In the internship so far, I have learned a lot. Not just during the internship, before I get the internship, and after the internship. In this internship, it brings me too much experience and knowledge.
Before I get an internship, I was worried about internship opportunities. I was so eager to get the internship I wanted that I missed a lot of opportunities. Many internships’ apply date have ended long ago, and the time of other remaining opportunities are no longer suitable. After applying for internships started happening, I got rejections. But I was lucky, with the professor’s suggestion and Isana’s interview, I applied and got an internship opportunity at Brooklyn College’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness. Even though I got the internship, my challenges weren’t over. In the internship, although my professional skills have brought me a lot of help, they are still insufficient. But my supervisor gave me help and helped me learn a lot. I learn about cover design and the opportunity to learn about new tools in adobe illustrator.
Through this internship, I found a lot of things that I need to strengthen. I will never forget the experience brought me by this internship, and I will keep learn and make up for my weakness.
On the 22nd of April, supervisor notified us in a text message that we needed more covers for the second cover project, so I recreated some covers. still blue, green and yellow. This is my third time designing a cover, and I have some experience compared to the previous two. For example, the title should be highlighted to make it easy for readers to identify. And consider typography and layout to avoid overloading the cover with too many patterns in the background. As usual I opened up Adobe Photoshop and started making aspects of the background.
My first idea (left to right) was to use a gradient yellow, using some 50% yellow lines grouped together, and then put the title in the most visible center. The second idea (left to right) was to use a white background, then put a bunch of 50% yellow lines, and then finally put a white rectangle in the center for the title. The third and fourth ideas are similar, but use a number of blue shapes with varying degrees of visibility, plus a rectangle with 100% visibility as the title’s background to add to the title’s appeal. The fifth and sixth ideas use a light green pattern as a background and that surrounding the title, and in the center the title can be more attractive to the eye. (The work I put here has been improved according to the supervisor’s feedback.)
In the meeting on May 2nd, I was given a new task to go back to the main task of the fact sheet to take care of the pie chart. This section is on the top right of the first page of the fact sheet. I received the microsoft excel by email from the supervisor after the meeting with the latest data from the fact sheet, and I was able to see the data and the pie chart. I also opened the previous version of the fact sheet to observe and refer to the layout and the pie chart’s color.
This is my first time using adobe illustrator to make a pie chart, before that I never use adobe illustrator to make pie chart. It was a novel experience and this is my first time use pie chart tool on adobe illustrator. After searching online, I found it was simple. Just click on the pie chart tool then enter the number and use the “direct selection tool” to select the part you want to change color. This gave me a lot of convenience, but I found it to be a simple but time consuming process. I used a lot of time in checking the data and layout. I need to make the same choices in layout and color as the previous version of the fact sheet.
On April 9th, I was given a second cover assignment where we needed to prepare a data report for each of the three organizations. And this time the supervisor wanted a cover that was minimalistic, one with lots of color variations, and geometric shapes, and the cover will have three to four logos. Each logo has a different color and she wants the cover to have blue, green and yellow variations. Unlike my first cover assignment, this time there will be multiple logos on the cover. And the color choices are based on blue, green and yellow. But I think the challenge of the two cover tasks is comparable.
In this cover assignment, because there are no logos yet, I need to think about the background of the design first, using the right amount of graphics as the body of the cover. The first idea was a yellow background with a combination of circles and rectangles to create a before and after contrast based on the different visibility of the circles and rectangles. The title is then placed in the center of the rectangle with 100% visibility to draw attention to the title. The second is a blue background, using two white squares of different sizes as the body of the cover. Again placing the title in the large white square, we see the contrast in the size of the squares, and then giving the large white square a fuzzy blue backdrop to give the cover a sense of hierarchy. The third cover uses a light green gradient circle for graphic enrichment.
My supervisor and I signed an internship agreement and set working hours and I was offered a remote internship. My remote internship began on March 18th and during the meeting, I determined that the team and I had an important main task, which was to update the Brooklyn College fact sheet, it is a 4-page document that contains the most relevant information about a specific topic in the least amount of space. All we had to do was update and calibrate the data on the Brooklyn College fact sheet, and Supervisor sent the Microsoft Excel with the latest data to us. Two interns on the team have started working on the map section on page 3 of the fact sheet. They draw the new map in Adobe Illustrator and update and calibrate the data.
And this is a long term main task, there is no other part of the data to update at the moment since the supervisor hasn’t gotten all the new data yet. But she said she will keep updating the data once she gets the new data. The first assignment Supervisor gave us was to write a bio of ourselves and share our phone numbers in an email for easy contact. The main way of communication in our team is by text messaging, which is a convenient and fast way of communication. And after I finished my bio, I replied my bio and phone number in the email. And we have a shared google drive, and we upload what we make to the google drive that the supervisor shares with us. I was given contact information and a place to turn in my work.
First of all enter the app, we can see that it has a simple color for the homepage. On the left side we can see the menu. There are two places to store folders, one is iCloud Drive and the other is an ipad since I am using an ipad, and at the bottom you can see the recent deletion records. Both adding and deleting folders can be done on the right side. The plus sign in the top right most corner is the button that allows you to import files. Click on the folder where I want to create a new canvas, there is a “new drawing” in the bottom center. Click on the button to enter a new blank canvas.
In the canvas there are a lot of things like other painting programs have, brushes, erasers, etc, and double click on the brushes and we can go to the Select Tools screen. We can see that there are very basic painting brushes and tools. Underneath there are more brushes that need to be purchased. And in the top options, next to brushes, in the colors page, you can generate your own palettes. After exiting the tools page, we double click on the colors section in the middle, and this is my favorite part. The way copic colors are displayed is unique and the first time I’ve seen it in software. It has three modes of selecting colors, rgb, hsl, and copic, and the copic mode in particular looks like an unfolded color palette with color cord on it. In the following menu, we can see Precision and Layers, the functions in Precision are displayed on the canvas, which is the setting of the canvas. Layers are the layers that can be added or deleted.
In the upper right corner of the canvas we can see the status of the canvas, zoom in or zoom out, or rotation, as well as the export and import buttons, and the setting button. The setting button allows us to adjust the basic conditions of the canvas and to set the interaction. The question mark at the end is about about and help.
To summarize, this software exceeded my expectations. For drawing, it is not the best choice, but for conceptual design and drawing down ideas, it has a full range of features. My favorite part is copic’s color mode, which quickly lets me know what color I’ve chosen and allows for better color comparisons. Concepts has the foundation of other drawing programs, but also has a very simple page, easy to understand the operation. 5/5 for creative app.
My first cover task is to create 2 or 3 covers which are for the General Education Assessment Brief. In the email, my supervisor gave some requirements and gave some examples to us. She let us use the colors and fonts from the Brooklyn College guide and let us generated 2 separate editable PDF cover options. The covers she sent us for reference all used maroon and the font was Serif, so I referred to those examples and made 3 covers using maroon color and Noto serif font. Cover is a challenge for me, this is also my first time to make a cover, I have almost no experience in designing cover. Cover is the most important part, it is the first page that readers see, it has the role of attracting readers. I also often collect picture books, and a good cover will be a plus. Based on the reference given by the supervisor, I also decided to use simple patterns and colors to highlight the text.
Through the referenced covers, I learned that I needed to have the Brooklyn College logo and title on the cover. The first idea(left to right) was to put the logo and title in a white building against a maroon colored background. The second idea(left to right) was to create a speech bubble based on “Oral Communication” in the title. For the third idea(left to right) I wanted to do something new and use two colors in the text and add a gradient in the background. Gradients add to the visual appeal of the cover and make the graphics look more interesting and compelling.
This model was designed by Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins. This model is small, but it caught my attention. It was the first piece I noticed when I first went up to the second floor. It was displayed on the wall, with no nice look or color that would draw me in, but not enough to make me ignore it.COVID-19 is a heavy piece of history that has changed and influenced the way people live their lives. At the time, my first reaction to seeing this model was a bit of fear, with the pink unidentified object attached to the gray sphere. But when I read the introduction, I felt even more scared when I looked at the model. Especially the white dots on the gray sphere after a closer look. Maybe it’s because of the model, or maybe it’s because I’m one of those people who lived through this history. This work is the design that impressed me.
Savage chair
At first glance, I thought it was a beautiful, oddly shaped wooden chair. A chair that only looks like a chair from the front. I learned from the introduction that it was designed by Jay See Jung Oh in 2021. She used furniture items and agenda items and wrapped it manually with leather cord. Under the leather rope, there are clinker tricycles, water bottles, and so on. The final product is a self-portrait that she considers to be a reflection of her state of mind, experiences and circumstances. The work also discusses abundance and obsolescence, and how waste can be reshaped into valuable plastic work.
When I saw the initial to final process of the work, I felt amazed. A bunch of unrelated objects, through the continuous winding of leather rope eventually become chairs on the display table. It was interesting to see this chair and how it was formed. It reminded me of the countless items that are used and then discarded by people. But there are also people who are valuing these discarded items and thinking about how to lighten the burden, both for the environment and for people. For example, plastic pollution, and now people are starting to recycle plastic. Realizing and doing something about it is the beginning of progress.
Sculptura telephone from the design line series circa
In the museum, I was attracted by some designs that looked like toys. That is Industrial design and these designs represent technology in history. On the side, these bold designs represent not only the historical development of materials and production techniques, but also the development of electronics and interactive devices. I looked at these devices, both in shape and color, and they were catching my attention and fun. Especially the first one on the left in the second row, the yellow landline. At first glance I had visions of bananas, because in color and in the handle on the landline.
I was more interested in this design because I used to use a landline when I was a kid, but now I hardly have access to one. Because of the advancement of time and technology, cell phones are a much more convenient presence for most people. For me, a fixed device that can only be used to make phone calls is not as practical as a multi-functional mobile device. But when I see the landline, I will miss the happy days when I was a kid in front of the landline phone number to my friends.But I prefer the yellow round landline in the display case to the black rectangular type landline I remember from my childhood. I can’t imagine how happy I would have been to have a landline like this in my house when I was a kid. Both the shape and the yellow color bring joy to people just by looking at it.
This online networking event features three artists from different fields, each speaking to the audience about the challenges they encountered in school and in their careers. The three artists are illustrator Marcos Chin, designer Todd Goldstein and photographer Rehan Miskci. At the beginning of the networking event, the artists introduced themselves, the middle part was to answer the questions collected by the moderator, and the last part was to answer the questions from the audience. First of all I liked the atmosphere when they were communicating, it was very relaxed and pleasant. And they answered each question to the best of their ability.
They talk a lot about experiences, about being in school, internships, jobs, and networking. I liked that they mentioned one thing about internships, that they can be just a stand-alone experience, or they can be a gateway to a full-time job and career. Internships are a very helpful opportunity. Most of the time internships help people to recognize if they like the career or not, which is a very important point. Because I think that the first job about your major after graduation is more important and it will affect most of your jobs for the rest of your life. And I remember them talking about the importance of relationships. Whether you’re in illustration, designer, photographer, or any other profession, relationships are important. Listening to people in the industry, learning about other people’s stories, challenges others have gone through, and so much more. All of these things are of great help.
What struck me the most about illustrator Marcos Chin’s experience in school was when he said that one of his professors would provide students with real work experience that would allow them to create illustrations for real articles. Unfortunately Marcos Chin wasn’t a student in that class, so he waited in front of the classroom for over an hour. Until the end of the class, he approached the professor of the class with his portfolio for opportunity. The reason it shocked me was because he stated that he was actually an introvert and shy. So I admire his courage and I want to change myself.
