Looking Back . part I

03.02.2006:


I had to assemble a magazine mock-up.

04.07.2006:
I got to use the ever-important mounting skills to mount about eight logos. These were for a logo proposal for a client.



I met an finally met intern from "upstairs". Here's the story

Paula was out for the day, along with two other designers, attending an HTML seminar. So, Ben was my boss for the day. While in his office getting instructions, Anna buzzed his office. The conversation went something like this:

Anna: Ben, can I ask you a stupid question?

Ben: Sure.

Anna: How do you burn a CD on a Mac?

I volunteered to go show her how, since it's one of the few things that I'm confident doing without worrying about messing anything up.

When I get to the intern office, Ana is there, an another young man who I'd never seen before. That wasn't unusual, because it seems that I saw a new person everyday I was there. Most of the time it was someone from upstairs, in accounting. I was feeling sociable, so I introduced myself, and found out his name was David.

I proceeded to show Ana how to duplicate CDs using the nifty CD duplication machine, instead of the computer. However, I also showed her how to open the disc tray on the Mac. There eject button is on the keyboard instead of the tower like it is on other computers. Anyway, she graciously left David and me with the task of duplicated a bunch of CDs for containing files for the Naval Aviation Museum. What fun that was. I did get to chat it up with, David though. Eventually I realized that the bore a striking resemblance to Jude Law. Yeah. It was his purty mouth and dimpled chin. But what does that have to do with graphic design. Well, it was aesthetcially pleasing. But David turned out to be quite the gossip, telling me all the dirt on the people upstairs, how they were so uptight and unfriendly, and how he liked the people downstairs so much better because artists and so much more laid back. Well, I couldn't argue with that observation. :p

So, the CD burning went alright, but the last disk that needed to be burned was a DVD, so I had to used the computer to do it. However, it took 30 minutes just to rip it, and another 45 to burn it. Not to mention that there was a deadline on when it had to be done. That wasn't my problem, however, because I didn't know that til the last minute. David left early, and I stayed a little late so I could make sure the disk got finished burning without any problems. I delivered all the disks to Ana at the front desk and then left for the day.

tbc

The End

Well, my internship has come to and and. I'll update more about it later.

Catching up

I'm really behind on my journal entries, so I'll try to sum up everything that I've been doing lately.

Thursday, February 9th: I got to work in Ben's office because one of the other employees was using the intern office. Ben was out for the day, so no one was inconvenienced. Also, it was nice to actually be in a room with a view:



I was instructed to find some files that were archived on disks, from back before the office went to using a server, and copy them to one of the other employee's files, becassue they needed the files for some project.




Friday, Feb. 10th: I was scheduled to come in to make up some hours I had missed the previous week. It was a good experience because I actually got to work with other interns. The task for the day consisted of finishing up with the file archiving process that I had begun on Tuesday. Tania was there when I arrived at the office, and we got a lot of work done. We did run into a bit of a problem with a lot of the files being out of order, making it hard to properly file the new files. Tania and I made Paula aware of this, and she suggested that we just do what we could. So we did.



It was a terribly tedious task, but we got a lot done:



Tania had to leave at 10 to go to class. Bobby came in at 11. I had to show him the filing system we had set up, because he had never filed before. It was good having someone else to work with that day. I found myself to be really talkative, cracking jokes about gender roles and such. Since I had come into the office at 8 a.m., I left at around 12 to get some lunch. I didn't leave until about 2, even though I was scheduled to leave at 1, because I was on a roll and really wanted to get as much of the filing done as possible.

It turns out that Bobby had designed a poster for some kind of charity event, and his design was selected. That was very cool for him. The design wasn't that spectacular though (knowing his potential), because he had thrown it together in two hours. He's rather proficient with making gradients in Illustrator.




Tuesday, Feb. 14th: "Laissez le bons temps roullez," as the Cajuns say.. I knew it was only a matter of time before I started seeing Mardi Gras-themed projects.



Julian (I'm not sure what he does, yet) had these gift boxes that needed to have the labels placed on them. So Paula assigned me the project of printing out the labels, and cutting them out and placing them on the front of other potential gift boxes. Printing out the labels was pretty simple. I just had to open the .pdf document in Illustrator and then send it to the printer. Cutting the labels to size proved more difficult than I anticipated, however. The paper cutter was dull, so When I tried to cut the labels it skewed the sheets and gave them a horribly ragged edge. Luckily, I was able to fix this by just cutting the edges with an X-acto knife.

Disaster avoided, I finished with the labels. I also took a peek into the box that Julian had assembled as a guide.



Voila.

Filing.

A valuable skill, it seems. I spent most of Tuesday sorting job jackets (folders that contain all the files from certain client jobs), to be filed in the basement. First, I had to go through a list of current clients and see if there were separators for them, and also make ones for the clients that didn't have one.

After that, I was supposed to put the separators into the file cabinets, and then file away all the job jackets of the current clients. However, there were not job jackets for 2006. All the ones available were from last year. I made Paula aware of this, so she suggested that I just go ahead and alphabetize the job jackets from 2005, so that they would be ready to be archived in the basement. What an arduous task that turned out to be. . . But I got a lot done:


This image is curtesy of my camera phone, because my little sis took my digital camera out of my purse and didn't put it back before I left in the morning, so I didn't have it with me.

I did the filing last though. Earlier, Paula informed me that my CD label design had been approved. I just had to tweak it a bit. I guess I could slip that into my portfolio, though it's not that spectacular. I also still have the task of designing a cover for the New Employeee Training Manual. I guess I need to research the subject, because I have no idea where to start.

Sitting.

Yes, I'm supposed to be interning right now. But I called in because I have a photo assignment I need to complete. It's going to be heck trying to make up the hours, though.

Multi-tasking

Today I got a lot of stuff done at work. First Paula sent me to Office Depot to pick up some printable CDs.



My primary task of the day was to duplicate disks. While I was burning the disks, I was also busy color-coding a few floorplates of some hotel. It was rather simple. I just opened the .pdf files in Illustrator, and then drew colored boxes using the pen tool. There were specific color mixes for certain rooms that I had to abide.



After a while, I was allowed to start printing the labels on the CDs, like I had done my first day on the job. This CD was for a upcoming Mardi Gras ball. I really like the cover design, done by Ben J. I found the song list quite amusing, considering this is an event for upper-class barely-teens. I'd really like to know who compiled these songs. They probably had the kids submit a list of their favorite songs or something.



Paula also asked me to do a count of the sunglasses and gift boxes that were being put together for a client. It turned out they were short 30 boxes, so I went ahead and put them together. Bobby, is going to have to finish packing and labeling them.



I didn't interact much with the employees today, other than passing people in the hallway and listening to Paula give me instructions. There's this one man, though, who seems to have a very sour disposition. He doesn't seem like a mean person, it's just that he never smiles, and possibly frowns a lot, he always looks like he's frustrated and/or discontent for no apparent reason. Today, however, I know it was because the coffee creamer wasn't readily available at the little refreshment center that's set up in the hallway. All I can say is I'm so glad I don't drink coffee.

Learning

Tuesday, I was put to the task of putting labels on these gift boxes that where to go to a client. My camera refused to cooperate, so I don't have any pictures. The day before, Bobby, another intern, had assembled these cardboard boxes, then he put the labels on about half of them as well of placing bubble wrap on the inside. I was to finish assembling the other boxes.

I must say that I think it's pretty humorous that people seem almost sorry to be giving me these monotonous tasks. I don't mind it really. I mean, I'm not getting paid, and I have to start somewhere. They don't have me cleaning toilets or making coffee (which is a good thing, because I don't drink coffee, so it would most likely turn out horrible anyway), so I'm rather content with learning new things. I say this, because Paula sent Ben to ask me to help with preparing some files to send to a client. When he came in the room in which I was working, he had this look on his face like he pitied me for being subjected to such a menial task. I'm like, whatever. I'm pretty sure that they just don't want me to get bored.

I reach a stopping point assembling the gift boxes, and then Ben proceeds to show me how to prepare the files. Paula comes in later and gives her input. It's a rather simple, task, and Ben has done most of the drudgery, which was to get the files off the server on which they had been archived. I think his dislike for his task just resulted in him not wanting anyone else to have to go through whatever he went through to get the files, which I think is pretty sweet of him. He's old enough to be my father, and he's been working at the agency for 18 years, so he knows how lack-luster the job can be a lot of the time. I perceive that maybe he doesn't want me to loose my zeal for the Graphic Design field just because of the monotonous tasks that I've been given lately. Maybe I'll mention this to him later. It's way too early on the job for me to be bitter. Maybe that will come later. ^_^

I only had those two tasks to do on Tuesday. I occasionally had to go back and forth, asking questions to make sure I was doing things right. At one point, I had to disturb Ben while he was eating lunch, and I encountered this one guy who I totally got a bad vibe from. He's one of the graphic designers, I think, and he seems to be a bit obnoxious. I haven't had to talk to him yet, but first impressions are lasting impressions as they say, but I would like to bee proved wrong of my initial ideas about people if they happen to be negative.

I'll see what happens.

Oh, the monotony.

Thursday I'm scheduled to come into the office at 8 a.m. I leave the house at around 7:35, stop at Subway for some breakfast (it wasn't that good), and then get into the office a little before 8. Paula, my boss, isn't there yet, so I walk around the office and see what's going on. I pass by the brainstorming/lunch room, and see a note on the table.



I read the note, then sit down in the room to eat my breakfast. I finish eating and go to the kitchen to put the leftovers in the refrigerator. While there I meet a nice woman named Robin. I think she's one of the creative writers. She was nice. I make my way to the intern office, and grab the copies of the Oracle that I've brought for Nancy and to show Paula. While I'm talking to Nancy, Paula comes into Nancy's office and looks at the Oracle. We talk about the work, and eventually Paula takes me to show me what my tasks of the day will be. Big surprise, it involves the pile boxes of books that I encounters in the idea room.

There are about 8 boxes, each box containing 36 books. I have to do the task listed on the sheet, and I soon find out how tedious it is. After a bit of time, I put my problem solving skills to work and figure out that it's best if I put the labels in while sitting on the floor. It's better for my back, and I can better align the labels so that they are pretty straight.

After a while, Ben, one of the art directors pops in and we chat for a bit. I ask him what is the purpose of the books, whether the company designed them, or what? He explains that the books are a promotional gift for their client, and the company designed the labels. "Isn't there a machine or something that can do this," I ask, half joking, half serious. I'm of course referring the the label-placing. He laughs and tells me no. I think he feels sorry for me having to put all those lables in those book. But I find out that it's part of the job of the company to construct/prepare promotional pieces for clients. So, someone has to do it. I wasn't the only one, though. Walking in the hall while taking a break, I saw a woman in another room doing the same thing to another set of books.

Eventually Nancy comes in and helps me label the books. Then the mysterious Anna also shows up. She's the woman who wrote the instructions on how to label the books. She's pretty, blonde, petite. She looks a lot like Jeri Ryan, her eyes especially. When introducing herself, she pronounced her name as "Ah-nuh," which immediately made me think she was of German descent.

So, as Nancy continues the task of labeling the books, Paula takes me to show me some other things that I'll be doing. She shows me some filing that needs to be done. And also, to my surprise, she gives me a design project. It's no biggie. I'm to redesign some CD labels for the company. They'll be used to put on the CDs that are given to clients when they can't download the information from the agency's ftp site.

So. . . that's pretty much all the "excitement" of that day.