Christian Santiago Journal Entries 1- 14

Week1

I am Christian Santiago a Graphic Design student at New York City College of Technology. I have been studying design for a few years now. My passion for design started when I began to draw in elementary school. I do love to illustrate and tell stories but I believe design is rooted deep inside me. I have taken the majority of my required courses for my degree. I now am enrolled in a course called Internship, this class will help me to obtain some real life experience in my field of studies. When the class began I was apprehensive about discussing my current Internship when I was in class. I felt like the professor would find the internship I have wouldn’t qualify for the class. I stared to consider taking a second internship just in case my current one would not qualify.

As the professor was handing out the list of possible internship I had to ask if anyone had attempted to work two internship simultaneously. He seemed it was possible and I was a bit relieved, until he asked in I was taking “Senior Project.” It was part of my curriculum this year since this was my last semester. I confirm I was attending the course and he advised me not to take up a second internship since “Senior Project” is a time consuming course. I then waited after the class was over to tell the him about my current internship. I hoped my internship qualified for the class because if it didn’t I would have to quit Firefly Design and Communication.

Firefly is a beautiful studio owned by Sheila Cobb. At Firefly we create brochures, logos, branding design, packaging, websites and other designs that I can’t quite remember. I had an amazing experience there so far, I would not want it to end now. I describe the studio’s work to the professor and I was relieved to get the seal of approval from him, but soon I started to worry again because the hours required for the class is 120 hours. I am  currently doing only five hours per week and to complete the 120 hours I would need to be there eight hours per week. I figured I would have to quickly compose an e-mail to my supervisor about the required hours for my course. As soon I was done discussing with my professor I took the time between classes to write the e-mail that could help me complete the requirement for the course.

Week2

I finally was able to discuss with my supervisor about obtaining extra hours so I would be able to complete the required hours for my internship course. This really relieved the stress I had worrying about the course. The next day at the studio I was excited because I was going to be working on a brochure for a client we have worked with in the past. I enjoy working with this client because they need a brochure annually for their summer camp. I enjoy creating new fun designs for their brochure, because they have a simple design and with brochure I have almost all creative freedom.

The design I created involved a Polaroid in nature concept. In the first stage of creating the concept I used last years photos and photo manipulated the images to make it look like Polaroid photos. I also silhouetted someone maple leaves to create some layering with the photos and leaves on the ground for the cover and the inside spread. I didn’t have to typeset the inside body copy because I was about to recycle a design I created for them last year. I typeset the body copy pretty well last year so I didn’t see the need to change it. I also assume it would change only a little bit depending on if the body copy of this year would change. The client didn’t asked for any special productions design just a simple 8.5 x 11 page size in a horizontal orientation. Since the brochure is for a summer camp I thought I could use a more fun typeface for the headline. The headline wasn’t that crazy since I still kept in mind the client mention they are tradition but fun. To find the balance in the headline I combined a display font with a traditional sans serif. The client like my design I created for them last year I am hoping for the same reaction.

Week3

I was informed by my supervisor the client liked my design for the brochure for the summer camp. I was very pleased to hear that news. She also informed me they have sent approved images and corrected body copy for the inside pages for the brochure. Once I got the approved images I had to photo manipulate the images once again to create the Polaroid images. It wasn’t that bad to edit the photos, it was just a bit tedious. I didn’t really care because once again this client liked my work, and this made me feel elated about having my design selected. The changes to the body copy was very minimum. I just had to changes a few phone numbers, names, and dates. The changed to the body copy didn’t change the overall typesetting of the inside pages of the brochure. Designing the brochure gave me a sense of nostalgia, the images of kids outside playing and camping made me wish I was there. I felt like I did a good job because if I wished I was there then I imagine a kid would want to be there.

After I did the final changes to the brochure my supervisor asked me to collected all the packaging design I did and mock it up. I was curious why she wanted me to do this but I just began to find the files and to start measuring out how some of the packages are. I was a bit frustrated do this because one design was a bit tricky. The measurement for the design I created where a bit off. The label wasn’t lineing up to the previous label on the package. I was able to perfect the label but my supervisor wasn’t sure are the color scheme I create for the label, so she had me create a few versions with other color scheme. After I changed the color scheme for the labels she was still not sure about the colors. This is going to be a continuing battle for me.

Week4

This week at my internship I had to help create a logo for a non-for-profit organization’s annual walk event. This was interesting because I had a chance to create a invitation for a previous event they had. This logo needed to be designed in a way that combines the organization’s logo with walking. My supervisor previously had some ideas about the logo but I asked me to play around with it to create my own version of it. I had created a few similar logos close to my supervisor’s logo since the client was very specific about it. The logo needed to have similar color scheme as the organization’s logo which were in a gold range.

In the same week to be able to make up time for my internship course my supervisor asked if I wanted to come in on a Friday, I couldn’t say no to the chance since I needed those hours. I decided to come in on Friday and my first assignment was to collect the all the logos that the studio had design and create a logo exploration page for each one. It was a bit difficult for me at the beginning because I was trying to layout each logo that was designed on the same page. After a while of coordinating each logo to fit on the page I realized that the idea wasn’t working, so I scrapped the idea and started to layout the logos on individual pages with design and color exploration. This assignment is a bit time consuming so I had to eventually stop because other assignments demamnded my attention.

Week5

I assumed I was going to continue the logo exploration layout, but my supervisor needed me to clean up the logo for the non-for-profit organization’s logo. I was a bit sad they didn’t choose any of the ones I created but my logic is “you win some, you lose some” I was asked to make the logo more circular since that was the design the client liked. All I needed to do was to make sure the little feet for “Kids Walk” logo  was in a circular form that looked like it was walking around the organization’s logo. After I did the minor adjustments my supervisor asked to save the logo in different formats that would work on web and print. I then was asked to then pick up the printed brochures I created for a client that I had the pleasure of working with before. It was nice to see what I had created to be create and shared even though it was a brochure for a simple summer camp.

Later on the day I had to work on some typesetting for an Annual Report. I wasn’t working on raw text though. I was basically lightly proof reading and moving around some heading and subheadings. I also helped out with photo manipulation for some of the art that went into the Annual Report. The photo manipulation wasn’t much because all I was doing was sharpening or highlight the photograph. I was then asked to take the design and send it out to the client for approval. This was an interesting day for me.

Week6

This week I was asked to once again create a an invitation for the non-for-profit client we designed a logo for. This invitation was for the “Kids Walk” event they are having soon. My supervisor asked that I should create simple design with a interesting layout. For my first design I used a horizontal orientation and I tried to stick with the color scheme of the logo but not as saturated so I wouldn’t take away from the actual logo. For my second version of the design was to create a vertical version of my first design but with rounded corner die-cut. I was then advised by my supervisor to create a layout with a spring look. What I  create was a simple grass and a cityscape header and a simple green ban as a footer. I then place the important text in the center of the layout over a plain white background. For the last option I used my previous design with the grass and cityscape but instead of having a white background I decided to have the background in the same color as the grass so it look like the grass’ bottom continue throughout the page.

My supervisor later asked me to pick up a invitation envelop for another client’s fashion event. The envelops were beautiful done. They had a sort matte rubber finish on the exterior and the envelops were a custom shape for our client. After I did the pick up my supervisor asked me the help her with cutting one hundred and ten pieces of ribbon which is part of the final invitation design After cutting that many ribbons I felt like I needed a break for the day.

Week7

I got to the studio today and my supervisor had a task for me. She wanted me to create a logo for a place that farms mushrooms called Glenwild Farms. I was excited because I love to create logos but I was a bit unsure because my supervisor instructed me to create it in a “classic style.” I am not sure how to create a logo in a “classic style” I tried to research the style but I still felt confused. I searched for any Victorian style with a hand etched logo image, that was my idea for classic. I focused on that idea and pared it with a classic font like Garamond. This logo was very tricky I tried a few variations but I felt a little discouraged except for one which I hoped my supervisor would approve it. I showed her my variations and she seemed unimpressed. She told me to take a break from itand work on another logo project called Gimmie Gimmie. I felt a bit crushed that my designs for Glenwild Farms wasn’t very impressive.

For the logo project of Gimmie Gimmie I was told it need a child like feel to it and client wanted the idea of child hand prints replacing the dots of the “i” I believe it was acute idea and wanted to work on it right away. But once again I felt limited to this concept, but also I do work great under pressure. I tried to find variations of hand written fonts for the logo to have a kid like feel and I created vector shapes of child hand prints like the client requested it for the logo. But I to pause on the logo design to assist my supervisor photoshoppng some images for a client that needed their job done ASAP. All I thought about was my design for the Gimmie Gimmie project, I hope that the designs work out.

Week8

This week I read an article about how the reviews of customers are effecting company’s sales. I found it fascinating because the way how companies maintain their sale was because of loyal customers that would only buy their products and were faithful to the brand, but everything changed when people could write reviews online about the product or brand. The example that was on the article was Lululemon Athletics, people were very much were loyal to the brand until one consumer review mentioned how their yoga pants were too shear and that review caused some controvercy. The co-founder of the company made a stament that sparked an up roar with the consumers and more negative reviews came in causing a drop in their sales. This article show me how consumer reviews are important, they are what can improve or sustain your product.

Today at Firefly as an excercise I had to redo some packaging design I had worked on before and collected all the other packging desgin that had been done at the studio and prepare them to be photographed. The packaging I had to edit was a packging for Mi Pepito spicies. The original brand was overly design and looked cheap with bright colors. The design I created was simlar but what I did to make it more interesting was to add a die-cut and to simplify the typography. My concept was to make it clean and modern, my only issues was my color scheme. The color scheme I chosen was too bland for the spicies, and my supervisor advised me to try warm simple color with a pop of color that would reflect the spice. This approch would create a better unity and would be better for a series. Once I was done trying a few colors I took the photos. 

Week9

This week at Firefly I was asked to create some covers design for a brochure for Comunilife’s Medical Respite Program. The Medical  Respite Program is a short-term residential program for patients who no longer require hospitalization but do not have suitable housing in which to convalesce. While in the Respite Program, patients are still able to access medical care and other supportive services. I have worked before on a cover design and page layout for a different program they have. For this cover design they wanted something similar as the previous brochure cover. What I did was to go back to the original design and make some modifications, I tried a few variation like something very minimalist to something with accent colors. I tried to create a cover with “helping hands” but I a stippling effect and I tried to create a home also in a stippling. The effect was to reflect the way the logo was design. My supervisor like my designs but advised me to go back to the original design but to focus on the typography.

After doing those few options for the cover she asked me to work on the layout with the pages. This time there was a little less information for this program compared to the last one, so instead of focusing on white space my supervisor told me to add an image that can reflect help, hope or life. Once again I tried to add an image of helping hands but she felt that the image was a bit morbid she advised me to add a white flower but to avoid calla lilies since they kind of remind people of funerals. We search for flower images together and we found a few white flower. But I had to ask to add a flower that kind a had a blueish hue to it, which was similar color in the layout. We create a few version for them to chose so now it was up to the client to choose.

Week10

This week at Firefly my supervisor I asked me to create some logos for a Project called The Bike shack. The Bike Shack is a bike rental company in Provincetown Massachusetts. My supervisor told me to design the logo in a sort of grungy but classic feel and to keep in mind of the color scheme to include a “Harley Davidson orange” and warm gray. She also mention that it would be a great design if it fit in a circle. So I went about designing, I first started by laying out the type in a circle having the name “The Bike Shack” curve above while having Provincetown curve below and I illustrated a simple bike to separate the two words. I felt the space between the words was empty so I illustrated a bike wheel to fill the space. Another design approach I did was to create a horizontal version for the logo, I used the same grungy type but I use a rule and the illustrated bike in a small scale to sparate “The Bike Shack” and “Provincetown Massachusetts”

Later on my supervisor ask me to create some T-shirt design for The Bike Shack. A T-shirt design that reflect the location of Provincetown Massachusetts also known as P-town. This town is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination of gay men and lesbians. I was told I could very creative with these T-shirt designs. I chose to use vibrate colors and for images I used a greek statue and brought in the icon tower n P-town and the map of the town. I enjoy creating these shirt because I created a female version of the shirt and the idea that my design could  could be used one day makes me smile.

Week11

This week my supervisor told me that the client for The Bike Shack need a sign design to advertise  what they offer. I thought this assignment was going to be simple, I didn’t imagine it would be difficult. My supervisor told me the client wanted a 4 feet square sign in the “Harley Davidson orange” with “The Bike Shack” logo in only the grungy typeface with the copy she provided plus a illustration of a bike. I was kind of limited to designs. But I try to make the best of it. I did three different designs I made the first two designs simple and stay within what the client requested and for the third design I took a little creative liberty and did a typographic design with the content. Once I was done with that I start to edit my female T-shirt design for The Bike Shack because my first design felt a little flat compared to the male T-shirt design. The original design I used cooler colors and the female statue wasn’t as appealing. The new design I colors that reflect the hues of a sunset and I use Sandro Botticelli “The Birth of Venus” as a female focus and I add tired tracks to compliment the logo.

As I was about to finish the T-shirt design my supervisor Informed me the client had some changes for the sign. I expected some changes which usually happens but the clients choices of changes were very questionable. She wanted a gradient that involve the colors “coral pink, orange, and purple with a rainbow color bike and bigger type that engulfs the space. But I still did the changes for the client but after seeing the changes my supervisor suggested we do our own version of it to show how questionable their choices were. My supervisor’s intention was to guide the client to a more fashionable option.

Week12

This week at Firefly my supervisor  told me the client for The Bike Shack needed a brochure design to advertise their rates and the bikes they offer. I was advise to use some stock images of people riding bikes or bikes in general as long as I didn’t use images of single riders and to bring back the “Harley Davidson orange” and to use a sans-serif font with the grungy logo. I started with an image that was focus on a group of bike that was blurred in focus. I use grunge logo to the width of the brochure and overlaid ban of color with the contact and advertised information over the band with a knockout white type. On the other side of the brochure was the most difficult part. I had a lot of information and limited space, in that information I also need to add a rubric. Designing the back was very difficult I need to find the balance of space and font size.  If I made it smaller to fit the space it would end up illegible and if I made it a average legible size it wouldn’t fit the space. But I was able to fit the content perfectly by using half point size type.

Later on my supervisor asked me to work on logo design for a possible client called Mother’s Messenger. They are a messaging service and I was told they are a sort of edgy style. So I used a biker style as inspiration to create the logo. I illustrated a icon with  wing to represent how fast they are with a heart shape negative space to reflect the handling of the packages. With the type I use a script font with a western style font, I chose these contrasting font to reflect the style they are and the care they give to the packages.

Week13

This week I continue with Mother’s Messengers and was ask to create a flyer for them as an design exercise. I was advise to create a flyer that expresses how fast their service is. I used a stock photo of bikers riding around a city with a motion blur to show how fast they are to continue the concept of speed I created a  dark ban with the copy I was given which was “We care. We protect. We deliver” with the type in a vibrate yellow to express their speed. Part of the concept of speed I create the ban with the text in a perspective view to give the feeling of zipping by.

My supervisor later gave me a task to layout a brochure for Legg Mason. The brochure from last year had a lot of content but what made this a bit difficult was that I had short biographies as content to work with. I was able to layout at least two biographies per page which that shorten the brochure from twelve pages to ten pages. I thought I did pretty good, but after my supervisor reviewed it she informed me that the design had to be multiple of four pages so the brochure had to be twelve or eight. This frustrated me a bit, but that’s the life of a designer getting a problem and then solving it. With my next layout design I tired to fit the content and images, I really had to shift around everything in order to layout everything properly to fit on eight pages.

Week14

This week I was informed by my supervisor that the content for the brochure I was working on last week isn’t the final content for the brochure and that the client will later on supply us with the finalized content. So the layout I created last week is consider more like another design exercise and this week my supervisor advises me to use the brochure from last year as a template and modify the layout from there. I layout speakers in the corresponding areas and I will later on modify it once I get the actual content. For most of the day I was editing any small details of the brochure, so I still have to finish it up.

After that I took a break from the brochure and my supervisor gave a design exercise and I had to choose a book cover to redesign. The book cover I chosen to redesign was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Beautiful and Damned” I wanted to modernized the cover because the original very illustrative. My approach was to use a pattern that reflects time period with a silhouette of a woman which is supposed represent Anthony Patch’s wife, Gloria. The gold color scheme is suppose to represent the character’s fortune and his alcoholism. I wanted the image to dominate the cover while I contain the content of the cover in a frame at the lower part of the cover. I chose to minimize the content because F. Scott Fitzgerald is so well known it would be the best time to be creative with the imagery for the cover.