Hello everyone! I’ve been meaning to update you all for about two weeks now, but between my internship, job waiting tables at a local brewery and doing freelance design for a ski and snowboard website, my days are completely full!
Working at Access Design is great, and I feel like I’m learning more every day. Around Memorial Day, Adam and Cathy (the owners) spent a week and a half in Florida, leaving myself and Jenny (the other Access Intern) in charge while they were gone. During that period, I learned that owning a graphic design business is a lot more than designing logos, ads or signs. After dealing with customers in various states of distress or annoyance while Adam and Cathy were out of town, I created several goals for myself for the rest of the summer. I would like to be more knowledgeable about pricing on some of the main types of printing we do (like banners, A-frame signs and business cards) and I would like to learn how to use the huge vinyl printer so I could have signs printed when Adam isn’t here. Soon, I will have to learn more about the billing and tracking process that happens after a design is completed because Cathy (Adam’s wife, who manages that aspect of the business) is having a baby in the middle of July!
One of my goals at the beginning of the summer was to work on my interactions with clients. In previous internships, I often didn’t get much face time with clients and didn’t get a real handle on the revision process that so often happens with real-world design. Lately, though, I have been helping all kinds of people and, boy, are they interesting! Whether it’s the guy who emails off-the-wall design ideas at all hours of the day or night in messages with no punctuation or the guy who calls daily to order “just 25 more” of a certain sticker or the older couple working on their perfect cottage sign design, I’ve learned that in addition to always being professional, there are different levels of professionalism that help you connect with different people. Treating a beach bum like a high-paid lawyer isn’t going to make him or her feel comfortable in our office, which is the last thing we want to happen.
As the summer progresses, I’m getting really excited about assisting Cathy with her work with the Outer Banks Wedding Association. In addition to attending meetings with her and helping plan various events, I’ll have the chance to write a few articles for the Outer Banks Wedding Guide. Not only is this a great chance for me to add some writing clips to my portfolio but it could easily turn into some freelance work for me during the school year. And I love weddings...what girl doesn’t?
Working at Access Design is great, and I feel like I’m learning more every day. Around Memorial Day, Adam and Cathy (the owners) spent a week and a half in Florida, leaving myself and Jenny (the other Access Intern) in charge while they were gone. During that period, I learned that owning a graphic design business is a lot more than designing logos, ads or signs. After dealing with customers in various states of distress or annoyance while Adam and Cathy were out of town, I created several goals for myself for the rest of the summer. I would like to be more knowledgeable about pricing on some of the main types of printing we do (like banners, A-frame signs and business cards) and I would like to learn how to use the huge vinyl printer so I could have signs printed when Adam isn’t here. Soon, I will have to learn more about the billing and tracking process that happens after a design is completed because Cathy (Adam’s wife, who manages that aspect of the business) is having a baby in the middle of July!
One of my goals at the beginning of the summer was to work on my interactions with clients. In previous internships, I often didn’t get much face time with clients and didn’t get a real handle on the revision process that so often happens with real-world design. Lately, though, I have been helping all kinds of people and, boy, are they interesting! Whether it’s the guy who emails off-the-wall design ideas at all hours of the day or night in messages with no punctuation or the guy who calls daily to order “just 25 more” of a certain sticker or the older couple working on their perfect cottage sign design, I’ve learned that in addition to always being professional, there are different levels of professionalism that help you connect with different people. Treating a beach bum like a high-paid lawyer isn’t going to make him or her feel comfortable in our office, which is the last thing we want to happen.
As the summer progresses, I’m getting really excited about assisting Cathy with her work with the Outer Banks Wedding Association. In addition to attending meetings with her and helping plan various events, I’ll have the chance to write a few articles for the Outer Banks Wedding Guide. Not only is this a great chance for me to add some writing clips to my portfolio but it could easily turn into some freelance work for me during the school year. And I love weddings...what girl doesn’t?
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