Our ‘60 Seconds with…’ blogs are designed to provide a quick rundown of what our staff do here at Itad. Here is what Katherine had to say…
What’s your job here at Itad?
Design and Brand Coordinator. It’s a new role in Itad’s growing communications team and I’ve been here since January 2019.
What does that involve?
Creative design support for reports, presentations, proposals, web and social media, alongside brand strategy and development.
How did you get into the field?
Design and development were both happy accidents. After university, I trained as a newspaper sub-editor and discovered that I had a flair for page layout as well as editorial work. In 2011, my partner accepted an 18-month role with VSO and we ended up living in Sri Lanka and Myanmar for seven years. I worked with grassroots organisations and INGOs on design and brand management, as well as writing and editing – and supporting others to develop skills in these areas.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Because I work with anyone at Itad who needs design support I get involved with projects for all the development practice areas, as well as the HR and operations teams. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspects of design – working with colleagues to make graphics that fulfil their purpose and have visual impact.
What new innovations have you noticed in your sector?
Itad has a participatory approach to design and there’s a focus on encouraging colleagues to create their own designs or collaborate with the communications team, rather than having everything done professionally. This means that people can play a bigger role in the design process, as well as retaining some control over their work, with the option to make edits when they need to.
Recent highlight?
We have just launched some refreshed PowerPoint templates. They are quite different from the previous ones, with more space for content and some new resources to help make the process of explaining Itad’s work and values more efficient.
Most interesting question you have been asked recently?
How soon do you think human designers will be replaced by apps?
Favourite place you have visited as part of your job?
It’s very rare that anyone wants their designer to leave the office! For now, I’m enjoying being close to the sea and the South Downs.
Katherine Gibney, June 2019
