I took this picture from my office (which is small- a nice size for 2-3 people to work in) and our studio space is huge. We have tons of video and photography equipment that when we usually use from we shoot for products such as tattoo inks or bedding for Macy’s which you can see i the far left. On this day we were shooting sheets of papyrus to use as the background for our box design. We may or may not use it but we definitely wanted to see what it would look like!

Our studio space- SO MUCH BIGGER IN PERSON! 🙂

photographing sheets of papyrus to make as our box design

Last week, I attended a design workshop hosted with speaker Joel Pilger- a creative entrepreneur consultant. He owns his own company and spoke to us about how to start and run your own. Personally, I would not be interested in running a creative firm but it was still very interesting to hear about the process of doing so. He explained the different sectors of a company and that by being the entrepreneur, you would have to have your hand in a bit of everything like creative, sales, HR, finances, etc. Sounds like you should be a very well-rounded individual if you wanted to run your own company. I asked Joel if, when applying for jobs, if the person I am interviewing with would be interested in hiring someone who knew a bit of everything or just focused on one thing (graphic design, web design, etc.) I always get different answers when I ask but Joel mentioned that he usually looks for someone that is interesting. You could be a graphic designer and only know how to use Photoshop or InDesign etc. but would hire you over someone else based on your personality even more so. Can you get the work done and be an interesting person as well? You could know a bit of everything and be a master of none, but still- are you interesting? Do you think differently? Are you creative beyond working behind a computer screen? By showing Joel that you can think outside the box or that you’ve really experienced the world, you show him that you can bring new perspectives and ideas to a firm and any actual work you know how to do can always just be taught if you’re open to learning it.

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My first week on the job was much less stressful as I thought it would be. I work 9-3pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and, for the most part, just work behind the computer. It’s just and I for the whole day so when I come in, we go over assignments I need to work on and have even had some long conversations on the design world, politics, psychology, etc. He’s a really interesting boss and is extremely open to new ideas and opinions on just about everything. That part of his personality is one of the reasons why I decided to take the job- I feel like he is a very experienced individual and I can learn a lot from him. We’e developed a trusting relationship so far. I had a lot to learn the first week but he was open to showing me everything (not hiding any part of the company from me) and made sure I felt comfortable which I really appreciated. I guess that’s one of the perks of working for a smaller company.

I work on several different projects at a time and so far, I’ve worked a little on each one of them  every day I come into work. He stresses the importance of reaching deadlines in this industry, but he hasn’t exactly mentioned any for these particular projects. One of them is product designing for a tattoo parlor. I’ve been working on an Egyptian box design and the label for permanent tattoo ink.

Some of the work Impact Media has done in the past

I had the chance to attend the “Owning Your Story” event this past Thursday and it went well! All three of the panelists were very informative and gave great advice on owning your brand and how to go out into the design world and make it. I resonated a lot with  Associate Creative Director, Shaton Winston’s story. He studied and worked in a field were he didn’t see himself fit in and spent sometime trying to figure out where he belonged in the world. He mentioned how we should want to do something we care about and to figure out what it is that we might want to do and our desires.

Ruki R ‘s story was also similar to mine in the sense that she never felt like she “fit in.” However, she explained that by not fitting in, you stand out. I thought that was very strongly put and a lot of the students attending the event could relate to her story. At the end, I spoke with Ruki and thanked her for coming and presenting for us. She and I are both South Asian and she mentioned in her talk that her parents have a hard time understanding what she does for a living and wonders why she won’t just do something else and during our one on one, we spoke about that. I also asked her about any upcoming events at Cooper- Hewitt (where she worked) and she mentioned one that I might attend with the Art and Design Club. Ruki gave me her business card too!

I had an interview for a Studio Assistant/Graphic Designer position at a boutique style studio in Huntington, Long Island called Impact Media Productions and I am a bit on the fence about it.

It’s for three days a week and so far, my employer has given me this week to come into the office and get a feel for the work and the environment. I wasn’t very excited about the job when I went in for the initial interview- there were somethings I liked but there were only 2 people working that day and it was extremely quiet. I figured that if I were to work here, I would spend a lot of time by myself behind a computer and I definitely was not looking for that. The location was also a factor I was not happy about. I live in Long Island but Impact Media is located in Suffolk County- about 30 mins from my house. That wouldn’t have been too bad if I didn’t have to attend class at 6 pm every night as well. The commute from deep Long Island to City Tech is not easy or convenient in any way. I realized I’d have to drive to work, back home, and take the LIRR straight to school which wasn’t too bad in practice but was a bit rushed.

The owner of the company seemed very interested in me and liked a lot of my design work. So much so that he brought up upcoming projects he could see me working well on. My first training day was actually a day spent researching for an upcoming product design.

I think I can learn a lot from working here and the size of the company doesn’t bother me as much anymore because the owner of the company is very friendly and knowledgeable and I think I can learn a lot from him. He has years of experience in the art and design world and is open to sharing his story. I also think that being a full time student that studies 5 days a week and now has a part time job, that knowing myself, I wouldn’t be able to juggle the responsibilities that come with working for a larger company. Impact Media has a number of clients they work with and I have the chance to learn firsthand the full process of each project- from client interaction, the research, to design, to presentation and more.

However, I did have some concerns about my salary. I feel that for the work I’d be doing  the and the cost of transportation, I was not getting what I was worth. I spoke to the owner and he is open to negotiating a price but I’m not sure if I’d get my desired pay. It is a bit of a high jump from his initial offer.

Ad from Craigslist:

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“Impact Media Productions is a photo, video and graphic production studio in West Babylon NY.

We photograph everything from product stills-video to cinematic location production.

We are beginning to build a professional team staff requiring proficiency in Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign (Illustrator and Premiere experience a plus).

As an assistant you need to have:
– Full proficiency with Apple systems
– Must be willing to assist with other tasks around the studio: (product prep, staging, lighting, set/product styling, studio equipment organization, emailing (client photo approvals), printing, etc.)
– Must be organized
– Proficiency with photoshop retouching and color correction
-A comfortable ability with graphic design and printing preparation
– Experience with outputting proofs for printing

This is a great environment for anyone can who provides diversified skills and enjoys working creatively.

Inspiring team synergy for great ideas and spectacular visual results.

Starting off with 2-3 days a week with a flexible schedule – eventually leading to full time
**Convenient local residence to studio big a plus.

Salary contingent to talent, dependability and compatibility.“