I am a product designer from Italy working at Fantasy<\/a>, a human-centred design agency in San Francisco. I am also the co-founder of rooki.design<\/a>, an online magazine for design students filled with free resources including articles and interviews from others in the industry.<\/p>\n How did you get into design, was it a single moment or was it a journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely been a journey to get to where I am now. I was first introduced to the practice in 2014 and since then I\u2019ve been working towards becoming a digital designer. During that time I\u2019ve had 3 different internships, 2 jobs and done countless networking. Going from attending high school in Milian to studying in the UK and now, working in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n What made you create rooki.design?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I was a student, I loved learning new skills and reading about ideas. However, I found that whilst there were many marvellous things online, I could never find a single place that would have all of these amazing resources.<\/p>\n I also realised that because of the current structure of the design industry there is a lot of focus on seniors and leaders, those who have already gained their experience and careers, but there wasn\u2019t a lot aimed at those who were just starting out.<\/p>\n Finally, I\u2019ve always been frustrated with paid design awards. As a student, it\u2019s impossible to spend $50 on an entry for every project you work on and with the industry already being over-saturated, it is equally hard to make a name for yourself.<\/p>\n Without looking out for those like myself, there would be no next generation. So, I decided to chip in and help the next generation of designers.<\/p>\n That is a real dedication to the next generation of designers. How do you juggle all your responsibilities when you are both working for a company and creating content for others on rooki.design?<\/strong><\/p>\n What does your current design workflow look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n My workflow varies depending on the project, but as a general rule, I\u2019ll dive straight into research as soon as I get the brief or the first contact. I really think that you can\u2019t design for something that you aren\u2019t an expert in (or at least fluent), so I will try to read and look around my project\u2019s industry as much as I can before I start sketching<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before starting any project I\u2019ll try to detach myself from the problem so that when I come back, I can view it with \u2018fresh eyes\u2019. Sometimes my inspiration can come from a website and other times it could be from non-digital sources. Occasionally, I look at illustration books, read books about psychology and other times I cook myself an enjoyable meal before getting back into the flow. The rest comes and goes in waves: a bit of time away from the screen to get inspired and then 8 hours of straight heads-down design. And then repeat the process!<\/p>\n![\"rooki.design](\"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rookie-Design.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Dry](\"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/dry-january.png\")
\nAt the moment I spend my week working at Fantasy and during the weekends, I dedicate my time to rooki.design. It sounds like a great divide of time, but I also try to develop my skills for my day job on the weekends.<\/p>\n