Month: October 2016

I think my performance on the job shows that I am very dedicated with what I am doing. I enjoy designing, and I always want to be really creative in every assignment I get. I feel really motivated and excited with the idea. In result, I work really quickly and send out several versions of my work, which I feel comes out really well. There are times that I do get stuck and times I get frustrated because I put a lot of pressure on myself to always better what I just gave to my supervisor. In different projects, I feel differently. I love doing magazine layouts and making them look different but consistent. In the end, I am always proud of what I do because I know I’ve given 100% effort.

 

 

In my internship, all of the design work is collaborative work with my supervisor. Our working process begins with information on my next project. He shows me some old designs that they have done for that specific feature and what the goal is. I then receive a packaged file which includes: fonts, images, and a word document. The document may include sidebar information, captions, and quotes. The last project I worked on was a Four Page Spread for the magazine’s Buzz Feature section. The headline was based on Napa Valley Film Festival. In this assignment, I worked on creating and appealing and organized layout. It was difficult since there was a lot of sections and images to include. This assignment took almost three hours to complete. Greg, my supervisor would approach me to see my progress and talk to me about my composition. I didn’t notice that my leading was to spread out. So, when I fixed it everything changed. Furthermore, Greg is constantly improving my layouts and giving me feedback. It came out really successful because I started pointing out my  mistakes and why it looked better to do the changes my supervisor asked for.

 

 

Throughout my day at the Haute Living Magazine, I am usually working on a minimum of two projects daily. This depends on the day, on Wednesdays I usually work on one project since I have only 4-5 hours I can contribute there. The process starts with my supervisor sending me all the assets, which includes: images, copy, and examples of their issues regarding that specific content.  For one project, I send at least two or four versions of different layouts containing the same information. I begin placing elements such as pull quotes. I have freedom to be creative with the color palette and the layout, but I have to make sure I incorporate the topic with the magazine’s aesthetics.  My duties are aiding me to exercise on hierarchy and creating a renewed and organized composition.  It’s great that I get to be creative but I also get to learn and work on many important foundations in my workplace, such as correctly naming the files, packaging, and following guidelines. It is important that I am detailed-oriented but also have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. For me, it is important to reach the needs of my supervisor. The major part in this process is communication, understanding what he wants but also not being afraid of asking all the questions I need to before working on the assignment. In regard to the industry I am learning various things. Whenever, at the end of the day or at the end of an assignment my supervisor opens up the file and helps me move things or tells me what to change. He sometimes shows me tricks on InDesign that I didn’t know. It’s really cool to watch someone work especially since you want to be at that level of confidence with your work.

My internship is located at WeWork, a shared workspace community. I love the energy when I go there, it is really artistic, casual, and yet professional. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of young adults working there. The attire of the company that I work with is informal. I usually dress trendy casual when I am working.  There are many other companies that work in this space and they are divided into little glass offices. In a way, it’s a bit of a tight space but I am allowed to work in the refreshment area where I can listen to my music and feel like I am just at a café doing work. It is actually quite calming and lets my creativity process go quickly. I find this area also really cool, because others just go there to ease and read a magazine. Some go and play games just to wind down from stress or even have free refreshment. WeWork also have private phone booths, which allow an individual to have private phone calls without disturbing other workers. The work stations are mixed, they have cubicles, office, and open work areas. The typical employ workday for me is different since so many diverse individuals work there.  There is always someone taking a break, someone heading back to work. But, the whole environment is extremely comfortable.

I am currently a Graphic Design Intern at Haute Living Magazine and working directly with Art Director, Greg Concha. This establishment is located in Wall Street at a WeWork workspace. Furthermore, this magazine was founded in 2004 and established in regions such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dubai, London, Boston, and Dallas. They are a leading network of luxury lifestyle publications that target 700,000 readers per issue that are within the ages of 49 and over. They produce over 140,000 editions that are reaches the country’s most influential individuals. It’s not a typical magazine that is found on a newsstand but rather placed in 7,500 private jet flights monthly, more than 180 FBO private airports worldwide, and in the lobbies of 1,400 exclusive hotels. The private company has a high net worth of $25.2 million proving to be supreme by their competition for 4 years.