A little Awareness work

One of the first assignments given to me a few months back -- a book cover design for the employee cookbook that Women's Health Advantage put together to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness. Three months later, I can say that the project is finally finalized!

It certainly feels good to cross items out of your mental pending list, but most importantly it feels good to see one's designs going towards causes like this. I'm not only happy to be part of the agency that made this possible -- Ad Lab Advertising, but also honored to be part of such nice projects like this.

In order to make the printing of this book possible and affordable, Women's Health Advantage decided to use an online service dedicated to the printing of personal cookbooks. This made possible for the  book to be only 10 dollars with 5 dollars being donated to the American Cancer Society!

How to say goodbye?

How to say goodbye to a distinguished professor that has dedicated twenty-five years of his life to education and has written over thirty books isn't the challenge... The challenge is to summarize all of this on a poster piece...
Another freelance project I am working on and one that I cannot wait to see all finished and hung at the  library!

Another freelance job in process.

A day in the life of a designer... at an Advertising Agency.

I remember my early days working for a small newspaper in town -- a lot of what I did was placing ads created by outside advertising agencies. Whenever I had the opportunity to help the in-house designer with a new ad (from scratch), it was really exciting! I remember feeling a thousand butterflies in my stomach. Literally. It was like waiting in line for a roller coaster ride. I knew the challenge would take me all the way to the top at times and at other times, right to the bottom. 

It's been two and a half months since I started working for an Advertising Agency and there had been instances when I think about those days. Not necessarily because I feel the exact amount of butterflies, but because I remember how I told myself that one day I would be the one designing those ads. I guess it's time to put a check mark next to that thought I put in my head back then...

While this job can be fast paced at times, I try to enjoy every single piece I work on everyday. Whether it's a simple update, a black and white ad, a promotional poster, a brochure for a venue, a logo design or even a book cover I try to give the same treatment to each of these projects. I believe you can show a lot to your client by the way you design for them. You can show them that you respect them and appreciate their business no matter how big or small their business is. Yes, it is true that you are going to prioritize and invest more time (and money) with those big clients, but taking good care of those other ones in the same manner won't hurt. I guess this way of thinking's got something to do with my work ethic. I want to believe this is the way it should be. 

So why did I deviate so much in this post??
My main intention was to give you a look at a glance of what a five-hour day looks like in the ad agency world!

Some of the projects I worked on last week in one of my six-hour days

Spicing it up

I believe that in this field, it is good to spice it up with random projects where one doesn't have to sit in front of the computer for long hours.

The project: Four table tops that needed hand-painted unique/custom designs. Tables will go to a brand-new coffee shop/lounge area in a law firm building complex in the downtown area.

The challenge: partnering with a fellow student/co-worker and make this project a success. I would take care of two table tops and she would take care of the other two.

After a few meetings and a couple of reviews to the designs presented to the client, one of the designs I presented was chosen. After sixteen hours and a minor color revision by the client, my first table top was finally done.

The second table top went quite faster than the second one with a very minor color revision that the client suggested. I was glad that this table top was requested to be closer to my original design idea. It was fun to work with warmer colors with a pinch of girlyness.

I cannot wait to see all the four tables together in their natural environment-- surrounded by people, laughter and coffee!

Quick recount of the past two months working on this awesome project below!

Table Number 1.

Table Number 2!

A week after, the protective sealant is applied to the table tops.