I attended a meeting of all the GEICO employees. They had a motivational speaker come in from the company to help motive the staff to sell the product and come up with new ideas. Truthfully I went for the free beer. Though after an hour and a half it turned out to be a pretty interesting speaker. They talked about all the different efforts GEICO were making as a company to improve their image and help sell their products. It was very insightful to see how even major companies have a plan on how they want their product to be represented in the marketplace.

I would consider my boss as role model. I look up to her a lot. She is extremely knowledgeable in her field. Everyone around the office is always looking to her for input and ideas. She’s always able to take one look at something I’ve spent hours on and in ten seconds move one things and all of the sudden it comes together. She is very talented at what she does. I feel bad sometimes because I realize it can be overwhelming when everyone is looking to you for answers. Although this is the kind of person that I aspire to be – “the one with the answers”

Overall I would rate my performance 4 out of 5 stars. Here’s why:

I’ve been able to complete all the tasks which have been assigned. My boss usually has a satisfactory reaction when she comes to see what I’ve done. If changes are needed I am able to apply them easily because I have good organization skills when it comes to file naming. The reason I wouldn’t give myself 5 out of 5 is because I don’t feel that I brought anything outstanding to the table. Truthfully I didn’t even know the kind of work I’d be doing when I began the internship. Therefore I wasn’t able to get much early exposure to the subject beforehand. Although I have since made up that gap and now I would consider myself knowledgeable at least in regards to the work that I’ve done for McCann. Being outstanding would give them cause to hire me after the internship had ended, which sounded like a real possibility in the beginning. Though as time passed and reality sank back in I soon realized it wasn’t very likely. I needed to know more and be able to tackle more difficult problems in the overall process. Knowing this now allows me to move forward knowing what I need to learn and which areas I can improve myself.

At my internship I haven’t done any collaborative work. It was understood from the onset that I would be working alongside the Corporate Creative Director of McCann Worldgroup and assisting her with whatever she needed to get done. She has been very kind. I can definitely say I lucked out on a first boss. We seem to work very well together and she is normally pleased with the work I’ve done thus far.

Here are two posters I created for McCann.

The first is a poster for Mad Med. It highlights McCann’s social media achievements alongside the show.

The second poster is an announcement which was circulated throughout the entire office via e-mail. So basically the entire company saw it…
It announces the arrival of two speakers from Microsoft and mentions the time, date and place when the meeting will take place.

I am learning about different types of responsive web design. One of my first assignments as an intern at McCann was to research what the current trends were in responsive web design. I learned about all the different standard grid types such as the 960 and 996 grid. Which are used to help build and design websites around a framework.

I learned a lot of new tricks for making cool effects in Photoshop. For things such as buttons and links. There are thousands of ways to go about creating them. Although its at your own discretion because take it from me… I know its easy to get carried away with all the effects.

I learned how to read from and build website using wire frame mockups. This is an important asset because the wire frames are just that. No design is typically included other than maybe color requirements and specifications. It’s up to the designer to make the website come to life using their Photoshop bag of tricks.

I learned about file naming conventions. I always knew but finally fully realized the importance of correct file naming. It’s important to name your files correctly and include a proper date and time stamp if necessary. This way you always have back-ups of your work and can go back to previous versions If you make to many changes.

A typically day for me as an intern starts at 10 when I come into work. I normally greet everyone who sits around me before I then sit down and turn on my computer. I proceed to open up whatever I was working on the previous day and immediately save a new version with today’s date. That way god-forbid if anything were to happen I place to go back to and everything isn’t lost. My boss usually gets into work at around 10:30. She then gives me work which normally needs to be done or at least near completion by the end of the day. She then goes off to about a thousand meetings and we check-in again at the end of the day to see my progress.

I would describe the culture of my workplace to be “bureaucratic.” A lot of of the upper level employees wear suits and ties. I assume those are the one’s meetings the clients. The attire for the rest of the staff is business formal. Since I’m an intern and no one is really paying to much attention to me I can get away with a nice looking T-shirt in the summer time when it’s hot outside. Normally I would wear a long sleeve button-up shirt or a collared one with khakis or nice jeans. I work at a big desk with about 6 other people surrounding me. I have my desktop computer and draw space for my things. It’s an open atmosphere, there’s always a lot of moving around. A typical workday for me is from 10-6 and I take my lunch break normally between 1-2 depending on the amount of work I need to get done. However I never really take longer than 20-30 minutes to eat lunch and sometimes I’ll even eat at my desk. I can usually take lunch whenever is convenient for me.

Here’s a picture of my desk where I sit and do all my work. It’s on the 28th floor. They would later move me down to the 21st floor. I like it better there now.

Company: McCann Erickson
Job Title: Digital Design Intern
Supervisor: Maryam Zafar, Head Corporate Creative Director of McCann Worldgroup

The way which I was selected for this internship was a combination of sheer luck and networking. It began at school, I was taking a course called “Topics in Graphic Design” which was mainly focused around dealing with real-world experiences as a graphic designer and how to go about obtaining work. Once the semester had ended, my professor approached me to inquire if I would be interested in an internship at an advertising agency. I jumped at the opportunity since this would be my first real job as a designer, although I knew that my resume and portfolio were lacking. I knew my best chance at being hired would be to get an interview and let my personality shine. After a back and fourth correspondence which lasted about 3 weeks, an interview was arranged by the HR department between myself and the Corporate Creative Director of McCann Worldgroup.

The interview process was very formal, however I still wore my best suit and tie. We sat in a quite corner and I was asked a series of questions about my interests and my past work experience. I showed several examples from my portfolio and did my best to clearly explain the thought processes behind each example. At the end of the interview I was told I could expect to get a phone call in the very near future and that I was hired for the position. Later in time I was told that my boss knew immediately after meeting me that I was someone who she could work with. The fact that my interview went so well is why I believe I was chosen over others who were much more qualified.

McCann Erickson is a global advertising agency located in Manhattan. It has over 180 offices in over 120 countries around the world and boasts a client roster that includes preeminent global marketers and many of the world’s most famous brands. McCann delivers marketing solutions that transform brands and grow businesses. The company is comprised of a collaborative roster of best-in-class agencies that emphasize creativity, innovation, and performance including McCann Erickson (the world’s largest advertising agency network); MRM//McCann (digital marketing/relationship management); Momentum (experiential marketing); McCann Health (professional/dtc communications); Craft Worldwide (global production); UM (media management); Weber Shandwick (public relations) and FutureBrand (consulting/design). The modern McCann Erickson is the result of a 1930 merger in New York between two pioneer agencies, The H. K. McCann Company, which opened in 1912, and The Erickson Company, founded in 1902. Over that time McCann Erickson has created some of the best-known and most iconic advertising campaigns of the last century.

I began working at McCann as a digital design intern. After my interview with the Head Corporate Creative Director of McCann Worldgroup I was selected for a part-time internship at the company. The tasks I am typically assigned to are mostly centered around their internal company website. I work on building and designing the website in addition to researching the most current designs which are being used. I’ve also created several posters for clients and events which the company held.

Here are some pictures of the front entrance of my building. 622 3rd Avenue