Shipmate Spotlight: Charlotte Conqueror

UI/UX designer Charlotte Allen joined The Bigger Boat crew in 2019 and has since been part of some hugely exciting projects. Find out what she loves most about the day-to-day of agency life, as she explains how she knows she’s found her calling and why the answers usually lie at the bottom of a big bag of Percy Pigs.

What quote do you live your life by?

“Don’t work for a*******s and don’t work with a*******s.” Blunt but it’s true. I’ve finally found myself at The Bigger Boat where I’m surrounded by an awesome team. No egos here!

10 years ago, what did you think you’d be doing now?

I would have been lugging around some chunky and rather heavy art and design books back then! I was pretty keen on the idea of interior design until the age of seven, but it’s always been a passion for graphic design from there on in. I’d say the dots connected pretty quickly for deciding which career path I wanted to take. It’s fun to make a living when work doesn’t feel like work, right? It’s the best part of being a designer for me.

What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?

Can I have two things? A fluffy dressing gown. I love to wrap up warm. Plus, a big bag of Percy Pigs. I’m a devotee of a sweet treat and also a girl with one too many fillings.

What are you listening to/reading/watching at the moment?

I’m a big fan of music – it’s therapy on a good or a bad day. You’ll find me nodding along to euphoric trance anthems, some 1980s synthetic pop or just sitting alone (as I won’t get judged) listening to Britney, Christina or Kylie. It’s always a weird and wonderful mix. I have the music taste of a 15 year old or a 50 year old.

I’ve normally got my head in a design book, in awe of some great visual material, but I do like to read online magazines and design blogs such as Kinfolk and Vice. I’m currently bingeing The Sinner on Netflix after finishing up on Ricky Gervais’ painfully good series of After Life.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I do look forward to downing tools and jetting off on holiday, soaking up the culture and seeking new experiences with my other half and getting a loose itinerary together of amazing places we can eat, drink and visit. If I’m in the UK and not sitting twiddling my thumbs, I love summiting some of the tallest peaks or just spending some quality time with my little (but also quite big now) puppy, Lola.

What’s your favourite thing about agency life?

You never sit still. There’s never a day where I don’t work closely with creative directors, designers, copywriters, account managers and developers. Adapting to different phases of a project is exciting, whether that’s client meetings, brand workshops, concept development, wireframing or even a bit of artworking. No project is the same and you’re always having to pivot and problem solve. It keeps you on your toes.

It takes a collaborative team to keep the ship afloat and we always have a right old knees-up along the way – it’s what I get out of bed for in a morning!

What’s your previous working experience?

I studied Graphic and Communication Design at the University of Leeds back in 2012 and took an industrial year to gain some experience, working as a design intern for big and small agencies across Leeds and Sheffield before graduating with a first-class degree.

With the year out unveiling a new love for digital design, I secured my first proper job as a digital designer for web design agency Hypergram in Leeds for a couple of years. I then moved on to multi-disciplinary studio Digitronix to bolster its digital offering. In 2019, I joined The Bigger Boat as a UI & UX designer!

What are you working on at the minute that we should know about?

I’ve worked on many website designs within a short space of time of me being here – local, smaller businesses and larger well-renowned brands, such as surplus redistributors Company Shop Group and toy manufacturer Little Tikes. I’m just putting the finishing touches to a new Zapf Creation website for doll brands BABY born and Baby Annabell. When we’re not busy designing (or drinking beer) we’re also hard at work perfecting our own brand and content. We’ve got some exciting brands in the pipeline too…

What are you excited about during the next year at TBB?

Getting my teeth into even more cool, creative client projects. It’s a great feeling sitting back when you’ve been honing in on the smaller details, watching the concepts come to life and seeing them catapulted into the wild for all eyes to see. Seeing the hard work actually work is what I look forward to time and time again. We’ve just hit our 10-year milestone and we’re growing so rapidly so it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for the next 10 years!