Automation Workshop

Theme: Workflow Efficiency / Shortcuts / Time-Saving Systems

This workshop was all about saving time and working more efficiently when we’re creating. Graham showed us how small changes in workflow can remove a lot of the tedious tasks that slow you down or interrupt your rhythm. He made a good point about how much time you can save over a year just by using a few shortcuts consistently and how that can completely change your workflow long-term.

We looked at a few different automation methods across different applications. One of them was a shortcut in InDesign that automatically sets type for you, which showed how much work you can remove with one step. The most useful example for me was the shortcut that lets you convert images into different file types instantly after setting it up that one feels genuinely helpful for the kind of design work I do.

This session made me realise how much I could improve my own workflow just by learning shortcuts and building small systems. Right now, my file organisation is messy and it does disrupt my work sometimes. I usually only organise everything once a year when I back everything up onto my hard drives, which helps long-term, but day-to-day it leaves my Finder very chaotic.

Going forward, I want to look into building better systems for my files and learning shortcuts that can automate things I currently do manually. If I can clean up that part of my process, it would make my whole workflow smoother, especially with how much I design each week.