Category: COMD4900/Internship

My time at RO NEW YORK has come to an end but also a new beginning. It has been a very humbling experience working here. I’ve gained a multitude of hands-on experience in the field. This couldn’t have been possible without the support of the team at RO NEW YORK. From this experience, I worked with a team of creative individuals, worked on multiple projects (both individual and collaborative), increased my proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, etc.), developed better work ethics, and created lasting connections with my colleagues.

However, the most valuable takeaway from this was that I was challenged. I was challenged to handle multiple tasks in a very fast-paced environment. Although it was difficult in the beginning, I learned to adjust. I was also challenged to create designs that pushed past the basic concepts and further developed them. I’m glad I got to connect with my colleagues on both a personal and professional level. For the most part, I didn’t have a difficult time when I was assigned a task or project.

One of my strengths is that I am a very quick learner. If my supervisor or creative director explained what I needed to do, I would get it pretty quickly. If on the occasion that I would have a question or need further explanation, I had no problem asking. I’ve learned that It is better to ask further and get a task done properly rather than not asking and doing it incorrectly. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better first internship experience. They’ve asked me to stay until I graduate in the spring and I plan on doing so.

Attached below is my Internship Presentation –

LeeJ_COMD4900_Presentation

On September 13th, I was given the opportunity to attend a photo shoot for the rebranding of one of our beauty clients. It would be my first time going to a real photo studio and seeing the flow of the workspace. That day, we had three models come in. The shoot was at Pier 59 Studios. My job was to quietly watch and observe. My two co-workers who are both Art Directors and my Creative Director were already there; they’ve been at the shoot since the morning. I was told by my Creative Director to come in at around 4 pm. Everyone looked very focused and made sure everything went accordingly. It was pretty awesome seeing how everyone worked, from the photographer to the hair and makeup artists to my colleagues looking through the photos to make sure we had the right shots from the take. It seemed a bit hectic but it was the good kind. I got to look at the shots and videos of each model through the monitor. The models did so well, they are professionals for a reason. These models were selected for this shoot, they were well suited for the look the client wanted for the rebrand.

This is still an ongoing project at RO NEW YORK, this photo shoot was just one part of it. Being able to witness how much time goes into rebranding a company, it makes me appreciate this field. It makes me appreciate the creative team that goes into making things like this a reality. It makes me want to be a part of this world. Going to that shoot, I realized that not only do I want to go into branding but everything else that falls under it as well. As it was almost time to leave, my Creative Director asked me what I thought about my first experience being at a live shoot. I told him that it was amazing and it made me want to pursue this field even more. When we left the studio, I thanked him again for letting me be a part of this experience. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I am very grateful for it.

I am grateful for the whole team at RO NEW YORK. They have all been nothing but supportive, my Creative Director, the Art Directors (my supervisor included), the copywriter, everyone. They’ve treated me just like any other employee and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of unique individuals to work with than them. They make me want to strive for more and come up with better designs. Even after this internship ends, I will these connections for a lifetime.

For the past few weeks, in addition to my other tasks, I have been working on stories for RO NEW YORK. My supervisor gave me an outline of what kind of themes he wanted for certain stories. Themes like office life, NYC, a day in the life, favorite quotes, etc. For the NYC stories, I would find stock images from Unsplash or use the pictures I have taken around the city. The story that went up recently was favorite quotes. If you go to the RO NEW YORK Instagram page, in the story highlights is QOTD (Quotes of the Day). I designed that story. I basically used different type directions for each quote, utilizing different backgrounds to create texture, and kept it very simple.

Here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/ronewyork/

Here is the PDF file of the Instagram story: 004_INSTASTORY_10.04.18

I was given an independent project from the Brand Strategist at RO a while back. She thought I would be perfect for this project because of my athletic background. Mind and Movement Partners wanted to create an active program for inner city kids. Kids nowadays aren’t as physically active anymore due to budget cuts, and the lack of resources and opportunities. For this project, in particular, Mind and Movement Partners wanted to partner up with Outdoor Voices, a clothing company that sells women’s and men’s athletic apparel. The company was founded in 2013 by CEO, Tyler Haney. Tyler Haney supports being active, healthy, and happy. She created this company so that people are inspired to be active on a daily basis. In this partnership, not only would they be providing these programs but also apparel and accessories as well.

What I had to do was create a presentation document for MMP that they would use to pitch their idea to Outdoor Voices. It was suggested by the Brand Strategist that the presentation had to have that simple, clean, and minimalistic design that OV does, and to use their colors. So, I researched and compiled free stock photos from Unsplash as well as images from OV. After finding the perfect images, I added the copy that was given by MMP. This presentation went through a few revisions before it was good enough to proceed forward. After creating this version of the presentation, I had to create another one that was for MMP’s internal purposes only. I was just told last week by the Brand Strategist that this project is moving forward and that they just had a meeting with Outdoor Voices. Hearing this made me very proud and happy that I got to be apart of this.

Here are both presentations, the first is the MMP x OV one and the second is the MMP one.

OV.08.14.18

MMP.08.14.18

 

An example of a collaborative project that I worked on during my internship was on a special for the Title of Work Instagram story on October 9^th, 2018. The Junior Art Director and I were in charge of designing the content for that story. The brand was featured in an article on WWD (https://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/title-of-work-goes-brick-and-mortar-1202873198/). Title of Work is one of our clients, they are a men’s accessories brand. The goal was to highlight the article as well as the opening of TOW’s first official store. It is posted on the TOW Instagram (IG @titleofwork) in the story highlights labeled WWD.

After the status meeting that morning, our creative director wanted us to have the story ready for review by the afternoon to be posted that day at 4pm. I went over to his computer so we can combine both of our ideas into one document. Together, my colleague and I came to a consensus on how we would lay out the story. When it was completed, we sent a PDF document to the creative director and the creator of Title of Work for review. Upon review, we were given slight revisions that were easily fixed. Once the revisions were completed, the pages were exported as JPEGS and set for upload. Overall, the collaborative experience was a good one. We were able to work together and get the assignment done within the given time. We were both very satisfied with the outcome of the design.

Here is the link to the TOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titleofwork/

Here is the PDF file of the Instagram story: TOW_INSTASTORY_WWD_10.09.18TOW_INSTASTORY_WWD_10.09.18

 

 

The first project I was given when I first came to RO NEW YORK was to create content for the Olivida Instagram page. It was a little overwhelming at first because I was already given actual client work but I eventually got the hang of it. I was first told to research and read about the company so I can understand the brand’s identity. Olivida is a natural organic soap company. After conducting my research, I found free stock photos that I thought best suited the look and feel of the brand and began creating designs. I created both animated gifs and images. The source of the free stock photos I used was from Unsplash.

After compiling all these photos and design elements, I placed them into an instagrid. An instagrid is basically a layout of all the posts. Each photo or gif animation would be listed with the corresponding date they would be posted. This first project turned out to be an ongoing one. I worked on it for the first few couple of weeks to create enough content for the first few couple of months, and then I would come back to it at a later time to have enough for the rest of the year. I definitely learned a lot from this project because I had to create content that not only embodied the brand’s aesthetics but the company I am representing as well.

Here is the link to the Olivida Instagram page:  https://www.instagram.com/olividasoap/?hl=en

Below is an example of what an instagrid looks like, some of the content I designed, and what the Olivida Instagram page currently looks like.

 

The culture of RO NEW YORK is relaxed, but still very work-oriented. There is no dress code for work. Most days I dress in casual attire, but some days I’ll dress more formally. The studio is set up to be an open work area. There are tables placed side by side to create one long table with chairs on both sides. There are 11 desktops – each member of the team has their own desktop with ample space on either side. A typical workday starts at 9:30 AM and ends at 5:30 PM. Some days run later, and some end earlier. In terms of lunch, I typically go out to get my meal and bring it back to the office to eat while I continue to do work. The other employees do the same or bring food from home, like my favorite copywriter of all time.

I am currently a graphic design intern at RO NEW YORK, and my direct supervisor is one of the agency’s Art Directors. I have been interning as part of the RO NEW YORK team since May of this year. Since the fall of 2017, I had been searching for an internship for the summer of 2018. I applied to countless openings listed on Indeed and reached out to members of my network to ask about any available positions at their companies. Ultimately, none of them were able to help me. I then decided to ask a family friend if she knew of any open positions that would apply to my major, and she told me that a friend of hers works as a strategic partner at RO NEW YORK and that the company had just moved downtown. She told me that RO NEW YORK offers a summer internship, so I immediately sent her my resume and portfolio to be forwarded. Following this, I got an email from RO NEW YORK’s Strategic Partnerships Director informing me that the Art Director responsible for hiring would get back to me. An in-person interview was scheduled for April 27^th at 3pm. The Art Director that later became my supervisor, interviewed me. He asked me questions about my background, why I wanted to work at RO NEW YORK, what I knew about the company, and how I found out about the internship position. We then proceeded to the portfolio portion of the interview. He pulled up my portfolio website and I gave a brief description of each piece of my work. Afterwards, he described the role of the position and the benefits of working here. He concluded by stating that if I got the position I would hear back from him within the following week or two. It wasn’t long before I finally heard back from him (on May 8^th, to be exact) to discuss my schedule and availability. I informed him that the semester was almost over and that my last day would be the 24^th. So, it was decided that I would start on the 30^th. Since then, I’ve continued to work and be part of the creative team.

Below is an image of the office space.

RO NEW YORK is a design-focused branding agency specializing in strategy, packaging & presentation, video, digital and advertising needs. The size of the company is relatively small (roughly 10-15 employees) and only has one location. Its office, previously located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, is in the Lower East Side. RO NEW YORK is a private company and is primarily a branding agency. Its clients range from renowned brands, including Marriott International, Johnson & Johnson, Chopard, Holt Renfrew, Ralph Lauren, Swarovski and Gloria Vanderbilt to start-up luxury and lifestyle brands, including title of work, Chaise Fitness, The Harmonist and NO KA’ OI. The company was founded in 2009. Within the company, I work with the creative team.