As told by Morgan: At the end of fall semester I was paralyzed with fear. I knew that my time at FSU was nearly half way over and I hadn’t had a legitimate internship yet. All though I am passionate about art and design, and I had done some in-kind freelance work just to get my name out there, I hadn’t actually gotten a job in my field yet. Over Christmas break I quit my serving job to give me that initial push to get out of my comfort zone and pursue something greater.
I spent a couple weeks at home building a portfolio. I used a lot of the work that I had made in classes that ranged across all mediums from my foundation classes and furthermore from my classes involving web design and interactive media. I didn’t know if my portfolio was exactly standard as far as they go, but then again I don’t feel as if I am standard. I placed certain works together that outlined my interests and how I could apply these concepts into productivity for a client.
Eventually when I felt satisfied with it, I went on the news and opportunities blog for the department. There were a vast amount of different opportunities there with a lot of good information. I went ahead and applied to everything that had an email address and just waited. Eventually I received emails back from a plethora of opportunities asking for interviews or saying they had already filled the position but would keep me on file. From these I interviewed with the office of communications for a in house re-branding internship position. I knew I nailed it walking out of the interview. It offered a great opportunity to help re-brand FSU’s seal, which included actually submitting 3 designs to be focus group tested along with about 20 others.
During the time working in the office I would assist Tony Archer, the creative director, with jobs that he needed help with including research on brand initiatives of top 25 public universities around the country. After compiling this information I was given a list of projected deliverables that needed to be redesigned through out the project that included but wasn’t limited to note cards, business cards, official stationary, envelopes, vehicle wraps, department lock ups, generic advertisements, and many other items.
My short-term goals are to gain experience of collaborating with others in an office setting. I have learned that there is more that goes into design then just making something that I believe looks good. There are clients that might not like what I like, or what I made might not serve the same purpose that they have in mind. Long term, I am trying to further develop my style and grow in my knowledge of good and bad design. I aim to make something progressive and interesting for the mundane and at the same time “not scare the squirrels”.