930 BUSINESS DAYS OF AWESOME

Dylan Producing The Shit Out of Random

August 2010 — April 2014

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT IN 930 BUSINESS DAYS OF BEING A

PRODUCER AT RANDOM?

The better designers get at design, the less they want to design.

Developers enjoy evil but cute toy characters.

After 5 years of using Harvest, I’m no longer convinced it’s a good idea.

A deadline is your friend.

Ending up in a high-class brothel with Rich & Mikey in Barcelona was

a highlight of my life.

Don’t always think the other guys are better.

Random is world class too.

Confidence will get you everywhere.

Even though Daan doesn’t always understand digital, he understands

people. At the end of the day, relationships

matter more than code.

Sipping endless Dom Perignon rules.

Opportunity is everywhere — especially in this studio. Utilise it.

Now.

Demian has the worst smelling farts.

Ever.

Clients are not always right. Learn the art of the positive no.

Figure out what you love, and stick to it.

Accept that figuring out what you don’t love is also a part of this

process.

Stay physically fit. It improves your life.

When you feel yourself not enoying your work.

Fix it.

Don’t go to Berlin with Anders.

The map is not the the territory.

Accept that others see the world differently to you.

Only create documents when you REALLY have to. The reality is that people don’t read them. Especially

when they’re digital.

Micro fails are a key part of a larger success.

‘Fails’ are crucial learning feedback.

A Coen-wich is a delicacy. Proving to me that food prepared

by other people always tastes better.

Ralph is meticulous about spreading things on his sandwiches.

Laugh as much as you possibly can.

Smoking dope every night isn’t a good idea.

In fact doing anything every night isn’t a good idea.

Small, focused teams are the most effective.

Stick to the mantra.Be open.

People, not machines.

CLIENTS FROM HELL

FROM DAAN — EMAIL

Hey man,

I got a call from Ewoudt the client from Frozen dutch. He wanted to know when things listed below are finished:

• outlining of some objects

“Some ease in and outs would make things look a bit more

exciting.”

“Why does it cost 90k for a couple of buttons?”

“Can you please remove the pre-loader and just

go straight into the site.”

“Please provide a better Flash”

Ahh... sure.