Quick! Get the Design Workflow on the Same Page!

Turning Confusion into Smooth Sailing …and a Little Fun

When I joined Princess Cruises as a project manager, I walked into a busy creative services department that was managing hundreds of deliverables per month across print, digital and video — all tracked through endless email threads and an outdated Smartsheet list. It was overwhelming at first, juggling 10-20 requests a day for a team of 10 designers (not to mention scope creep), but I quickly got a handle on it.

I ended up building a new, transparent scheduling system in Asana that gave everyone clear visibility on deadlines and client feedback, while capturing project details inside the tool instead of over email. In just a short time, what started as chaos turned into a smooth, organized operation where we could stay well ahead of deadlines, deliver better work, and make crucial final tweaks without things slipping through the cracks.

It was my first time in a corporate environment of that scale, and I was proud to leave behind a smoother, clearer process for the next person to build on. I was so on top of things that right before my contract ended, I organized a fun contest to create a logo for a new product.

I gamified the process a bit, and the designers ran with it—coming up with some incredible designs that made the project even more fun and collaborative.