"It's a scary thing to say 'I need some Help'."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Kristine started by adding contractors/freelancers before bringing in full-time employees
Prepare to Share — an article and podcast episode about bringing additional people into your workflow
Kristine is a systems person, admits to being slightly ADD
"Get ideas out of your head. People aren't mind-readers."
—Prescott Perez-Fox
Tweet This
"Always organize things for how they'll work in your absense."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Single Point of Failure — a bottleneck for decisions or skills
Many freelancers/solo practitioners struggle to stay organised
Kristine previously worked as a GM for a manufacturing company. This taught her systems and regimented behaviours.
"Have a system. It doesn't have to be fancy."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
"Meta-work" the work surrounding work such as scheduling meetings, checking email, managing your software
Ben Elijah, previous guest on TBCP, described "Productivity Pornography"
United We Brand by Mike Moser on Amazon
"We don't always have the time to treat ourselves as a client."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
"We don't just make the things. We make the ideas that make the things great."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
Space150, design firm who redesigns their identity every 150 days
"It's no longer acceptable to set a brand identity and let it ride for 20 years."
—Kristine Neil
Tweet This
The Sunk-Cost Fallacy
Sweat Equity
Phase-In a brand vs. "Shadow Op" to replace everything
Esso became Exxon seemingly overnight[av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZkX01wFbE' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
Todd Henry, twice a guest on The Busy Creator Podcast
Kristine Neil on Twitter
Kristine Neil on LinkedIn
Markon Brands on Twitter
Markon Brands on Facebook
Markon Brands on Instagram
Markon Brands on Pinterest
Tools
Whiteboard
Scrum and Agile development
Remember The Milk for iPhone
Google Drive
Swiffer Duster
Slack
Dropbox
Basecamp
Jira
Freedcamp
Techniques
Divide your whiteboard by category and by day. Slot tasks accordingly.
Create a file-naming system that makes sense — plan ahead for others reading in the future.
Don't become a Single Point of Failure
Pomodoro Technique
Only keep the immediate future on the Board, save long-term stuff elsewhere
Test systems to find what works best
Get outside opinions on your brand/company, at least annually
Use Slack to post videos and gifs — especially after a tough day at the desk
Habits
Host "Board Meetings" with your team every morning
Build starting documents ("templates") when you have repetitive projects/tasks
Audit your own brand. Be willing to walk away from your previous website.
Create a routine strong enough so you don't need an alarm clock
Shut down between Christmas and New Year
TRY AUDIBLE.COM FREE FOR 30-DAYS
Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial
Get The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al & Laura Reis as a free audiobook
Released:
Feb 22, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (99)
The Busy Creator 10, w/guest Erica Heinz: Erica Heinz is a web designer in Brooklyn, NY by The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox