A Day in the Life at DefinedLogic

As a kid I always knew my parents worked, but I never knew exactly what they did.  It seems as though unless your parent is a teacher, doctor, policeman, etc. you grow up with little to no understanding of what they do everyday.  This was certainly the case for me.  Until my father started working at Defined Logic with me this year, I had no idea what his job was in any more detail than just his job title (and I am 21 years old!)

Defined Logic’s mission is simple: “help clients strengthen their business and technology systems through reliable and effective mobile and web-based solutions”.  This message is difficult to communicate to a young child, so Defined Logic employees came up with a plan to introduce their children to exactly what they do everyday and A Day in the Life at DL was created.

All of the children were invited to come into the office for a four- hour event filled with laughs, information sessions, and even a project where all the children collaborated to design and create their very own website.

The day began with breakfast in the DL loft where the kids ate doughnuts, juice, and got to know each other.  I smiled watching them enjoy eating their sugary treats and the young ones struggle to keep the icing off of their faces.  It was an adorable and amusing sight getting to see all the “mini-me’s” of all the employees I work with everyday.

Breakfast ended and the tour of the office began.  Our office is a converted building with exposed architecture, open spaces, and high ceilings.  It’s an amazing place to work and probably even more exciting through the eyes of a young child.  The office was decorated with what seemed like hundreds of balloons (many of us were left lightheaded after blowing them up) and colorful decorations that were hung by Bryan’s beautiful daughters.  Their eyes were lit with wonder as they explored the different parts of the office.

The next activity gave the children an inside look at what Defined Logic does everyday.  Alex Shanley gave a presentation in laymen’s terms on the four pillars of our company mission: Define, Design, Develop, and Deliver.  Throughout his presentation he exposed the children to the design process and had them choose colors, text, and themes for their very own website that would be revealed to them at the end of the day.  By letting them have a hand in the creative process the children became excited and stayed engaged.

Outdoor events were one of the most exciting parts of the day.  Chalk transformed the parking lot blacktop into a canvas of colorful designs.  Balloons bounced around as the little ones chased after them, always being just a little bit out of reach.  Corn hole and duck-duck-goose were played on the grass.  Watching Bryan Galloway act as a human wall during freeze tag was particularly amusing as well.  A game involving two empty tissue boxes and ping pong balls was a bit challenging for some, but ended in a lighthearted fashion when all the kids had fun throwing the ping pong balls at Brian Young.

Events continued indoors in the Ocean conference room where the children got an inside look at design and social media for kids.  Vidar Brekke showed them an online blog diary that he writes with his daughter everyday.  The diary allows preselected members to access the site and keep up with what their loved ones are doing from wherever they are.  Many of the kids left the day begging their parents to get one for them too.

Christina Brooks showed the children what her job as a designer entails. Julia Cole gave the children an activity to create their own poster that promoted the website they created earlier in the day.  Seeing the children express their ideas on paper made me realize how unbelievable these little ones imaginations truly are!

After they finished their artwork, a presentation on how websites worked was done.  It was interesting to see how much the children knew, considering at their age I was not using a computer on a regular basis.  The technology learning curve is definitely in their favor.  At one point I even saw Mou’s daughter playing on Mou’s iPhone.  At that age I didn’t even know what a cellphone was!

The day came to a close with many of the children not wanting to leave the office, and that I believe speaks for itself as to how much of a success A Day in the Life at DL was!