Lavashnee Naidu

These days we place a lot of value on finding balance in our lives, and in my opinion this notion also plays an important role in our industry. As people who work on creative projects, it’s important that we generate the right balance between logic and intuition, small details and big concepts, reason and emotion. We are responsible for crafting ideas and executions that speak to both the head and the heart because this is what truly moves people.

As someone who has both training and extensive experience working as a Production Artist and also experience in Graphic Design, I believe that I have cultivated a skill set that is the perfect combination of the yin and yang which captures harmony.

As a Production Artist, I have mastered the technical rigour which enables me to notice the smallest details and ensure complete accuracy. This means I don’t only pick up Production errors, but also typos, grammar mistakes, or inconsistencies in the design. I saved two companies reprint costs by noticing spelling errors during the final check of significant print jobs. This attention to every detail of a project speaks to my systematic, analytic, and logical side.

As a graphic designer, I have also developed my artistic ability, and what sets me apart is my intuition. Based on the brief and my knowledge of the client, I can sense what the client is looking for even if they haven’t explicitly communicated this. Over the years, I have learned to get a feel for what each client wants, often when they don’t even know how to explain it. This means I don’t get stuck on a specific style of design simply because it’s what I find appealing. I always aim for client satisfaction rather than feeding my own ego, and the last few design jobs I was responsible for were an instant success with the client. This ability to craft ideas that visually capture the right meaning and emotion allows me to express my creative side.

The combination of these skills has turned me into a balanced craftsman who approaches every project with an open mind and high standards for myself. I’m not satisfied with only doing the bare minimum. I will tweak the tinniest detail until I think it’s perfect, and I constantly challenge myself to learn more so I keep improving.

I am also proactive enough to take charge of a project if I see that it isn’t progressing as well as it could. Whether this means taking on a leadership role and delegating tasks or providing the necessary guidance to help someone complete their work, I am always willing to step up for the sake of getting a job done on time and according to the client’s specifications. In my role at Grey, most of my colleagues thought I managed the Production department even though this was not the case.