During my internship this week, Lynne gave me a new project to work on that will end up going on throughout the course of the summer. It is a project for a Historic pool site in West Virginia that was recently saved from being completely torn down. Now that the property is saved, they want to revamp the entire pool by adding a logo to the bottom of the pool as well as have all new materials for the pool site that include membership cards and even a set of design standards for them to use. The Margaret Mason Weir Memorial Pool, located in  Weirton, WV, is a reminder of Weirton Steel’s boom years which is when the site was first constructed. The Art Deco swimming pool and surrounding Marland Heights Park have been the center of Weirton’s recreational activities since July of 1934. The history of the park and pool is intertwined with that of the city of Weirton and its leading manufacturer, Weirton Steel. I am going to do my best to create an iconic logo for them that combines art deco and maybe touches of steel and water elements that help represent the area at its best. It is nice to feel part of something that is historic. Lynne thinks that we should take a drive up there this summer to see it once it is all complete. I think it would be a great asset to my portfolio!

This week at my internship with Lynne, she asked me to come up with some questions that I wanted more time to explore. Since I was recently offered a job with office depot in their printing services, I wanted to ask her about printing. Not so much the logistics of printing per se, but rather the way to deal with customers who need items printed. I guess my concern was that I would not have a good understanding of their needs, although it was probably just my anxious feelings about starting a new job in a new environment. Lynne said that as long as I am polite to customers, always say “yes” and always make them feel comfortable, then I will have no problem with my orders. She said that I have to prepare for people who will be mean and yell, she says not to take it personally. That is probably the key thing I will have to keep in mind when pursuing my career. I think it is very important separating work from personal life. Even if I am invested in my work and passionate about it, there is no reason to allow someone else effect me in a negative way. It is important to look at things from and outside perspective. That is what I will try and do. After we had our discussion she showed me an promotion that someone tried to create within their company (in Brazil) to promote an Ipad Mini. You should have seen what it looked like before!! She told me to remake and and make it creative, so I spent most of my time doing that. See attached! In addition, one of her clients is going out of business and Lynne takes care of her Facebook Page. I was also asked to create a closing sale ad that reflected the theme of the company. The idea was also to produce these items quickly, within the time frame I was there. Thankfully both were approved and are being used! It was a busy day but I got a lot out of it.

Last week at my internship with Lynne, we focused heavily on my senior project. She wanted to give me time during the internship to work on it. We discussed image placement and how to connect the user back to texting and driving in each poster. The mistake that we made was conceptualizing a series of posters that relied on another poster to drive the main point home. After a lot of review, I knew I had to go back to the drawing board and refine my concept in a way that the message was clear in every single poster. I worked on designing posters that included two parts. 1) The printed version: including photos and the social aspect of texting which is then compared to 2) The version that pops up when printed version is scanned: the message displayed will leave users thinking as they go through the exhibit. The idea is that their behavior is being “nudged” by what they are experiencing or realizing through my images. Lynne and I discussed the types of fonts that would be appropriate for my posters and I decided it was best to cut my posters up so that the text placement will be well thought out and measured. I think taking the time to consider that is really important when it comes to advertising. The message needs to be simple, clear and readable while making a statement all at the same time. I hope to achieve that within my posters. I really identify with Lynne’s style as an artist and appreciate her guidance and practical approach towards mentoring me with my senior project. It will help me understand what she is looking for in the coming weeks when I have new assignments from her!

This week at my internship we spent a lot of time just making some progress on the upcoming deadline on the folder design for the local print shop. The client came back with a few changes and I’ve spent the last few hours trying to finalize this design and get it sent out to print.  In addition to that, Lynne set aside some time for us to talk about the creative direction of my senior project .  She found it important to discuss and wanted to give me some guidance. I needed some help trying to conceptualize the new images that I would be creating and we worked on coming up with a cohesive theme that could fit with all the images and across the five different posters. In addition to that, she made a suggestion regarding the pledge and giveaways. She mentioned that sometimes incentives help to nudge behavior and get people excited because they see that there’s something in it for them.  Instead of the envelope challenge we discussed an idea called the “phone pouch” with a tag attached to the side that challenges whoever takes a free pouch can complete the challenge. It is more permanent then an envelope and can be reused. This can serve as a reminder to keep it safe when you’re behind the wheel. I really appreciate Lynne’s suggestions and I can definitely see myself incorporating this new idea into my theme.

What I enjoy most about Lynne’s mentor ship is her ability to keep it real with me. She spends a lot of time discussing the practicality of her business as a graphic designer. She often points out some practical tips for the business side of graphic design.  Lynne gets a variety of sized jobs. She has made designs from billboards to business cards. Our most recent job was the small folder design given to us by the local print shop for a small company. The budget was $100. They wanted to purchase a stock photo since (at the time) said they didn’t have access to the original image. This meant that I would have to search for stock photos. I spent a few days trying to compile some good images, only to send them and have them rejected. It was meant to convey a couple purchasing a vacation home–my images focused too much on couple and not enough on house.  Granted, they were still good images and would have worked with the ad, but he wanted us to find more. This is where Lynne stepped in…often times when customers become selective and have a low budget to begin with, she has to tell them to pick up some of the slack. Lynne incorporates research time into her total costs…the time it takes her to search and find images and other resources she has to incorporate in her work. The entire project was put on hold because she explained we already exceeded the amount of time it should have taken to pick a photo and when this happens, she does not hesitate to put the responsibility back on the client. Interestingly enough, a few days later they had contacted the last designer who used the photo and they still had it and sent it over to us. I kind of sat there wondering why they didn’t take a few minutes to do this in the first place and why I was sitting there a week later with the picture we thought we were going to use in the first place. It just goes to show me..on a personal level..that clients underestimate our duties. Lynne has even told me stories of her being hired to project manage only to get sent emails of employees of that company who have taken it upon themselves, with no education or knowledge of design to create their marketing materials. This is a big NO NO! As I’ve been working more closely with Lynne, I have realized that what I feared most about my chosen profession is probably true. That most clients assume that we can come up with these designs quick, that these designs are as simple to make as they are to look at. That is probably one of the most frustrating misconceptions because I am well aware of the amount of thought I put into my work. The time I take trying to understand the concept and how to connect it through color, shape, aesthetic and all of those other important design elements with the goal of creating an effective work of art that can SELL.  The funny part about it is that I am even more aware when someone HAS NOT taken any of this into consideration. This internship is teaching me a lot so far.