Day Twenty-Five: Tuesday 06.25.2013

Today I just continued to plug away on the Javascript tutorials. We had a team meeting to catch everyone up on what each of us are doing. For me, it was kind of nice to hear, but I still don't really know how our system works, so specific descriptions went over my head. I have also quickly learned that I like to push through meetings, no matter how enjoyable the company may be. So little comments or side conversations really got on my nerves. However, this company has a very laid back atmosphere and I will have to learn to adjust. Perhaps after being here longer and working on the tech side I will appreciate them more.

I have been working here for just a little over a month, but I've learned so much about myself, about the business world and how to work with others. Mostly I have learned it's not what I expected, nor what I experienced previously. I had a full time summer job in IT and I thought this job would be fairly similar, at least in how things are run and the general atmosphere. It is completely different! I actually find that my bosses are more supportive and encouraging. Not only is Phil a good friend, but he and Chris genuinely care how we are all doing in our personal lives. There is a greater sense of community and it is just more cheerful and fun. We all talk to each other during the day and make jokes; there is even a quote board on the admin site. I found my previous job to be fairly stern, I didn't feel like I could leave my desk without a good reason. Now I can go get up to play darts, to make coffee and chat with others in the kitchen whenever I feel like it.

I apologize in advance, I think most of this week will be reflective because I am just doing tutorials. I am still on Javascript, which is frustrating... On one hand it's really good, because I have discovered it did not know about Javascript objects, but on the other hand I don't know them, so I get stuck! Fortunately Tim can help me and he's very patient with me. Plus, I don't mind being straightforward even when I know I'm being dense. In past jobs I would shy away from asking for help because I thought was being annoying or I knew I just wasn't getting a concept when I knew it had to be obvious. For me, working with my husband in these situations is a huge plus. I can be blunt with him and I know he'll be equally tact with me.

Day Twenty-Four: Monday 06.24.2013

This week Chris is out of the office, so we're all pretty quiet at our desks just working away. I decided this would be a good time to devote a couple of days to finishing Codecademy tutorials. I really want to push through Javascript; I don't have a whole lot left and I know this will be a low priority later on. When I get done with my design assignments I will be working on the front end of the site, so I will need to be mostly done with these tutorials. However, when I'm nearing the end of a design project I know all my attention will be on that project and not the tutorials. So my fear is I'll push through the designs and then have all the tutorials waiting before I can move on. 

I have found that I get stuck on the tutorials after so many hours and I end up beating a dead horse. Working on them now lets me bounce back and forth between them and designs when I'm stuck. I think I get stuck so much because I haven't had to think this way (for hours on end) in a long time. I just need to condition my brain back to a code mind frame, but that will take some time.

I really appreciate this job because I have quite a bit of autonomy. Phil and Chris will check in, but it is up to me to decide what to work on for the day. As long as I don't have pressing deadlines and I am working on the projects, I can manage my time however I want. I appreciate this a lot, especially as an intern. The other two internships I was deciding between were going to have about the same freedom, but I know that's rare. 

Day Twenty-Three: Friday 06.21.2013

Yesterday I stayed home sick with some bad stomach pains. Today I was back in the office, although Tim and I came in late because I had to rent a tripod for Chris at the ETC. He is going to be filming some interviews while he's traveling next week. Those will be used for the home page video along with some other footage that we'll do after he comes back. I really appreciate how quickly Chris moves on these concepts and gets them going at full speed. I don't know why I expected him to think about them more or just wait, but it's a nice reality.

After finishing the coverpage Chris asked if we could do some kind of heading or border as well. (I mentioned this on Tuesday's post.) Today I put those ideas in to practice and used a document we had on the network drive to print with. I ended up using an extremely simple green line to separate our logo from the content and that was all. The pages are completely filled with copy and sometimes screenshots, so adding an unnecessary graphic element on the corners/top greatly unbalanced the page. I sent Chris what I had done and explained how other options made it hard for the eye to flow down the page and maintain hierarchy. I have not heard back from him, so hopefully we can expand on that conversation.

Sometimes I feel like I tell Chris no a lot and I feel like maybe that's not right, but I make sure to check myself a lot and think through all other possibilities. I think this comes from a lack of experience, which creates an unsure confidence. I pray that my anxiousness will go down and that I'll soak in all that this job opportunity has for me. I know God has put me here, I know this work is honoring to Him and that is what I should be most concerned about.

On a side note, Tim and I closed on our house!! It's so exciting! We'll move in the middle of July and I can't wait!

Day Twenty-Two: Wednesday 06.19.2013

Today is my day at home and I focused on getting through some more tutorials. I am still working in javascript, but now I'm in the different kinds of loops. This is still review, but it's a little more challenging and a good reminder that this doesn't come as easy as it used to. 

On a side note Tim and I are closing on our house on Friday, so there's lots of paperwork and such things to get figured out beforehand. Including making sure we won't have to leave our apartment too soon.

Day Twenty-One: Tuesday 06.18.2013

Today I worked on the last adjustment for the coverpage. I ended up changing the background gradients to be a bit stronger and adding a couple of highlights around the edge of the main hexagon. Chris loved the final result and I loved checking it off (I liked the design too). He asked if I could come up with some ideas for a header or border for the content pages.

Later in the day Chris showed me the new Google page for project Loon. It's really interesting and the design of the site is really well done. Chris was intrigued by the video they have on the home page and asked if I thought we could pull off something like it. I enjoyed it a lot, but the style wasn't quite right for us. We talked it over and decided to go with another format, but to still do a video. I think the final product will fit really nicely on our home page, which is on my list to do.

In the afternoon we had a team meeting to talk over some changes in Pivotal Tracker, which is the application we use to assign and keep track of projects. This did not really apply to me since I'm actually not getting my assignments from there, but I will use later on. At the end of the meeting Chris talked to everyone about his blog idea. Some critiques were given, I e-mailed Chris a couple of articles I had found online about corporate blogs. Right now we're trying to figure out what the mood and writing style will be; so nothing for me specifically yet.

Day Twenty: Monday 06.17.2013

This morning I worked hard on editing the rest of the pictures. I had take just over 100 shots, so I had a lot to work through. I did not bother editing all of them, some were too similar, some had weird lighting from the clouds and in others the models were blinking. I still want to go back out sometime with Phil and go during sunset. I have been trying to look up about rules of photographing any farm land for business purposes. Is it okay if the image has some one's barn or house in the distance? Do I need their permission? I haven't found anything, I think I'll ask Chris to see if he has any idea. I'm thinking their farm doesn't have a lot of high points to work from, but maybe further from the house there could be something.

In the afternoon I finished the coverpage and sent the word document to Chris. I have it set up so the background and our logo is one embeded image and then there are text boxes for the content he'll be adjusting. There is also a lot of space to drop in the logo of the company it will be delivered to. Chris was happy with is and asked if I could work on one part, but he'll use what I gave him. The hard part of being in a new job is learning how to read your boss. I didn't get the feeling that he was super pleased, but perhaps that is normal? I will just roll with it and try to keep reading what he's thinking as we go. When I've thought that he wasn't ecstatic before he has come back to me within a day and asked for changes. As long as I can anticipate a change like that, I'll be fine. It's helpful to work with Tim, because I can check with him on what's normal around here. I am an intern so I don't always like to speak up, but Tim is encouraging and reminds me that it's an even field here and Chris would be happy to get my true opinion.

I ended the day with more tutorials on codecademy.com. I like checking things off lists, it helps me feel like I'm making progress. These tutorials are great at that as each section is divided in to many achievements. This all adds up for me since the other projects are a slower process.

Day Nineteen: Friday 06.14.2013

Today was a short day and I spent most of it editing photos. In reviewing them, I'm even more sure Phil and I should go out again, but there were some good ones. I worked on color correction, I'll do artistic changes later on when I can tell which pictures are best. In the afternoon I took a "break" and worked on more javascript tutorials. In the afternoon I sent a few of the pictures to Chris so he could see where we're at with those. Then I worked on the coverpage so that I could be finishing it.

Day Eighteen: Thursday 06.13.2013

In the morning today I worked on more tutorials. I am now on arrays, still in javascript. After lunch Chris and I caught up on what I had been doing and talked over the coverpages. He chose one, with only a few small changes to be made. He also talked to me about some future plans so that I can be brainstorming ideas. We also set up a time to go out this afternoon and shoot the farm. While on the way we talked more about future plans and what else I can be working on. This included a splash page fro the website and a small logo for other companies to use. Both of these are things that I can be sketching and working on, but aren't pressing.

Photographing went alright. The sun was a little harsh since we went at 3pm, but I got some good shots. I had brought a tripd, but the fields were muddy and I was moving around so much that I never used it. I think Phil and I will probably go back out again at some time, but around sunset.

Day Seventeen: Wednesday 06.12.2013

Wednesday is my day at home and I spent it working on tutorials. It was a simple day, I sat in my living room and worked through javascript. I made it through functions with no problems.

Day Sixteen: Tuesday 06.11.2013

After spending most of the morning finalizing four coverpages, I printed them and put them up on the whiteboard. After this I sat back and listed necessary corrections below them and other points that could be checked. Tim was free so I asked for his opinion, as well as Kelly (she's the other graphic designer). A couple other people around the office piped in with their opinions and from here I worked on corrections. I printed the new versions, made corrections to two more, nixed one and ended up with three "final" versions. I will wait for Chris's input from here to proceed.

Chris was out of the office and I knew I would be working from home tomorrow, so I asked Phil what I could work on in the mean time. I have hit a few other points like this and I would like a small job that I could fill waiting time with, rather than reworking a design or just making small tweaks. Phil said I could work on reading documentation and practicing on my javascript and css and some other things that Tim is writing up. Kelly pointed me to codecademy.com for tutorials and I started in basic javascript. It's been review, but it's good to brush up.

Day Fifteen: Monday 06.10.2013

Today I continued to work on the coverpage. I found that sketching simple layouts does not help me, nor do they translate well to digital. This means I am working in illustrator on various graphic elements. I am doing it this way because Chris will have to edit/enter content with Microsoft Word. This means I need the type layout to be simple and very basic font choices so it can't get messed up easily. It is important that I keep all of these aspects in mind, but still create in interesting layout. I will rely on the graphic elements to be the solid foundation and it will probably be the most creative piece.

Day Fourteen: Friday 06.07.2013

This morning I began working on the coverpage and was quickly interrupted by Chris to work on some images for Burrus. They are highlighting us on the back of their new Product Guide and needed updated screenshots. I photographed their summary report (something we generate for them that gets sent to their clients) and our iPad. Then I edited a screenshot of our site on to the iPad and fixed some of the colors and outlines. All of the photos took quite a bit of editing, so that ate up the rest of my day. I sent what I finished to Chris and gave him some reasoning on my designs because I knew they didn't look impressive. The page our info is going on is already nicely laid out and has a lot of texture and other partners' logos, so I knew our stuff needed to be super simple and well framed. However, when you see them alone, not on the spread, they look somewhat insignificant. It was nice to be able to check this off.

Day Thirteen: Thursday 06.07.2013

Today can be easily summarized: coverpage. I brainstormed all day long. I started creating things, I deleted them. I started sketching, I put down my pen after drawing the page outline. It was a challenge; one that I will still be contemplating tonight.

The end of day I worked on some expense reports for Chris. By this I mean I scanned and organized receipts. I was actually really nice to complete a project, mindless as it was.

Day Twelve: Wednesday 06.05.2013

Today is the day I work from home, and I am starting to get the hang of it. I worked on the coverpage, Chris ended up having some tweaks for it. Although. later in the afternoon he asked for me to come up with three entirely new concepts. I also worked on text boxes for the overview and getting the document prepped for pictures. Chris called me and said we will be shooting it tomorrow and the other ad idea next week. I was a little overwhelmed by the idea of shooting a large landscape since I have no professional experience with it. This evening I went and reserved the equipment (at the ETC), I will need two tripods and an HD camera for next week and then I took one tripod with me for tomorrow. Then I walked down Berry and practiced for about an hour during sunset.

Photographing for a layout is one of my favorite parts of designing, so I am really looking forward to tomorrow. Chris is getting the models together and we're using his family's farm for the setting. We'll head over at 4pm so he can show me the tractors available for next week and still have plenty of time to pick a spot to photograph. We'll then hang out until around 6, when the sun starts to set, and then I'll take the actual shots.

Day Eleven: Tuesday 06.04.2013

This morning I worked on the concept sketches for the overview. I had aimed for 5 and ended up with 7 total, 6 strong. After looking at how seed companies were creating content I thought photo imagery would fit best. However, to stand out I want to integrate content to one fluid picture, rather than using a different image for each concept. Chris ended up liking this concept the best, but still wanting to push more and be more daring. I am not entirely sure how to create an informational page that pushes the in-your-face concept. We decoded to go forward with what I had, but to try and view it as a starting place. 

With that in mind, this afternoon I kept coming back to a tag line I had thought of and wanted to think of strong imagery to go with it. Success came! Chris loved it and now we're thinking of how to shoot it. I won't go in to more detail, but it was an exciting break.

Day Ten: Monday 06.03.2013

I came in to work after lunch because I went to a doctor's appointment with Tim in the morning.

I talked with Chris about the direction he was looking for with the overview. On Friday he had said to create 5 totally new and different concepts for the overview. I needed more direction than this - what about the previous one was lacking; what direction exactly did he think, did it mean more of a re-branding; clarifying the target audience. All of this helped a bit, I will still create 5 new concepts and I'm going to stick to 3 styles. One is heavily graphic, the other photographic and the third is character driven. The first two styles will have two layouts each and the last only one. I will try and draw the layouts by hand, but if my sketches seam too rough I will create a comp with illustrator. I spent the rest of the day researching how the seed companies we work with present their information and writing outlines of the different pieces of the overview.

Day Nine: Friday 05.31.2013

Today I tweaked the illustrations I had created and the layout of the overview. They were not major changes, just playing with the gradients and spacing. Then I worked a little more on my work laptop to get it ready for me to begin working on. I won't actually start using it until we get Adobe set up on it. Also, JD thinks it will take at least a few days before he can get the image file de-bugged.

Today was kind of frustrating because I was really just waiting on feedback on the overview page. Chris was back, but he was catching up on e-mails and phone calls and Phil was out. I was at work the whole day, but really only productive for half of it.