The pros and cons of working from home

Newspapers illustrators' views on remote work during the pandemic of Covid-19 in Brazil

Abstract

In July 2020, a group of illustrators were contacted so we could hear if their views on remote work and professional collaboration had changed, in light of the covid-19 pandemic scenario. These illustrators participated in a previous research conducted with Brazilian newspaper illustrators between 2016-2018. The main research objective was to understand how illustrators were fitting in newspaper's routines and production, considering the multiplatform publishing trend led by the rise in mobile and digital readership. As it was observed then, illustrators were already used to working remotely. The investigation focused in assessing how these professionals viewed the pros and cons of face-to-face working way compared to working remotely. Also their views on the interaction with other fields’ professionals, in projects involving Illustration & Design were considered. Illustrators of Brazilian newspapers answered a query and an interview with open questions. Although the original research had not been motivated by a pandemic scene, we believe that by renewing the subject with new data collected in 2020, the study can contribute to the ongoing broader discussions over reorganizing workflows for remote work, especially those involving designers and projects with multidisciplinary teams. This paper aims at presenting and discussing qualitative data regarding these issues.