Every Planview employee plays a crucial role in creating amazing products and delivering high-quality service. One employee whose work is seen across the company is Barron Fujimoto, Planview’s graphic designer. In his nearly 20 years with the company, Barron has worked with numerous departments and seen Planview’s incredible growth firsthand.
Based in Cedar Park, Texas, Barron creates a wide variety of creative assets and works with Planview’s team of contract designers. We asked him a series of questions about his day. Here’s what he had to say:
Explain your role as a Graphic Designer and a few of your responsibilities.
As a graphic designer, I get requests from the entire company. Anybody from sales to marketing comes to me with a creative request like an ad for social media, a presentation, or a piece of collateral like an ebook. I’ll create it using Adobe Illustrator or InDesign or delegate it to a contract designer.
As a Graphic Designer, what type of meetings do you prepare for? Who do you typically collaborate with?
I typically collaborate with other content creators, writers, and demand generation teams. The content team will write the content and send it to me. That’s when we meet about the creative direction. To prepare for those meetings, I make sure people have templates of previous examples so they can come prepared with ideas. After scoping out the project, I either take it on or send it to one of our contract designers.
Tell us about working from home – what are your tips for success?
I love working from home. I use the Pomodoro Method of 50 minutes of total focus and then a 10-minute break. That helps me stay focused and take breaks when I need them.
Tell us about your career journey to date.
I’ve been into design since high school, when I took a lot of art classes. In college, I got a degree in fine arts. That was before computers were as sophisticated as they are today. I worked for a few universities doing digital videos and layouts and creating graphics for students and staff. I moved to Japan for three years and taught graphic design and desktop publishing. Then I returned to the U.S. and kept teaching before joining Planview in 2005.
How is Planview different from other companies you’ve worked for?
When I started, Planview was a small company. It’s grown but still kept many great things about small companies. People care about each other, and it doesn’t feel as distant as a large corporation. The leadership does a good job of keeping that feeling. We value our team and collaboration. There aren’t politics here because everyone is open, honest, and supportive.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as you’ve moved up in your career?
As a creative person, I’ve learned not to take criticism personally. People aren’t criticizing you as a person; they’re critiquing the project’s outcome. We’re all working towards the same goal. If you design something that doesn’t meet the mark, no one’s trying to say you don’t have talent. There’s another solution that might be better, so work at it.
How do you manage your work/life balance?
I’ve learned not to be so rigid about separating life and work. When I was younger, I set firm boundaries. As soon as it was 5:00, it was personal time. But inevitably, I would think about work and get down on myself. As I got older, I realized it’s good to think about work outside work. I often figure things out for my creative work when doing the dishes or going on a run.
Are there any experiences in your life that you feel contributed to your professional success?
A few years into my career, I quit my job and moved to Japan for three years. It had always been a dream of mine. I didn’t have a job or a place to stay, but eventually, I got settled and found work. That experience taught me to be resilient and resourceful. I learned that a lot of things are possible that might seem impossible if you work hard.
What makes your team so effective?
I collaborate with the contract designers through one of Planview’s solutions, ProjectPlace. We use it through the entire process, from content creation to design and review. This allows us to collaborate quickly because we can attach files and comment on different versions of our designs.
From your perspective, why is Planview a great place to work?
There are a lot of employee resource groups to bring people together. We have a group dedicated to people of color who can discuss their challenges and have speakers talk about what we’re dealing with as a group. I’m happy that Planview recognizes different groups and looks for employee leaders who want to get involved and share with other people about these issues that we have in common.
What motivates you while working?
I like to help with other people’s work and contribute to the process. With my work, I get to help people communicate what they want through assets or programs. I find a lot of motivation in the fact that my work is helping many people in and out of the company.
For fun, how do you rewind when you are off the clock?
My favorite activity is running. I listen to music or podcasts as I run and use it as a time to relax. Last year, I started running further and further and did my first two marathon-length runs. I try to run a half-marathon every month. I also love photography, so I stop on my runs and take pictures of everything.
Planview is Hiring!
Are you interested in joining a dynamic and talented team like Barron? Browse the current job openings on the Planview careers page.
