A Communication Design Portfolio

Category: Internship

Journal Seven

Week of October 19, 2021

Well, this week is going interestingly. I have been at a standstill for the past week and a half now with the Research Day project. The date of the event is November 5th and I still need to receive an official copy of the flow chart and poster. The poster needs to go out as soon as possible but I have not received any word yet from my client. I am getting a bit nervous as I sent three emails and do not want to come off as pushy… There is still also another deliverable that I know nothing about that my client would like to get done as well. I hope he will get back to me soon as I need time to complete this all. However, I understand that he is a very busy person.

Moving on I introduced another project in my last entry where I am basically in charge of creating a web banner for an Openlab website for classes under the COMD 4701 Design Team. It is for Commencement and Honors Convocation Cover Designs submissions. This project is going well. I just finished the compositions for it. I will of course include them in this post. I received really helpful feedback, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves by next week.

Lastly, I have this third project that I believe I wrote about before, but I did not know what I would be doing. It is for the Faculty Publication Support Workshop Series. I was originally tasked with adding links to a PowerPoint. However, I recently had a meeting with professor Biehl where we spoke about the project in more detail and came to a consensus on what needs to be done next. I still have to email my client about that.

Sooo, today was a busy day for my internship! It is Oct 21st and I just had my second meeting with my client for Research Day @ City Tech. The one that I was worried about. So, this was my second client meeting and I feel that it went so well. I was calm and I was confident. I guess my nerves dispersed quite a bit since I knew what to expect. The meeting was at 11:30 but I was there since 11 am lol. My client had previously mentioned wanting another deliverable. That deliverable turned into deliverables lol. Multiple. I have to create additionally a branded PowerPoint template, agenda design layout, research pillar illustration, and grant growth chart. Along with a web banner, poster, and flow chart that still need to be done. But I am pumped and excited! My mentor’s presence also gave me comfort. I don’t feel stressed at all about that. The only stress that I feel regarding this product is that I have not received the copy yet for anything which makes the design process more difficult.

Extra Journal Six

Week of October 5, 2021

I am having so much fun at my internship even though it is virtual. I feel like I am really getting settled in and I am not anxious anymore. I truly look forward to the weekly meeting for multiple reasons. I love seeing my team’s work and giving feedback, I love sharing work that I am proud of and getting helpful feedback that helps me make my designs better. It is honestly so helpful. I even love dressing professionally every week from the waist up and being physically present through the camera. I am so excited and proud of the work that I have created. The weeks prior I was anxious, way too cautious, and felt unsure of my design skills. I felt like my design sense wasn’t good enough. I will talk about that in another entry.

Moving on let me actually write about what actually happened this week. On Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, at 5:00 pm we make our weekly group meeting where all the interns, senior design team and our head professor Biehl meet. This is where we get updates on where we are with our projects, share our visuals, and reveal feedback on what direction we should go in. We also have little assignments that professor Biehl assigns us all and they are due at the next meeting. This week we were supposed to have done some social media research. The bullet points below are what we were supposed to focus on. Professor Biehl always sends us a follow-up email to remind us of what our assignments are. The bullet points below are what professor Biehl sent us.

  • Become familiar with City Tech’s social media accounts.
  • Do you notice any trends in their communications? What works?
  • Look at other schools inside/outside CUNY for additional examples. 
  • View FC website (banners/events calendar)
  • What opportunities do you see for reaching the academic community?
  • How might you see this in relation to your individual projects?

I was very vocal and shared many thoughts and findings. I felt proud that I was able to share my research and thoughts with everyone and it really made me feel like a part of a team. I love working in this kind of collaborative environment. It’s so fun and helpful. I love having a team that I can rely on to give me honest feedback and help me become a better designer. I have a client and I’m working on a project with multiple parts and a close deadline, but it is so fun still. I Sent so many emails this week to my client, mentor, and cc’d professor Biehl. Emails used to give me so much anxiety because I wanted to send the perfect email and overthought every single word, but my internship has helped me so much. I don’t put emails off anymore and I don’t beat myself up over every word choice. I love to send emails now lol. I like checking things off of my checklist and planner. It’s so rewarding. Concluding, I sent off one deliverable to my client a save the date digital flyer and I recreated a flow chart that I have to send my client, as well as my mentor, informed me that the format needed some work. I agreed with him as well and now I feel that it looks much better. I am awaiting his feedback so I can make the changes and send it off to my client. This is getting very long lol I am sorry I just had a lot of fun writing this all out. Sorry professor and my classmates if you read this. I hope you are all well, I am well and awaiting to get confirmation from my client on when we can have our second meeting because he has another request. P.S I have two more assignments and that makes me feel good. But those two have not really started yet. I am doing sketches for one though and I will explain more in another entry. That is all.

Journal Five

Week of September 28, 2021

Remember when I was saying I dropped the ball with my designs for my client well that was not an understatement. This was a dark week for me. I lost all of my confidence in my design skills. I hated everything I designs. I showed it to my friends and family and asked for honest feedback. They aren’t designers though and thought they were “fine” I could tell they did not hate them but weren’t wowed by my designs either. I got a lot of puzzled looks. It was as if they were trying to figure out what was wrong with the designs but could not place their finger on the problem. I felt defeated. I thought I wasted my four years in college. I felt like I was designed to be a bad designer. I felt uncreative and I felt untalented. I feel like I just did not have the touch. That design sense every designer needs to have. I was also falling behind in my classwork at this time and not being attentive enough with my classes, internship, and emails. I was sinking. But I kept trying. I created so many design compositions based on many of my sketches even though I was advised to only create compositions for three out of my 23 sketches. I created maybe 6 different compositions. Then later I took those six and created different versions of them. Then there were 12. Then a day before the meeting I created 3 completely new designs. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I did it. I finally felt proud of something I created. I was confident to share the 3 new designs and that felt so great. My confidence had come back. On that Tuesday I made some final touches and shared my work. I got feedback that most may have felt a little sad or defeated over but to me, it gave me clarity. Professor Biehl had told me to not reinvent the wheel and go back to the drawing board and use something that I knew my client liked. Since we had had him as a client in the past with Faculty Commons. There was something that he liked that professor Biehl had created for him a while back and he still remembered it and had advised me to look at that for inspiration. I had completely put that suggestion to the back of my brain and struggling for no reason lol. So, professor Biehl was kind enough to send me the designs for inspiration and I got to work. I shared it with my mentor he gave me feedback and I even had a separate meeting with professor Biehl, and she gave me feedback and helped me clean up my design’s composition and hierarchy so I could present the work to my client. I forget to mention that my client invited me to a committee meeting to share my designs and get feedback from the entire committee that is in charge of the event along with himself. It took place on Friday, October 1st, 2021, at 10:30 am. The committee consisted of about eight professors including professor Biehl. I dressed in professional attire of course and was visually present. It felt comforting that she was there and had got to see and approve of my work beforehand. I was confident but a little nervous and didn’t know what to really say and fumbled a bit, but I presented my designs, and the committee loved the designs. I presented three different variations. The meeting went great, and I met with my mentor in another zoom meeting right after. I appreciated it. He asked me how I felt, and we went over what was next. That was all. It went well.

Journal Four

Week of September 21, 2021

So much happened this week but then again not really. I missed the weekly group meeting for a dumb reason. A misunderstanding, to be honest. Our group meetings time was shifting around, and this was the first time we met at 5 pm. Professor Biehl asked if this time would work for everyone, and I said yes. Two others said yes as well however, I assumed that everyone had to confirm the meeting before it would happen. However, it was making it if you can to the meeting. I emailed professor Biehl explaining why I missed the meeting. She understood.

Moving on I feel like my internship truly started this week. I had my first meeting with my client on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, I was so, so nervous. I felt like running away lol. It’s something about having clients that are connected to my classes and academic career that gives me the jitters. I just don’t want to mess up and make my professors, internship present, and groupmates disappointed. If it were just my client, a client I found outside of school I wouldn’t feel so pressured because there is no one I would affect by doing less than standard but myself. Designing badly or being the weakest link in a group throws the project and the group’s chemistry off. So going back to the topic of discussion, my first internship client meeting. I came up with many questions to ask him and even sent them to my mentor the night or so before due to my nerves. I asked if any of my questions were unnecessary, and he gave me feedback. I almost missed the meeting as my client asked to meet the next day but I didn’t check my email. My mentor texted my phone to inform me. Professor Biehl also emailed me about my client emailing me. I honestly felt so grateful but also so embarrassed and unprofessional. The next day I got ready and started the meeting like 45 minutes too early and just waited lol. I wanted to make sure my camera looked okay and my appearance. My mentor joined and then my client.

We introduced ourselves and then my client did most of the talking lol. He knew what he wanted, and I took notes. My notes were not the best lol. I was so nervous, and he spoke a lot and I got lost. My mentor took notes too lol, so I was truly appreciative. I made one mistake. I ASKED if he wanted any specific copy, he wanted in the posters, etc., and then he told me I will leave it up to you. I was horrified lol. My mentor and I meet separately after the meeting with my client to go over my notes and make sure I understood what I needed to do. He informed me that you shouldn’t have asked him about the copy like that. He told me instead to next time ask when the copy will be ready lol. I made sketches for the project about 23 lol on the same day since my mind was fresh. I sent it to my mentor, and he told me which to go with and to make some digital compositions to show at the next meeting and oh boy did I drop the ball… TBC

a video I made to explain my concepts to my mentor

Journal Three

Week of September 14, 2021

Since I am writing this at a later date remembering everything is a bit difficult. However, my most recent posts are way fuller lol so hopefully that could make up for this shortie. I was so, so, so, so, so, nervous when professor Biehl introduced my first client! I guess the fact that I did not get a client in the first two weeks made me more laxed and not in design mood. So, when I heard my name and my client’s name, I just tensed up lol. I was overthinking it like crazy. I explain a lot of what it felt like sending that first introductory email and process in the next entry.

Journal Two

Week of September 9, 2021

I can’t really remember much but I missed this meeting. It was because I was late to checking my email for the new time confirmation. I reached out to my mentor and another senior designer but because they did not answer back in a certain time frame, I assumed that the meeting was off. I reached out to professor Biehl and apologized for my confusion.

Journal One

Week of August 31, 2021

This was my first official internship meeting day. I had my camera on and my business casual attire on. I was ready and excited but also extremely nervous. We were being prepared to show our cameras when we were in training. We did not always show ourselves though, but I feel because our mentors were always showing themselves it became more natural and comfortable for us. For example, going back to our last training day meeting. We did a group presentation and were required to have our cameras on. So, I feel my training really prepared me for my internship and the future of my professional career because I will probably be doing a lot of meetings and interviews via zoom in the future.

So, during the meeting, some of the interns received their first clients I believe from what I can remember. 1 to two out of the four of us. Professor Biehl showed us some graphics, the website, and informed us of some information that we need as designers for Faculty Commons. Then the senior designers shared their updates on the projects that they were doing. This is something that we, interns have done in our training sessions and will do once we are assigned our first clients.

We also had to send one of our web designers a profile picture of either of us physically or illustratively along with a short bio about our self and what we are in charge of doing at faculty commons. Lastly, we have a group excel spreadsheet document that all the designers must use to update and inform professor Biehl on what we are doing and done throughout the week regarding our projects. I wish I had an image of my spreadsheet originally it looked a lot different. It had a powderpuff girl’s color scheme and no information lol. Only the headers and they were different as well.

Professor Biehl also gave us our first assignment. We were to look around at other schools inside and outside of the CUNY system and see what other organizations are doing that are alike what we do for city tech as faculty commons. This information was to be shown or related verbally to what was found next week at the group meeting. Things that should be at attention were what are they doing good at, what could use some work, and how are they handling their social media presence, etc. I shared my findings verbally at the next meeting.