What did you do before joining Costello Medical?
I joined Costello Medical a year after graduating from Central Saint Martin’s where I studied a degree in Graphic Communication Design. Before I joined Costello Medical, I had been working as a freelance designer with a PR agency, primarily supporting Joe Corré, the son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren. I supplemented my income from this by serving pancakes and eggs at The Breakfast Club! At university, I was especially drawn to applying design knowledge and skills to scientific subjects, so I was always eager to pursue this further.
What do you like best about your role as Graphic Designer?
The best part of being a Graphic Designer at Costello Medical is the wide variety of projects we have the opportunity to work on. Just as an example of the breadth, this week I have been working on illustrations for a children’s book on oncology, an animation for healthcare professionals about osteoporosis, artwork and interactive content for a booth at an upcoming conference, laying out information sheets about medical devices and various internal business development materials.
I also enjoy that I get to work with a wide range of people outside of the Design team, which is something you miss within a design agency. I am constantly learning from those around me and pushing myself to learn new things. Right from my first day, I was given real projects to work on rather than introductory ‘filler’ work and very quickly I was working on client projects where I was the sole designer. This trust and responsibility was invaluable and gave me confidence in my practice and development.
Lastly, a real highlight of being a Graphic Designer at Costello Medical is knowing that you are making a meaningful contribution to healthcare through the work you’re doing.
How would you describe a typical day in the life of a Graphic Designer at Costello Medical?
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Firstly, I log on to check my emails. I have received an email from a colleague letting me know that they have reviewed the infographic I sent them and have left some comments for me to implement before we send it to the client today. I also write my to-do list for the day and add these comments as a high-priority task.
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In the morning, I have a kick-off meeting with a client for a brand new project. This project will be a collaboration between the scientific and design teams so it is great to be involved right from the outset. We had previously asked the client to complete a ‘briefing document’ to help us with an initial overview of the scope of the project, and this meeting will allow us to discuss this and anything further we might need to make a great start to the work.
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After the meeting, I return to my desk and start reviewing the comments my colleague has sent about an infographic we are working on. There might be a couple which aren’t feasible from a design perspective so I have a quick Microsoft Teams call with my colleague to explain my thoughts and suggest an alternative solution. It is a great opportunity to come together and share our ideas! Once complete, I send it to the client and await their feedback.
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Today, some of us have decided to head to a nearby park to soak up some sun on our lunch break – it is a great chance to catch up with my friends from a variety of divisions.
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After getting back to my desk, I receive a notification of a new post on our Ask-Design Microsoft Teams channel – this is a place where colleagues can ask questions or share ad-hoc requests. Today, a colleague needs a video to be hand cut down to a certain length. I know this won’t take long so I let them know that I can work on this today and add it on to my to-do list.
Next, I begin working on a report that my scientific colleagues have been writing, which is now ready to be laid out. This is for a client we have worked with before so I review the brand guidelines and begin working on a template which aligns to these. There are a couple of sections where they have asked for my advice regarding visuals so I do a little bit of research on the subject matter first to guide my suggestions. If there is anything I do not fully understand, particularly relating to the scientific content, I send a quick Microsoft Teams message to my manager, who has both a scientific and design background. She is great at explaining complex scientific concepts in lay terms – it is so important to have even just a top-line understanding of the content you’re working with to produce informed and creative solutions. -
Mid-afternoon, I have a weekly catch-up regarding a pro-bono children’s book I am currently working on. There are three designers involved in this project and, as it is long-term, it is great to have regular meetings to align on progress and outstanding tasks to ensure that everything stays on track.
This project is particularly impactful as the audience is children – I enjoy all my projects but some are just a little more special to work on!
After my meeting, I take some time to wrap up the edits I made to the video, and take a little more time to add to the review I was previously working on. -
At the end of the day I jot down anything important that needs to be done for the next day and head home.