Blog #1:  My Workplace: Tuesday Oct 11th

I am interning at a personal business of a design company, SS Customs. The division i am placed in mainly deals with car, as in wrapping a design on a car the suits the customer. Since it is an personal buisiness  the owner doesn't have anybody higher on a corporation ladder that he has to respond to. The business is located in Redwood City, a few minutes after you go over the bridge. It is basically like a giant two story garage that has a couple of rooms connected to the side. Everyone that works there has some sort of passion related to the work, whether it be photographing, networking, designing, or applying. This makes the work place enjoyable to be in because the people that form it are having a balance of enjoyment and cooperation. They do multiple sorts of projects but at the shop it is mainly the design and placement of car wraps. A car wrap is basically giant stickers that are placed on the car and match the shape of it, they can be solid colors all the way to elaborate designs from movies. SS Customs serve customers that make a deal (whether money or sponsership agreement) to deal with the design of their car. This company uses passion to complete their assignments therefor the job gets done knowing that it was worked on with detail. The downside of this field of work is you have to worry about your work being criticized and also the damage of any car you are responsible for.

Step 1: Preperation.... Step 2: Applying.... Step 3: Awesomeness

Blog #2: My Mentor: Tuesday Oct 18th

My mentor, which i am very proud to have, is Shareef Khan. Their work week is packed with pressure, networking, designing, wrapping, driving, distributing, material buying, money management, and achieving. Having his work filled with pressure is a good thing, it is a sign of more work coming in. The more work that comes in means the more his company can thrive. Though some of it may be intense he always has a sense of what to do. Since he was into cars and succeeding when he was younger he is better at it now. Past experience is one of the best things you can have when it comes to knowing what you are doing and to do it well. So having a job which relates to what you likes to do as a kid has a big impact of how you do your job, efficiently and morality wise.

Blowtorches are fun but business is serious.

Blog #3: My Role: Tuesday Oct 25th

Today I was unable to work at SS Customs because my mentor had important business to attend to so I transferred for a week to his parent’s shop, Sam Sign’s, which also specializes in graphic design. To fulfill my job of learning and helping with the job’s current project I cut out vinyl words that would soon be placed on a car for State Farm. It requires a precise hand and patience because if there is anything wrong with the vinyl then it would have to be done over again on the shop’s expense. Since I am working on small jobs throughout the shop I doubt I would have much of a title. Normally I would be an “applier” but at the moment I am just all around. Soon SS Customs, the shop in Redwood City, will release the car that we have been working on for the past few weeks. This will hopefully raise the number of people who know our work for the car will be sponsored by us as a part of the payment for the wrap. Though our work has pressure involved it has the perks of meeting people that have the same passion as you. Also to be able to help with a customer’s ideas to make it better is a pleasure to do. I am interested in seeing how the car will turn out because I have been around for a good amount of the steps to get it to where it is now. Hopefully this will both help me understand at a higher level to work in this environment and to help the company thrive to be better.

Don't mess with the Rockstar.... ever.

Blog #4: Project Proposal: Tuesday Nov 1st

Project for the WLE should be something that reflects what I learn or what I could do for the company. This does not mean it also can't be amazing as well. I plan to design a tron based Lamborghini as a template or general use vinyl wrap. I can personally say that I believe this could help not only the company will another cool design that might be used in the future but it would help me get early practice with the design process. I am into the whole futuristic Sy-fy theme and Tron would be the first theme to come to mind under that genre. It is also the number one idea after thinking about other options. As for using a Lamborghini, a Lamborghini has the smooth curves and slick design that would suit the tron style perfectly. I have told my idea to a couple of people, all of which say that i am an evil genius or the basic line of it's a good idea. This plan will have a couple of steps: a rough draft probably by hand, a blueprint by hand or computer, a computer based layout which would be done by Photoshop, and if at all possible, something actually wrapped in the design. If I achieved the mini-goal of getting an object with my design on it then I would be Estatic, it would tell me that if I can do stuff like that before college then just think what I could try to do afterwards. Hopefully this could help everyone involved.

TRON Lamborghini: Gallardo

Before.... Boring ____________________________________________After.... You wish you knew :)

Blog #5: Progress on my WLE Project, Part 1: Tuesday Nov 8th

Today a lot of time was spent trying to find the right kind of model car we could get because my mentor can't find the blueprints of the car until he knows exactly what model I will have. From four different sizes and tons of different cars with different versions of each there was problems finding the right one. The problem that came up the most was we cannot get a car with a flat color of paint on it because the vinyl with not stick to the surface with ease. So of course the best looking and best size of a Lamborghini is a Reventon, the one Lamborghini that only comes in flat white or black. I found some replacement ideas to use for a car instead on the Reventon but considering that they are bigger in size they will increase the price by an enormous amount. So the search for the perfect model is still taking place. I know that once we find the best suitable one that the rest of the process should be taking smoothly.

This is going to happen one way or another and whether or not you believe it, you are going to love it!

Blog #6: Leadership Skills: Tuesday Nov 15th

This job placement is having me stretch my abilities revolving around leadership skills. From the creative designing to the product placement I am using these skills to achieve being a productive worker. These skills that are useed can be (and usually are) used: think critically, complete projects effectively, collaborate productievely, and communicate strongly. Designing anything on a large scale involves thinking critically, completing projects effectively, and communication right there and that's only one part of this workplace. Each step has different or all skills involved so you have to be well-rounded to succeed. If these skills are not used then any part of the process could be damaged and crumble before the group while people not knowing what's at fault. This is why communication is the first priorty in this work, all our projects revolve around communication and how well it is done. My mentor is also well rounded; he has to be while in the position that he is in. Running and working in multiple shops requires patience, the ability to work well under pressure, and all the working skills listed above.

Blog #7: What I learned, Reflection: Tuesday Nov 22nd

This workplace has shown me a few things about what I can do and what is possible in the terms of work. For example, even though I am recently new I have been able to coexist with the other workers like I normally would be here daily, Or that a trait isn't as hard with some practice. These aspects can be seen as great development or the ability to adapt, both are great in almost any circumstance. Of course there was (and probably will be more) disputes or obstacles to do with some work, like the car that we bought to wrap was a little late which pushed us to rush later on or that a wrap we brought had letters cut too small to cut so we had to waite a day to do work on another project. I admit that this experience might not be exactly what I thought it was going to be but that doesn't mean it wasn't just as great. Some people might get bored here (though this intership sounds a lot better then most people have) I find it very informative and entertaining. It is relaxing but at the same time gives a bit of a rush for working by deadlines. Putting my ideas into anything is something I love to do and even helping others make there creative thoughts come to life is estatic. I have met plenty of connections and learned to understand that the enjoyment of meeting people is very useful to the company and work. To tell the truth I couldn't see this placement as a place I would really want to work but now It's a place I might even want to volunteer at in my free time. Maybe even get a real job if possible in the future here. This has been an amazing place, both for a step towards gaming design or for a settled place to work.

Blog #8: Professionalism: Tuesday Nov 29th

This workplace and position was a great choice to be in. I had four main choices that I wanted to try but when this one came up I was set to becoming an intern here. I know the people work hard, their work is superior, and they always have good communication with eachother and the customer. Connections are great to have, whether trying to find work or already in business. Without knowing anybody then you are stuck with nobody knowing you, that is not a good thing for a company. Networking, relatives, friends, sponsering, and advirtising; this are all beneficial ways to  get known or to be found. It all takes a business since and responsibility. Responsibility is also used in any efficient workplace. If there is no need for responsibility then there isn't any need for work at all and therefor no business. Anybody looking for efficiency in their work  should only hire those who have responsibility and also try to be responsible yourself. The best advice I have for others is to adapt to new situations, know what you are doing, be acceptable to work with others cooperatively, and to be where you want to be.

Blog #9: Life at my WLE: Tuesday Dec 6th

Today I made templates for the model car. This is important because if the template has just a minor error in it then implementing the pictures could go wrong and in turn the actual vynal wouldn't be printed out correctly. I also placed a good portion of the wrap on the car. It came out quite nicely. I have adapted to figure out how to cooperatievely figure out deadlines and problems that might come up. This is an important concept to know with any business, that includes any business with the graphic design aspect too. I got hands on experience which i believe to be useful and now I understand more. I will probably come back after vacation and offer to see what else I can do.

Blog #10: The End: Tuesday Dec 13th

I was able to get a good intership by my standards. I feel sorry for whoever got stuck behind a desk or in a school (and didn't want to be there) because the point of this was to get into an internship that you could see being part of your future career, this is on the fine line of the job placement that I want to be in which is a design director in one of the major companies I have in mind. As for next year, I hope to achieve the same position as this year except hopefully be able to go into more advanced options.