What did we really think of 2020?

We can’t say it was a great year, but it wasn’t all bad and there is light at the end of the empty toilet roll.

There’s a vaccine on the horizon (so they tell us) and Scotland are in the Euros.

At daysix we were involved in some brilliant projects, worked with some ace people and we learned a lot! So here’s our positive spin on 2020.

What we learnt about our clients.

1. Argyle Place know their beans.

Nothing tastes as good as proper coffee after 12 weeks of lockdown and the coffee at Argyle Place is proper. Working on their identity was a wonderfully physical project in a very digital year.  It’s fast becoming a fave spot with and we can’t wait till the restrictions lift and the guys are back in action.

2. Collaboration is key.

The first 8 weeks of lockdown ‘mark one’ were about building the Covid Assessment tool. You can achieve an incredible amount in a short space of time if you do it together. It’s not rocket science but its worth saying. Collaboration is key.

3. Our clients are determined.

They have been resilient, nimble and imaginative in what has been an unpredictable and challenging year. We could name loads here but award goes to Kilduff Farm who yet again pulled off a brilliant, Covid-compliant pumpkin patch in October enjoyed by loads of families including some of the daysix team. 

4. The Spirit Makers have been clocking up the hours.

Gin, Sherry, Vodka and a delicious Tawny Port, our friends at Port of Leith Distillery and The Borders Distillery have been creating some utterly delicious drinks. Developing, creating, producing and building – 2021 is going to be epic. Hang in there, it will be. 

5. Good ideas stick.

When Ben’s sister got in touch about PPE stickers for her team on the ward we got busy. The sticker generator was born. You can generate your stickers here

What we learnt about our team.

1. Starting a job in a lockdown can be strange.

Fidelma is new to the daysix team and her thoughts on starting a new job during a pandemic are worth a read – trust us!

2. Some of us are more comfortable on video calls than others.

It’s time to get off the video calls and back into the office where basic socially acceptable standards rule. We won’t deny that rose tinted spectacles are occasionally required when looking back over the past year. 

3. We know how to roll with it.

Even in a pandemic you can make a tv ad with a giant deck chair in your basement studio. Here’s how it turned out.

4. Days go better when you dress like Dougie.

He turns up every day, rain or shine, office or home in a crisply ironed blue shirt. We tried it for a day and now we know why he does it. WFH, feeling like champions.

5. A challenge keeps us going.

Collectively we ran over 5,000km during lockdown 1.0 in our Marathon a Day challenge. We’ve since hung up our running shoes but you can still support our fundraising efforts here. New lockdown = new challenges, this time a variety a games, selfies, baking and gymnastics to win points. You can see the evidence on our social pages. 

What we learned about working from home. 

1. No matter how well you know someone, the gap between saying bye and hitting the red button on a video call is always awkward.

2. We’re lucky to work in an industry where we can plug in from anywhere and keep beavering away.

3. The highlight of a team meeting is when someone has moved rooms and you get to inspect a whole new set of curtains! Ah the simple things.

4.  A team wide doughnut delivery was the difference between a good day and the hands down best day of 2020.

5. You will at some point end a video call with “Great, thanks, bye. Love you”.

What we learnt about 2020

We understand that we are really fortunate to be able to work from the safety of our own homes. Even so we’re pretty tired of our respective four walls

Our hope for 2021 is that we can continue to do what we love but in the same room as other people.