Nothing exciting to report this week at my internship. It has been quite slow as we wait on new apparel to be printed and sent to us. At this point I’ve become good friends with the printer and he sends me “sneak peak” pictures of the shirts via text. With this, we also determine if the shirts look better with a single or double coating of ink. A single coat makes the t-shirt have a more vintage/worn-out look which if it fits the feel/style of the shirt we go with that option. Other then this, I’ve taken the liberty of going through old photos that are on the site that I feel can look better and completely re-editing or even shoot them again. The boss Zach loved this idea and really appreciates the extra effort without even asking for it. I feel that the aesthetic of the stores’ website is very important and needs to show the potential customer exactly what they’re getting. Especially if the customer is from another state and can’t come in to see the gear in person. I’ve also pitched some ideas to Zach about making some changes to the site. The site should have a more modern simplistic look to it and be more of a “lifestyle brand” rather then just an inventory/warehouse look. I explained that the fight community trains any second they get the chance to and that this is their lifestyle. To gain the trust and loyalty of its customers the store and site should express this same concept. We want to give the customer a sense of “we know exactly what we’re talking about” and that this is the only place in the world they can get this experience. Zach was impressed by my bold pitch, as he is stubborn about making drastic changes to the store. He did listen to what I had to say and agreed that it made sense. I hope he actually does consider it; even though it might take a lot of work, I did tell him I can help in any way possible.

Things have calmed down since last the chaos last couple of weeks. I’m back to making and  placing t-shirt orders for clients of the store. We usually take orders via email when it comes to making custom shirts but personally I like talking to clients on the phone and hearing their ideas out. I write notes as they talk and try to capture their enthusiasm in the design as well as staying true to the message they want to portray. For example, I made a phone call to a gym that wants a cancer fundraising shirt designed to raise money for a brother-in-law of one the jiu jitsu blackbelt professors that is struggling to pay medical bills. I was curious to learn more about the school and the reasoning behind coming up with this idea of a fundraising shirt. As I spoke to the professor, not only did I learn about to go about designing the shirt but I learned how tight-nit the fight community is. We began to talk more about jiu jitsu and his gym and was even invited to train with him if I was ever in town. Communication is key not only to help personalize a design but as humans we need to speak to someone in order to articulate feelings, hopes, and emotions that us as designers can translate into a solid design. Through doing this and taking that extra step, I’ve noticed that clients take the company a bit more serious and appreciate the call. This drives them to leave something as simple as a good rating or review can be such a great help to a small business in the long run. The shop strives on customer service and receiving good feedback is REALLY good for business.

This week at my internship was very productive. After last weeks visit from Lyoto Machida, a professional MMA fighter, the boss and I came up with an idea that would help both the store and my photography. The idea is, when ever we have a signing or an event most people scramble to take their phones out and hold up the line to take a photo. To avoid this, we decided that I can be in charge and take photos of each guest and at the end of the event edit and post them on a designated album on the shops Facebook page. Each guest/customer that is following the shop via Facebook can freely go into the album and download the picture thus creating more traffic onto the page and exposing my work at the same time. Along with this idea the shop has allowed me to watermark the pictures with their logo and my own. Learning to watermark several pictures at a time was a challenge on its own and it isn’t something we’ve learned in class. After watching some tutorials on Youtube I found it easy, the next challenge was to separate the landscape and portrait photos so that the watermarks can sit in the same position in each photo (easier said then done). Regardless of the work and research I’m very excited to have this opportunity and grow with this company. Sharing ideas and watching them develop to make a company improve in the slightest is a wonderful thing.

Here are some of the shots from that day.

This week I’m working on a simple flyer that the store will hand out to various gyms around town. This flyer will give anyone looking to buy apparel or gear 15% off the most expensive item. It also will inform the potential customer the location of the store and some photos of best selling items that serves like an attention grabber. I honestly did not like the finished product but after going back and forth with my boss I learned to “just do what the client wants”. If he likes the way it is, even if it goes against my design sense in the end he’s the boss and what he wants goes.  Regardless, I really appreciate that my him is using my skills across the board. Anything thing he can think of that has something to do with design he hands over to me. So far it has been product shots, indoor and outdoor, t-shirt design, business cards, and now flyers. I really feel that by doing this he puts me to the test and brings out skills that I have learned in class and could use some sharpening. These flyers should be done and ready for distribution by next week. Next week we are doing another UFC fighter signing, so there’s a lot of coordinating with photographers and reps going on. Seems like I’ll be doing the in-house photography again, which is fine by me. Always a fun time meeting a professional fighter.

So far I have been sketching and coming up with some t-shirt concepts that are martial arts inspired/related which is a harder task then i thought it would be. It consist of a lot of brainstorming and simply asking around collecting and observing the martial arts community. I feel like originality and uniqueness are easy to achieve in this community but finding something that everyone who practices a martial art understands is the tricky task. I usually try write down things people say in conversation about martial arts. Then I’d see if i can make the quote or sentence into a design using actual art or typography. Overall I’ve been having a great time at the internship. I’m dealing with the printer on a weekly basis and have become a bit more comfortable with orders and explaining what it is that we need.

Here are just some of the product shots that I have done for the fight shop. This was the winter line and also a short sleeve rashguard that was designed for the store. It still feels a little strange (in a good way) that my work is seen by the many (nationwide) that shop at the store. I do feel proud of my work and cannot wait for this seasons clothing line. It will be my first time tapping into this area of design, with this experience I aspire to someday have my own line.

This week we are preparing for another in store signing by Professional UFC fighter Dennis Burmudez. I will be taking care of the photography of this event, editing and social media. These events are usually pretty exciting. The crowds line up down the street just to meet and greet these guys and I have front row seats! Just one of the many benefits of working for the only fight shop in the east coast. My boss has a lot of faith in my work and supports what I do. Plus I save him tons of money in hiring a professional that will more then likely over charge. I do this because one, I love it and second, it involves my second passion (martial arts). At this job I feel like I’m basically working towards having my dream job which is to become art director within a martial arts based company. I know that upon expansion of this fairly young company the demand for the arts and all its forms will rise and I will be driving the bus. It has been chaos preparing and organizing this event but it will be well worth it. I have also gone the extra step in making myself some business cards in case outside media need shop photographs to be placed in articles. Plus, extra networking is always great.

I have been designing T-shirt and tank top ideas for the shop to be presented to the boss for further review. Coming up with fresh new ideas all the while remaining true to the shop persona has been a bit difficult. The shop caters to all martial arts so creating a design that is more generalized and easily used across the board is tricky. I’m very happy that I’m being trusted/tested to come up with something because essentially this is what I want to do. I have already handed in a couple designs and I’m waiting on an answer from the boss to see if he likes them. Once he finalizes I will be able to show the class. Other then this, I have continued with the scheduling of models and also have been given the responsibility to handle the ordering and reordering of apparel from printers. Speaking to these printers has been an experience in itself. I have been learning about the differences between screening and pressing, price break-downs, turn around times, and cost per color. It is taking me some time to learn these points and feel comfortable talking about them but everything in due time.

Work has definitely picked up since my last post. We are preparing for the spring and summer lines so the organization of shoots must be started now. Models are being booked and locations are being scouted. I think my favorite part of the job right now is the scouting. I get to walk around the city which I normally would not do on my own and look for unique locations for both full body shots and tight close ups. I like to sketch out where exactly I’d like the model to stand or be in the shot. I also visualize how the area would look when it’s not covered in snow. Other then the walking around I have some time to think about how I can further the business of the shop through advertising. I take all the aspects into consideration especially the shops demographic. I have to put myself into their minds and try and get a feel for what would catch their attention.

Overall I’m extremely excited for the upcoming months. I know we are going to have a busy season.

This week we had a special event. Adidas Combat Team had three UFC fighters do a signing at the shop which I shot; it was very cool experience. I had the opportunity to network with several already established designers and photographers from Adidas that do exactly what I would like to do. We exchanged business cards and I will be shadowing them in future events. The key to networking is humbling yourself and let yourself be taught by people who have already been there. It feels really good to be recognized as the shops photographer and be respected for it but there is so much I can learn from these veterans that are willing to help young and hungry upcoming designers like us.

In a way they know we will be replacing them in a distant future but with the right attitude on both parts their style and techniques can live through us.