Journal Entries

Journal Entry #1

347 Design is a full service Web Development agency established in 2011 at the heart of New York.

As a Web Design major, I was attracted to them for their body of work in the web development field. During my time there, I am giving tasks to complete such as answering potential clients phone calls and jotting down their information. Creating proposals for the company and client presentation to show the progression of their projects. Creating web mockups for custom built websites and E-commerce solutions before initial development starts. Following up with clients and the team with emails to keep everything on the right track.  I also update and maintain the company’s  website with graphical improvements and content update. On Tuesday, I was giving the task to create web mockups for a new client for their gym. We had a meeting with this client last week and they are very excited to work with the company and get the project rolling. We got the contract signed and approved and I started to work right away.  I was doing research on parallax designs for design inspiration and how the flow of the website will be.  Also looking at other gyms website to see what their competitors looks like and what they are doing. This helps my process of creating ideas, sketches, and then going on to the computer to design the web mockups. I had enough time left over to create a mockup of the homepage to build momentum for the next time I will be at the office.

Journal Entry #2

This week have been an interesting one for me. I recently sold my car which was my first time selling a car and had to look at the procedure to do so. I didn’t know there was so much involved with selling a car. It included a Title transfer, creating a Bill of Sale, tax documentation and returning the license plate and registration. I thought it would be easier than that. Over the weekend, I started to code my new website with my updated work and content. I did run into some problem with the initial designs, so I had to make some alterations to it on the fly and I will have to say that it is coming out better than expected. Hopefully I will be able to finish the desktop version this week with my busy schedule and complete coding the responsive design by the following week. My second week at my internship went by smooth.  There wasn’t much to do in terms of new projects, just working on the previous bunch. We got a new intern today, named Willy, short for William who is into the marketing and sales. He his also familiar with WordPress and also have an eye for design. I showed him around the office and explained what 347 Design consist of and showed him the new website design that I am working on. I look forward to working and getting to know him more and establish a working relationship.

Journal Entry #3

School is really starting to pick up its pace and I have to chose my time wisely. With senior project, senior portfolio, introduction to javascript, principle of science two and internship, this is going to be a tough semester for me, if not the hardest one. I was thinking my last semester would be a breeze but its turning out to be the opposite. Its not so much the work load, but the time management for each class and dedicated time at the internship. I guess this is going to test me to see if I can handle multiple things at once and complete it with high quality work. I think of it as good preparation for the real world where a person must be quick, sharp and be able to handle multiple projects at once. These are the characteristics that a design studio is looking for in a potential  candidate. This is what I believe what my internship is looking for as well. I am giving multiple task to see how I deal with them and the pressure that goes along with it. So far, I’ve been doing fine with handling multiple tasks at once, although I don’t finish all of them because of time restriction. I do complete the majority of them and report back to the team with some finished work for the day. Lets see how the rest of the semester plays out and how I will deal with my time management.

Journal Entry #4

For this journal entry, i’m going to take a break talking about my internship progress and discuss what been on my mind lately. It was a long and dreadful week that seemed never ending to me. I have been physically, mentally, and emotionally tired. I started my road back to being healthy and energetic and this time, it is my hardest one yet. I stepped on the scale and saw 200lbs! This was inevitable, I knew this was coming because of all the junk food I have been eating and haven’t been physically active. Being a college student and a freelance graphic and web designer do have its pros and con’s. But its con’s could have a negative impact in the way you live your life as you’re staring at a screen for countless hours doing homework and research. Sitting down for most of your day is not helpful either. Wake up, take an hour train ride, sit. Arrive at school, go to class, sit. Wait for my next class to start, go to the computer lab, stare at a screen, sit. Next class starts, stare at a big projection screen, my computer screen, sit. Class is over, take the train home, sit. At home, drop my bag off, get comfortable, turn my computer on, stare at my screen, sit.  This puts a toll on me as I’m always worrying about finishing projects, talking to my clients, conducting research for class work and much more. Being at a desk all day and eating junk food have a negative impact, but I’m looking to turn that all around with a change of lifestyle.

Journal Entry #5

Things are starting to look to good. I have been feeling much better since getting on a healthier diet and exercising. It has definitely helped me get more energy throughout the day and its helping me not get so tired as fast. Getting off a few flights earlier in elevator at school and taking the stairs gives me a short workout each time. Its the little things that counts. I’m well on my way to living a better lifestyle. But enough about that, let’s get back to the topic on hand. My progression at my internship with 347 Design. Everything is going pretty smooth during my time there. I’m learning some new things I did not know of in the past and it will definitely help me with my career goals. Since 347 Design is a start up company, I’m learning all the trades on how to launch a business and what are some of the steps. Granted, I may not learn everything there is in starting your own company but it is a good head start. Which comes in mind what I hope to accomplish within the next 5 years of my career. In short, I want to have my own design company that will focus on providing better designs which will equal a better lifestyle for people. The name of my company is called Nive Interactive. Nive meaning nice, cool, cutting edge.(urban dictionary) I have the domain and logo for the company and I am working on the business plan, who we are etc. I also want to create a social network for inspiring artist of all kinds of media to express themselves in a beautiful way. The name of the social media is call Chkkle. I have created the general idea of it as well as the logo and initial mockups of some of the pages. I’m a strong believer on you won’t know until you try. Trying is better than fear of not knowing what could’ve been.

Journal Entry #6

Yesterday we got a taste of spring weather. The sun’s light hitting the earth’s surface and shining beautiful on children. A nice spring breeze to smell the fresh air pass by our nose as we enjoy a nice relaxed walk. The world felt as it was spinning faster than usual. People’s aura was positive and happy and it was spreading like a wildfire. Everyone seemed to be in a positive mood. Indeed, it was a beautiful day. My day at the office was a relaxed, nonchalant, and a very productive one. There were numerous tasks that needs to be addressed by the end of this week and I knocked down two of them already. It was very important to me to get things done as fast as possible since the company will be officially launching by the end of this month. I want to show the team that I am reliable, professional, and quick. Also I want to show that I am a responsible person and could potentially handle any task thrown at me that is in my realm.  I’m learning how to do project management more and more. Learning how to deal with clients with their needs and attention to details. Learning how to communicate via email to potential clients and current clients to assure a smooth and seamless process from start to finish. Learning how to calculate project budgets and timeframe for completion with an understanding of detailed project breakdown with what’s included. This is definitely a stepping stone to where I would like to accomplish in my career and a good one at that.

Journal Entry #7

This week session at my internship was a short one but I was giving the task to finish up some banners for advertisements. Create a client presentation to send out to potential clients with the company overview, mission statement, and some of our portfolio pieces along with it. They were closing the office early to take a break from the hectic schedule lately. I took the files home to finish up some of  the tasks so I can bring it in on Thursday. Other than that, I’ve been working on my senior project called “FitWiz.” It’s a interactive web and mobile app where users are selectively paired with a “FitWiz” (Fitness expert) to help monitor and train them all while in the comfort of the user’s home. It’s pretty much your own real personal fitness trainer who watches over you during your exercises (live video chat) and monitor your heart rate, intensity of the workout, calories burned and much more. User chose their own pricing options which both includes a free fitness wristband (this helps the “FitWiz” track your progress and workout). I think this is a cool idea as some people don’t have the time or luxury of affording a personal trainer or is too embarrassed to work out at a gym. This helps the user slim down, build their self-esteem and become fit with a certified personal fitness trainer. Right now, I am in the process of designing the website so I can begin to code it and then move on to designing the web and mobile app. I can’t wait to see the finished results.