Maker Spotlight: AGK Design
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a product designer from Australia, currently based in Tokyo. I am also a big fan of photography and love all the neon lights and futuristic vibes around Tokyo.
How did you get started doing UI / UX?
I started as a web designer, fresh out of high school when I was 18, freelancing for friends and family projects, and finally landing a job at a content management company. From there, my interest grew from simple web designs to problem-solving and app design, which lead me to study further and eventually co-found my own business with a focus on UX design.
Whatâs a typical day for you?
I’m not much of a morning person, so I roll out of bed and head straight to the office, wherever it may be that day. I move around a bit, just to keep things fresh and interesting. Each day is spent designing apps and marketing media, doing user research, and more, for a blockchain-focused startup company. At night, you can usually find me wandering around Tokyo with my camera, snapping pictures and exploring the city. Either that or sitting at home watching Netflix.
Walk us through your workspace.
Because I move around a bit, I try to keep my setup as lean as possible. It currently consists of a MacBook Pro, a slim fold-up stand, a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, my iPad Pro with Luna Display and a small stand, the Apple Pencil, a Sony A7Rii camera, and my Mate 20 Pro phone.
How do you use Luna?
I only just started using Luna recently, but itâs changed the way I get things done so much. For day to day things, Luna serves as a second display, so I can manage multiple things at once without needing to switch between desktops or windows. I also like to use the Sidebar in Luna to display my Photoshop tools on the iPad. I can tap to select different things in the Sidebar when I need and free up space on my main canvas view. I’m a big fan of grabbing the iPad and sitting on the couch to edit photos while relaxing a bit.
How do you stay productive?
I guess it’s a mix of a few things, the main one being good time management. Setting a time and place to do something and sticking to it. I am also always trying to learn more, and find new content â whether it’s art, music or anything else â that makes me want to try things out and work harder on my own things.
What do you use to manage your time?
I use Trello boards for work projects or larger personal projects with lots of moving pieces, which works great, and for simple day-to-day stuff, I use an app called Swipes. It works on both phone and desktop and has an interesting way to create to-do lists. You write a task, then put the item to sleep until you need to do it so that the item is hidden until you plan to do it. This way, you can focus on the main things you need to get done first.
What other apps/tools do you use, in addition to Luna, to stay organized?
My daily UX design workflow is mostly Sketch, Invision, Google Docs, and Discord. Outside of work, I spend a lot of time in Lightroom and Photoshop for editing photos.
Whatâs the best part of doing what you do?
I love to create things and see people enjoy the results as well. Getting good feedback and solving problems is a great feeling, and sharing my photography with people who enjoy it makes it all worth the effort.
Whatâs the hardest thing about your work?
Working in a smaller company means the need to wear a few different hats and jump between projects, so it can be hard to focus and manage time effectively. Some things get more love than others as there is just not enough time for everything. It’s hard, but the chaos just adds to the fun of it all.
Lastly, what Instagram accounts are you obsessed with?
Ahhh it’s so hard to choose! I am a big fan of @beeple_crap, and a bunch of cyberpunk-related feature accounts like @cyberpunk_cities, @cyberpunk.aesthetics, @ig_neoncities, and other related artists at the moment.
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