
๐ Oi, mga repapips, Brian Dys here! I love music, photography, and creative stuff like UX design and art. This is a place where I collect my thoughts and works. Apart all these, I’m Jaycelle’s better half and Bryce’s dad. ๐ฅฐ
Avaloq, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, and BlackRock, through its Aladdin Wealth business, have formed a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing their investment technology solutions for wealth managers and private banks. As part of the strategic partnership, BlackRock is making a minority investment in Avaloq.
BlackRock and Avaloq unveil strategic partnership to provide integrated technology solutions, meeting evolving needs of wealth managers
As you know, I take pictures and they mostly go to archival, which for me, it is Flickr. But before those pictures get archived, I digitally process them locally, meaning, in my personal computer. I have a system of folders organized by months and weeks and days. You can imagine it’s tedious to create them manually — which I did for as long as I can remember. Today, I put in an hour of effort to automate the creation of one year’s worth of folders, so that will be for 2023, plus folders for the remainder of 2022.
Google Sheets to the rescue! The formats that I needed for Sheets to generate are these:
yyyy-mm-dd
Here is the actual spreadsheet that contains all the formula that I’ve used:
A batch file is like executing a command in the command line of Windows but this one is all pre-packaged in a file. You just double-click it and it will execute.
From the spreadsheet, I copied the generated text from there and pasted it in Notepad++ which has a Line Operations > Join Lines
function — really helpful in fixing the format of the copied and pasted text from the spreadsheet.
Here is the actual content of the batch file that I’ve used to create the 2023 folders. Here’s how you can use it on your own:
.bat
as an extension (for Notepad: “Save as” then choose “All files” then put “.bat” at the end of your file name)@ECHO OFF md "001 - January\Week 1" "001 - January\Week 2" "001 - January\Week 3" "001 - January\Week 4" "001 - January\Week 5" "002 - February\Week 1" "002 - February\Week 2" "002 - February\Week 3" "002 - February\Week 4" "002 - February\Week 5" "003 - March\Week 1" "003 - March\Week 2" "003 - March\Week 3" "003 - March\Week 4" "003 - March\Week 5" "004 - April\Week 1" "004 - April\Week 2" "004 - April\Week 3" "004 - April\Week 4" "004 - April\Week 5" "005 - May\Week 1" "005 - May\Week 2" "005 - May\Week 3" "005 - May\Week 4" "005 - May\Week 5" "006 - June\Week 1" "006 - June\Week 2" "006 - June\Week 3" "006 - June\Week 4" "006 - June\Week 5" "007 - July\Week 1" "007 - July\Week 2" "007 - July\Week 3" "007 - July\Week 4" "007 - July\Week 5" "008 - August\Week 1" "008 - August\Week 2" "008 - August\Week 3" "008 - August\Week 4" "008 - August\Week 5" "009 - September\Week 1" "009 - September\Week 2" "009 - September\Week 3" "009 - September\Week 4" "009 - September\Week 5" "010 - October\Week 1" "010 - October\Week 2" "010 - October\Week 3" "010 - October\Week 4" "010 - October\Week 5" "011 - November\Week 1" "011 - November\Week 2" "011 - November\Week 3" "011 - November\Week 4" "011 - November\Week 5" "012 - December\Week 1" "012 - December\Week 2" "012 - December\Week 3" "012 - December\Week 4" "012 - December\Week 5" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-01" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-02" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-03" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-04" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-05" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-06" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-07" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-08" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-09" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-10" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-11" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-12" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-13" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-14" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-15" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-16" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-17" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-18" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-19" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-20" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-21" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-22" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-23" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-24" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-25" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-26" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-27" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-28" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-29" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-30" "001 - January\Day\2023-01-31" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-01" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-02" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-03" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-04" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-05" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-06" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-07" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-08" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-09" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-10" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-11" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-12" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-13" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-14" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-15" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-16" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-17" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-18" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-19" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-20" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-21" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-22" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-23" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-24" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-25" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-26" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-27" "002 - February\Day\2023-02-28" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-01" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-02" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-03" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-04" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-05" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-06" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-07" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-08" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-09" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-10" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-11" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-12" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-13" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-14" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-15" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-16" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-17" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-18" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-19" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-20" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-21" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-22" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-23" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-24" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-25" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-26" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-27" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-28" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-29" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-30" "003 - March\Day\2023-03-31" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-01" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-02" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-03" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-04" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-05" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-06" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-07" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-08" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-09" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-10" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-11" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-12" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-13" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-14" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-15" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-16" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-17" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-18" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-19" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-20" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-21" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-22" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-23" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-24" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-25" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-26" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-27" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-28" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-29" "004 - April\Day\2023-04-30" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-01" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-02" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-03" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-04" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-05" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-06" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-07" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-08" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-09" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-10" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-11" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-12" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-13" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-14" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-15" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-16" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-17" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-18" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-19" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-20" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-21" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-22" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-23" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-24" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-25" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-26" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-27" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-28" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-29" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-30" "005 - May\Day\2023-05-31" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-01" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-02" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-03" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-04" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-05" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-06" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-07" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-08" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-09" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-10" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-11" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-12" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-13" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-14" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-15" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-16" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-17" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-18" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-19" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-20" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-21" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-22" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-23" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-24" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-25" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-26" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-27" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-28" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-29" "006 - June\Day\2023-06-30" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-01" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-02" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-03" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-04" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-05" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-06" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-07" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-08" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-09" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-10" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-11" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-12" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-13" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-14" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-15" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-16" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-17" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-18" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-19" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-20" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-21" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-22" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-23" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-24" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-25" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-26" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-27" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-28" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-29" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-30" "007 - July\Day\2023-07-31" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-01" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-02" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-03" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-04" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-05" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-06" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-07" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-08" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-09" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-10" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-11" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-12" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-13" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-14" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-15" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-16" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-17" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-18" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-19" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-20" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-21" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-22" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-23" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-24" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-25" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-26" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-27" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-28" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-29" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-30" "008 - August\Day\2023-08-31" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-01" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-02" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-03" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-04" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-05" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-06" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-07" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-08" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-09" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-10" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-11" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-12" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-13" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-14" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-15" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-16" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-17" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-18" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-19" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-20" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-21" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-22" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-23" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-24" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-25" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-26" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-27" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-28" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-29" "009 - September\Day\2023-09-30" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-01" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-02" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-03" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-04" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-05" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-06" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-07" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-08" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-09" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-10" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-11" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-12" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-13" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-14" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-15" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-16" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-17" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-18" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-19" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-20" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-21" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-22" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-23" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-24" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-25" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-26" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-27" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-28" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-29" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-30" "010 - October\Day\2023-10-31" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-01" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-02" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-03" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-04" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-05" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-06" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-07" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-08" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-09" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-10" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-11" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-12" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-13" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-14" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-15" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-16" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-17" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-18" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-19" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-20" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-21" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-22" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-23" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-24" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-25" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-26" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-27" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-28" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-29" "011 - November\Day\2023-11-30" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-01" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-02" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-03" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-04" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-05" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-06" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-07" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-08" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-09" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-10" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-11" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-12" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-13" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-14" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-15" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-16" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-17" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-18" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-19" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-20" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-21" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-22" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-23" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-24" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-25" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-26" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-27" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-28" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-29" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-30" "012 - December\Day\2023-12-31"
Of course, this isn’t just for photography — it could actually be for anything that you want to organize by date. ๐๏ธ ๐ซฐ
Avaloq is implementing its core banking system at UnionBank, a digital trailblazer in the Philippinesโ financial sector. The bankโs wealth management business serves the entire wealth spectrum, including business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists across the Philippines.
UnionBank of the Philippines selects Avaloq to transform its wealth management platform
It’s been 2 months already since I’ve hit my 2-year mark in Avaloq. It’s been the best 2 years of my professional career by far — seeing the team in Manila grow from 7 to 13, supporting the promotion of 3 designers, hearing about how our visual designers have grown their skills towards UX design — all these just makes me grateful for being with a supportive team. I’m able to perform well with them and all their achievements are based on their hard work and are well-deserved. Props to the global product design team, especially in Manila!
This year is memorable because I got the chance to meet most people in the local teams that I work with. This became possible because it became relatively safer to meet each other face-to-face. During our team buildings, I felt like I was meeting up with old friends due to the fact that I already met with them frequently through video calls.
About me on one hand — how have I grown from the previous year? I thrive in my role as a line manager with our regular 1:1s that give us opportunity to touch base with each other, to have that constant support in regards to each individual’s work experience in Avaloq. In the recent months, HR had launched a better process for employee career growth and salary review — these topics, we openly discuss in our bilas. Being able to connect with designers on a more personal level is something that I find valuable in a line manager’s role.
On the other hand, I’ve also grown in my role as a DesignOps lead, focusing on capacity planning. Sure, there were bumps along this road (and will always have) and for each one, my manager was there to support me. Take for example when I first saw the annual budget spreadsheet, I must admit that I was intimidated by the complex facade of it. I put it off until I was forced to face it with less working time. Looking back, this was one of my lowlights. I struggled to communicate early and frequently with other leads. Consequently, with little time frame, I found it even more challenging to schedule meetings wherein most of them were available. Supposedly, as the glue that supports everyone together, my performance in this area was watery.
On the bright side, I was able to share these challenges with my manager and he helped me by listening and advising. I’m managing it better and proactively evangelizing DesignOps to the whole team, one step at a time. My lesson is to look for people who can help and ask for their help.
When the going gets tough with those two main roles, I ramp down in my individual contributor role — yes, I also help out in the mobile and web banking product teams. This opportunity keeps my product design chops well-oiled, so to speak. In a ramp down manner, I would be supporting the team on a high level — helping them make better decisions and communicate better with stakeholders.
Juggling three different roles sounds a lot, and it is. With better work management, I am able to take a step back, have a down time and think strategically.
Recruitment is a priority, not for replacements but for growth. What excites me is the fact that we’re looking for ways to support junior designers in the Manila team. I see the value in the unique kind of drive to learn and contribute that budding designers have — and that will be an awesome addition to our team.
Well-roundedness, is one. As you could have read, I’m moonlighting as a freelance designer since way back college. In this avenue comes various types of design work — from corporate identities, to websites, to apps, to yearbooks, and what have you. I’m also mentoring designers, especially those who are at the early start of their UX journeys. These endeavors are a symbiosis with my day job in which one enriches the other.
To cap it off, all of the things that I love doing prepares me for my dream to help, design-wise, in the digital delivery of public service in my home country, Philippines. I’m looking forward into the not-so-far future of a more efficient and more accessible online government services for Filipinos. Think GOV.UK design system for Philippines, as a start.
Stay strong, mga repapips! ๐
You might be in a journey of levelling up towards being a mid-level or senior designer. We’re inviting you to take this journey with us in the product design team of Avaloq.
We’re a global, cross-cultural group of designers working collaboratively on fintech products, ranging from retail to professional banking apps.
We offer competitive salaries and we are regularly addressing any potential gender pay gaps during our compensation processes.
If interested, you may apply via ๐ SmartRecruiters ๐
I’ll probably be laying down my Reading List for a while because July is jam-packed with activities that will keep me occupied. For one, we are moving residences to one that has a relatively bigger space. For another, I’ve signed a deal with three various design projects (an app, a website, and a logo). My project management skills will ultimately be put into test, given that these go into the moonlight. On the other hand, at my day job, it’s excites me to think about opening up opportunities for junior designers to join Product Design Manila at Avaloq — my team and I just need to lay down the foundation to support this move by having key people ready to hand-hold them once they arrive. In any case, feel free to message me in LinkedIn (yes, you, the junior designer).
Awesome start of the 3rd quarter! ๐
There are 10 VIP codes in here to join Polywork: https://www.polywork.com/invite/dys-chansey