Daniel Cordwell is Managing Director and founder at Visions Design.
The Cheshire-based design agency has 14 staff and works with a wide range of clients like Avrenim, Rhino Safety and Kingdom of Sweets.
Cordwell, who has managed the agency for more than 10 years, shared how a recent week in his life went…
Monday
Did we blink and the weekend was over? Mondays are hard, right? So I always start Monday a bit later. Breakfast with my family is first on my agenda and I head to work straight afterwards. I’m a minimalist – less but better, so I don’t overcomplicate my morning routine. As a creative, there is really no need for uncomfortable suits, I keep it simple – a black t-shirt is my uniform. I’d much rather focus my energy on something else than decide what to wear each morning!
Coffee is the first thing on my list at the office, the team know I’ll never say no to that! 9:30am: Standup team meeting to ensure everyone knows what they’re doing. I don’t run these meetings, Emily our Project Manager does, but often I like to listen in and occasionally an idea will come to me and I’ll try my best to squeeze something into the schedule. Normally the collective response is “Dan, stop interfering” and it turns out my idea is actually already in hand.
10am: Quick catch up with the leadership team. Setting objectives for the week. No issues to report, we’re ready for another great week!. 11am: Most days I will have some form of a new business meeting. This week starts no differently. We have a new potential branding job for a new client and as my creative lead is actually running a workshop, these sorts of discussions default to me. Having a creative background and being slightly obsessed with branding and typography, these kinds of meetings get me excited and are definitely one of the reasons I started the business over ten years ago. I never get tired of this feeling, if anything it’s slightly addictive.
The client we are speaking with today is owned by a worldwide international media agency which is just adding to the excitement. This client is a great fit, and the meeting went well. Lunch looks like Huel for me. A firm favourite of mine is the banana flavour, I’m on my 7th bag and counting! I’m not super strict on my diet or what I eat, but it stops me skipping lunch, or staring at the shop fridge looking for inspiration like routine, plus Huel gives me everything I need.
1pm: One of our designers works on a hybrid approach, so I used this time to catch up with him. I’m quite lucky really, being an outdoors person and the office being so close to Lymm Dam, we take a walk around there and catch up whilst we walk. It’s a dry day for a change, so it’s good to get out and see things from a different perspective. 2pm: Family is important to me, so I check in with my other half, and reply to a few text messages. Does anybody else’s group chat ping all day? 3pm: Probation meeting for one of our developers. To be honest, it’s just formality, he’s smashed it. Fit’s in like he’s been here for years and is actually good friends with our Lead Dev. Charlie, our Marketing Manager who is also in charge of people and culture, leads the meeting. What a way to start the week!
