Meet Hazel Thacker, Digital Designer at Brew Digital

What’s your name and role at Brew Digital?

My name is Hazel and I’m a Digital Designer.

What does a typical day look like for you? 

Every day is a little different at Brew Digital, but my mornings usually start with a squad stand-up call. We begin by talking about our work for the day ahead, but it usually devolves into quite random conversations. For example, this morning we talked about finger puppets, milkmen and scented candles. Essential topics really.

After that, I might work on illustrations, marketing collateral, social posts or event displays. The best days are when a branding project for a logo or campaign comes in. Then I get to spend my time researching, brainstorming, and pitching ideas! 

What’s your favourite part of the job? 

Well that leads me on nicely to my favourite part of the job – branding. There’s many reasons for my love of branding, but in a nutshell, it combines creative freedom, problem-solving and storytelling! 

When a branding project comes in I get to dive into visual research, surfing Pinterest, Behance, Dribble, ItsNiceThat and sometimes even the wild terrain of Google. I love to look at what’s current and to explore pieces of branding that are pushing limits.

I also enjoy the idea generation stage, where I start sifting through all the inspiration imagery I’ve seen and temporarily turn my mind into ‘design soup.’ Gradually, as the soup bubbles, ideas begin to rise to the surface and take shape.

The pitching side of branding is another aspect I really enjoy. It’s the stage when you get to tell the story of the branding, explaining where the ideas came from and what makes it so special. 

What are the bits that are most challenging? 

Something I occasionally struggle with is creative block. When your job requires you to be creative every day, the odds are sometimes the idea tank is going to be running on low. Fortunately at Brew Digital we have regular design catch-ups where we can bounce ideas off each other which often puts me back on track.

Another technique I occasionally use to fight creative block is to write down 20 solutions to a problem as fast as I can (the more ridiculous the better!) Usually buried in that list somewhere is a gem. 

I really enjoyed the presentation you did recently on Peachtober. Can you tell our readers about the social art challenge, and what you got out of the experience? 

Yes! Peachtober is a daily illustration challenge that runs throughout October, which people all over the world take part in. It was created by the artist Sha'an d'Anthes (@furrylittlepeach), who was inspired by ‘Inktober,’ a popular ink challenge. 

This year, my colleague Trudy and I decided to take the illustration challenge one step further, and animate our designs. I’m not sure what possessed us! On the one hand, it was brilliant as it immediately accelerated my animation knowledge – I quickly found shortcuts and techniques to speed up the time I spent on the animations. It also helped me overcome a lot of self doubt. I often get put off posting anything on social media for fear of it not being perfect, but this challenge overrides that. Each day I’d quickly think of an idea (good or bad) and I’d do it, and post it, no dilly-dallying. 

The flip side of the coin is that it was very demanding, I’d occasionally be working late in the evening to try and ace an animation that wouldn’t be seen by many people. Fortunately, Trudy and I kept each other going with plenty of pep talks. Now I have a full body of animations that I’m really proud of! 

Staying on social media, anecdotally I’ve seen a mix of opinions from people, saying it either inspires them to try new art styles and forms of creativity, or they feel too intimidated to put their artwork out. Where do you land in the conversation, and are there particular platforms you think are better for creatives?

I’m someone who spends a lot of time on Instagram, with my saved folders bursting with illustrations, designs, and tip videos. I think it’s useful and I’ve definitely found lots of inspiration through it. However, it feels like you have to fulfil a very specific criteria for the algorithm to show people your work. I hope that eventually a new platform will emerge that navigates this issue better.

As a creative person, when you hear the word ‘AI’, do you feel positively or negatively?

I feel pretty neutral towards AI. While there’s certainly some concern about how AI might impact creative roles, I also believe that, when used properly it can help streamline certain tasks and leave more room for creativity. 

At the start of my career, I had a job that involved editing and tracing portrait photos for magazine covers, which would often take a long time to perfect. But with recent advances, Photoshop can now use AI to trace headshots, make alternations, extend images, fill in gaps – all in a fraction of the time. Now when I edit portrait photos, more time can be dedicated to finessing, fine tuning and experimenting with different options.

I’ve heard that you make your own Christmas cards—I absolutely love that! Can you tell us about them, and maybe show us a couple? When did you start doing this?

Yes! This year I have decided to print my Christmas cards using RISOTTO studio, which uses risograph printing. Risograph printing can be described as ‘digital screen printing.’ It’s known for its vivid colours (that other printers can't produce) and specific textures. I thought it would be fun to illustrate a cat, crocodile and possum having a Christmas boogie. What I love most about the finished cards are the imperfections, where you can see slight misalignments in the layers – it makes them feel tactile and real.

I’ve made my own Christmas cards for about 5 years. Usually I do linocut prints, and in the past, I’ve printed designs like a cat on a windowsill, a dog by a fireplace and some hedgehogs in the snow. This year I wanted to do something completely different! 

Do you have a secret skill or talent your work colleagues don’t know about?

I don’t know if it’s a secret skill, but I’m very interested in family history. Through using AncestryUK, I’ve managed to trace my family tree back through generations of Suffolk fishermen – and tenuously connect myself to Henry III. 

Is there anything about the job that surprises you? Or something people might not know about what you do?

Something you might not know is that part of my role encompasses watering office plants. I’m pleased to announce we’ve seen exponential growth this quarter! 

Is there a project you’re particularly proud of?

I’m particularly proud of the The Adaptavist Group rebrand I worked on last year. From creating a new and quirky illustration style, to a 93-page brand guideline document, it is by far the biggest project I’ve worked on to date. (You can read more about the redesign here.)

How do you spend your ‘off-time’? 

My time off is often spent seeing friends, reading and going to gigs! I also love to run and have recently signed up for a half marathon, so the training will be taking up a lot of my time from now (help!) 

Do you have any book, film or TV recommendations? 

I recently read A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie which I really recommend. I’d not read any Agatha Christie books before, but they really do stand the test of time. All the characters were perfectly pitched – just as relatable today as they would have been in the 1950s. I had about 20 different theories as to who the murderer was, but I was still shocked by the ending.

Is there an upcoming or emerging technology that has you really excited? 

 A lot of web-based 3D programs are emerging at the moment, which is making 3D illustration even more accessible and prevalent. I recently tried out Spline – a new web-based 3D platform – and managed to animate a spinning planet earth within an evening. I believe tech like this is going to see 3D becoming more of a feature on websites and adverts in the future. I’m excited to see it where it goes!

Why do you love working at Brew Digital?

The people of course! I feel so lucky to be in a team full of people who ‘get me’, support me and make me laugh every day.