What exactly does a graphic designer do every day?
The daily schedule of an online employee can seem like a mystery; When you only see their occasional notifications and meet for video calls every couple of days, the other details of their work go unknown.
Most of our team no longer works in an office, so let's take this opportunity to share what the BearPeak team members do in a day.
Follow along with our Graphic Designer Lindey through her typical work day.
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8:00am - Wake Up & Planning
Working from home, I have the luxury of a calm morning routine. I roll out of bed and prepare a cup of hot chai. While eating breakfast, I usually scroll through Notion on my phone, adding and rearranging my to-do list of tasks for the day. My BearPeak role consists of both graphic design and social media management, so I'll be spending my day making art and social posts.
10:00am - Video Call Meetings
Depending on the workday, I attend meetings to discuss our current email campaigns, advertising, and the upcoming social media posts we have scheduled for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
11:00am - Graphic Design Work
I prefer to dive right into my biggest projects right away; My ideas are fresh from the meetings, and I have a clear set of objectives from my morning to-do list.
It's important to note that not all of my tasks will be completed in one day: Any artist knows that a quick sketch or minor vector adjustment often turns into something much longer. Artwork takes multiple days, returning to the project with new perspectives and ideas.
One of the nicest perks about doing art for a living is the ability to listen to something as I work. From dozens of Spotify playlists to audiobooks, I often have something going in the background. I also have the strange ability to look at any art I've completed and remember what I was listening to as I created it, like a visual time capsule.
I'm also a big fan of pomodoro videos, which help me power through work in 25-minute increments and remind me to take 5-minute breaks in between.
BearPeak's graphic design work consists of edits, rearrangements, and new designs. We purchase artwork on Vecteezy, which I download and open in Adobe Illustrator. Then, I edit the artwork to fit our style, adjusting anchor points and handles, replacing colors and patterns, sometimes completely redrawing. However, only having to modify artwork saves hours of time that would have gone into rough sketches, movement & flow, aka lots of trial and error.
12:00pm - Lunch
What's for lunch? Likely leftovers: Falafels and stir-fried vegetables are two of my favorites. Otherwise, I'll cook a pot of rice with chicken curry and naan. Whatever I eat, I aim for all my food groups and a lot of water to help me focus when I get back into my work.
For the remainder of my lunch break, I stay away from computer screens because I know the juxtaposition will freshen my ideas (and help avoid eye strain). I like to watercolor, read books, and take walks outside.
1:00pm - Work
I do well with challenges and time pressure, so I like to pick one project and aim to complete it within the hour. Most often, that challenge is in Buffer, our choice for social media planning software. I'll aim to finish organizing and writing a week's worth of posts before the hour's up.
Since we love Boulder, Colorado so much and appreciate the hometown that has helped us grow , we like to share current local events. I take time every week to catch up on what's happening in Boulder and add the best highlights to our upcoming post calendar.
2:00pm - Exercise
To keep my brain focused (and my body from morphing into the shape of my desk chair), I make sure to get in some exercise every day. I prefer yoga or a mat workout, both of which take about an hour.
3:00pm - Work
The remainder of the workday is devoted to any outstanding projects. I turn on a Deep Focus playlist on Spotify and knock out a blog article or two.
6:00pm - Dinner Prep & Chores
I enjoy the simple prep of measuring out the ingredients, throwing them all in an Instant Pot, setting the timer, and forgetting about dinner until it's ready.
I take this time to clean up the apartment, take out the trash, finish folding and putting away the laundry, or do the dishes. Once it's ready, I like to watch TV while eating: Anything from Bob's Burgers to Grey's Anatomy, or sometimes a Studio Ghibli movie.
8:00pm - Winding Down
The events of this time of day vary, but I often scroll TikTok, read, or play my newest video game obsession. This alternates between Rune Factory, The Sims, and Fallout 76.
I also like writing my own novels, so late-night hours with a cup of chamomile are the perfect time to explore another passion.
I make sure to be in bed before 10pm; I LOVE sleep, and I want to be freshly alert in the morning to have another excellent day of work.