Event CANCELLED

Let's blame it on all that turkey ... due to some technical difficulties, we have to cancel Wednesday night's event (11/28). Our apologies to everyone who'd planned on coming. Stay tuned to find out when the Year One discussion will be rescheduled.

Date Change for Next Event

Uh, so, the previous post? Yeah, ignore it. We changed the date. Sorry!!

So... you will now be coming to see us WEDNESDAY, November 28, at 7 pm.

It should be a really informative night. We have a few of our recent student competition winners talking about their experiences in their internship(s) and career thus far. It should give you some good insight into what to expect and how to best prepare for life after college. Plus, there will probably be food. How can you NOT come?

Click on the image for more details. And feel free to post a comment here or email us at spdrsvp@gmail.com if you have questions, we'll respond as soon as we can. See you there!

NEXT EVENT: Nov. 26 (NOT! see above post)

Our office tours and portfolio reviews went well last Friday. Thanks to everyone who participated! And for those who missed it ... we're doing it again in the spring, so keep checking back here to find out specifics. Otherwise ...

Mark your calendars for the evening of Monday, Nov. 26. We're hosting a speaker night featuring several designers talking about their internship experiences and how it affected their career paths. Look for more info to come in the next few days.

Only a few spots left!

Don't forget: our PUBlication CRAWL and PORTFOLIO REVIEWS are THIS Friday!
We still have a few spots left, so sign up now by emailing spdrsvp@gmail.com

In addition to touring the offices of Spin, More and Fortune, we'll be visiting Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine also. And if you don't have the time to make it to the whole day, you're welcome to come just for the tours or just for the portfolio reviews. Just let us know in your email.

So sign up now, and we'll see you at 9:30 on Friday, at our office at 17 E. 47th St on the 6th floor.

(More details can be found in the post below.)

PUB(lication) CRAWL & PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Hey you!
Yeah, you. Get your calendar out, and clear off what you might already have on there for Friday, November 9th. (click on the poster for the FULL EFFECT)




Because you're going to come to SPD instead, tour some magazine art departments (like SPIN, More, & Fortune) in the morning, and in the afternoon, get your portfolio reviewed by a panel of art directors coming especially to talk about what does and doesn't work, and what they're looking for when you come to them to interview.

The cost? Totally FREE for SPD Student members (and it's only $25 to join!)

So take this down:

WHEN: Friday, November 9th, 9:30AM
Tours start at 10:30 // Portfolio review at 1:00

WHERE: Meet at the SPD office, 17 East 47th Street (between Madison & 5th Avenues)
6th Floor, Buzzer #1

HOW: RSVP! Register online at spdrsvp@gmail.com (but hurry, space is limited!)

Again, FREE for SPD Student Members, $10 for SPD Professional Members, $30 for everyone else (and again, it's ONLY $25 to join SPD as a student member!)

YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

Of COURSE we want you to enter the student design competition; we wouldn't keep talking about it if we didn't think it was awesome, and the great thing is — we'd tell you that about entering any competition. It's good for you!

But really, we're not the only ones with that position on it. Core77 came up with 5 reasons (scroll down to the 5th post) far more eloquently than we could, so we're going to just highlight them here:

1.
Preparing your entry will force you to create a well-crafted, well-produced "piece"—with great photography and great copy. Which means it's portfolio-ready.

2.
Even if you don't win, many competitions—especially online ones—publish dozens of notable entries. So you'll probably get some press from it, which you can screengrab and put in your portfolio next to the entry spreads.

3.
It's not schoolwork. Many design competitions have themes that are ambitious, progressive, and challenging, so entering them will give you a great opportunity to spread your creative wings. Especially if you find that a lot of your classwork doesn't possess these characteristics, go get it across the street.

4.
The fact that you enter design competitions sends the message that you're engaged in the design world beyond school. Which you should be.

5.
You may just win. And then that point about printing out press clippings takes things to a whole new level. "I see that you've won or been published in 3 magazines and on 5 websites since your Junior year?" Endorsements from judges and editors may get your interviewer to think a little more seriously about you, which is the point, right?

More fantastic advice from Core77 in their Hack-2-School posts here:

Hack-2-School Classroom

Hack-2-School Dorm Room

Hack-2-School Represent

Hack-2-School Crash Course

Hack-2-School Cheat Sheet

MORE REAL-LIFE TALES FROM THE INTERNS

So, Tina sounds pretty fantastic, right? In fact, you might be thinking, it ALMOST sounds too good to be true. Ooh, you little skeptic. You think we're making it up!

The really great news is — we're not. Again, we'll get out of the way, and let Megan Cummins, this year's Second Place Winner, tell about her experience as a summer intern at Departures:

I cannot begin to express how much I learned during my internship. It has, quite literally, changed my life. Prior to coming here, my ideas about the magazine industry were based on movies, classwork, and my overly-active imagination. I honestly had no idea what to expect, and countless questions. So, here goes.

First off, I finally understand the chain of command. I never quite understood what each job title entailed. More importantly, the departments themselves. Seeing first hand what each dept. does and how they interact with one another was quite eye-opening. I now know for certain when I start my own Graphic Design firm, a mixture of styles and personalities will be pertinent to its success. I loved watching how people reacted to hearing everyone's opinions and see them make revisions as a result. I also enjoyed getting to experience how stressful it can be when someone might not clearly understand what another dept.'s job is and have certain expectations of them (ie. the photo dept’s ability to make images appear instantaneously). Communication is key.

Another thing I learned was the importance of personality. This one is multi-faceted. I believe those who are in higher positions have the ability to set the tone keeping everyone on eggshells or making them feel comfortable and encourage new ideas. I can see what an impact it makes. I also noticed the need to be able to sell an idea — to pitch a story with enthusiasm so as to get everyone else excited to be working on it with you — to paint a picture in their minds so the photo dept. knows what images they're looking for, and the art dept. knows what style of design to imitate, and so forth. Lastly on the personality bit, I learned that you CAN overcome shyness. Prior to my coming here, I was always rather nervous on the phone- since I tend to sound like my younger brother, but after making calls to businessmen and women across the globe, I somehow forgot to feel uncomfortable and saw it as something that just needed to be done. I also learned the value of creating relationships with individuals over the phone- establishing contacts that are willing to go the extra mile for you when you’re in a bind because they’ve come to know you. Sometimes the key to getting things done on time is having having friendly relationships with the people in the mailroom, or the assistant to a photographer. It always pays to be nice.

I have also learned the value of time and efficiency. I can honestly say I now understand what is meant when you say "a New York minute". 1 NY min = 10 southern min. When I was able to work in the Art Dept., I quickly picked up on the fact that not only does your work have to be great, but you have to be able to produce dozens of ideas in hardly any time. You also can't put too much heart into it, because critiques can be brutal!

I'm struggling to express just how much this internship has taught me. From little things like the mysterious "editor-in-chief" or how to politely call someone for the 13th time about a contract or W9, to tagging along on a photo shoot or watching ideas evolve and move from each dept until they're finally put into print... It would take pages to fully relate what all I learned.

I love that the magazine was like a small family. I was able to go on a photo shoot, watch the images get edited, see how the art department laid out the spread, learn the details of crediting and research — basically every aspect of the magazine. I never expected to be so immersed in the production and get such a thorough understanding of the inner-workings of the industry. I witnessed an entire issue come to life! It was terribly exciting and has woken me up to the real world. I learned the pros and the cons of the industry. I can appreciate it so much more. Regardless of the industry I end up in, the mechanics behind the magazine — the teamwork, the business personalities, the production, the mixture of the creative and technical skills — are all things that I know will have a direct influence on my business, and whatever job I may have prior to that. I now know what aspects of my portfolio to focus on when I return to school and what direction I'd like to go after graduation — things I was terrified of at the start of the summer. I cannot thank you enough for this internship. I cannot express what an impact it has had on my life. Everything I learned will continue to pay off for the rest of my career and will shape and influence everything I do in the design world.

So, there you have it. A rambling overview of what I learned. Please know that however cliche it made have sounded, I sincerely mean every word of it. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity. It was everything I had imagined and more. I will never forget sitting at a little restaurant with my family in Memphis and getting the greatest phone call of my life.