Inspiration In and Out

If there is one thing I have learned by interning at the Center City Public Relations agency Jenna Communications – it is that inspiration is everywhere. As a senior, I am at that time in my life where I do not know where to go from here. I have dreams and aspirations, but achieving them is a not-so-sure feeling. With the economy and lack of jobs available, it is hard to know what to do next with my career, life, and love for advertising. However, ever since working at Jenna Communications, I have been inspired in so many ways. It…

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Jack of All Trades

We’ve all been asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” more times than we can count. For me, it’s always a struggle to come up with a solid, satisfying answer.  The truth is, I’m interested in a lot of different things.  It’s hard for me to pick a career to spend 30 years in when there are other things that I could also be happy in.  I don’t know if anyone else in SCT feels the same- but that’s one of the features I found so great about our field.  We get the chance…

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Temple Dining Gets Ready for Spring Semester

I’ve been working at Temple Dining Services as a marketing assistant for almost two years now, but until recently, I didn’t really have much responsibility. The most high-profile thing that I would do was to design posters for any events going on in the Louis J. Esposito cafeteria. This is not to say that I did not enjoy designing event posters, in fact I found the practice quite helpful and very rewarding. Recently, we hired a new Marketing Director and we have been tackling much more ambitious projects, and I am proud to say I have been right in the thick…

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Showbiz valuable but maybe not my choice for the future

Hey everyone my name is Alex Garcia and I’m in the Art Direction track. I’m currently an intern for philly2night where I do some of their design work and web sites. I’ve been interning there since the beginning of summer. I have to say it’s been a cool experience, I’ve learned a lot and it definitely showed me another branch of marketing/advertising, which would be the entertainment one. The thing is, is this where I want to be in the future? And I’m going to go with no. Why? Well even though we do design work, it’s really not that…

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Why I chose to teach high school

When I first heard that there was going to be a pilot program where Temple advertising students got the opportunity to GO Into a Philadelphia high school to teach advertising during an after school workshop, I was thrilled!! I couldn’t think of a more perfect opportunity for me. I also thought about teaching but I placed teaching on the back burner once I found out about the world of advertising. I never thought I could have the best of both worlds. As soon as I signed up for the course, I began thinking of lesson plans, activities, and different ways…

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FACEBOOK AND TWITTER…GASP!…PRODUCTIVE????

WE ALL DO IT. Sneak onto Facebook and Twitter in the middle of doing our work. Well here is something to make you feel less guilty about it. Make it …. productive… (GASP!!…FACEBOOK, TWITTER PRODUCTIVE???) How, you ask? Use Facebook and twitter not only as a tool for stalking people, but as a place where you can get updates on what is going on in the advertising and design industries. Here are some great pages to follow. Also, I’d suggest following any wishful future employers, and getting up to speed on what is happening in their agency or firm. This…

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The Almighty GRID–Resources

CREATING A GRID is typically one of the very first things you do when starting a design. After all, it provides the basic structure on which the rest of your design will lie. They help you create sophisticated layout structures which offer more flexibility and enhance the visual experience of visitors to a website. Users can follow the consistency of the pages easier. Grids also help designers and art directors determine the hierarchy of elements on the page. How much space you give an element on the page corresponds to how much importance it has, and a grid helps with…

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Philadelphia Magazine’s G Philly

Philadelphia Magazine participates in multiple events throughout the city to get their brand known. Out of the few events I volunteered for promoting G Philly magazine at Outfest. Philadelphia magazine’s G Philly has only had two issues since the first in spring and plans on having four to six issues a year. Outfest was a block party held on Sunday, October 9th and on behalf of the marketing department organized G Philly’s appearance. I was excited to be on board helping Philadelphia Magazine promote their newest issue of G Philly at the festival. The festival was from 12-6pm and on…

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Challenges

As we’re nearing the end of the semester, the HS Advertising Workshop is starting to get a little more challenging. The students are as great as ever, but one of the biggest challenges that we have experienced is keeping the students committed to the program. During the first two weeks of the program we had between ten and twenty students showing up, but as the weeks went on, the attendance started to plateau. Now we are at about ten students participating regularly. Although we do not have a classroom full of students, we now know who is committed to the…

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Speak Up!! Your thoughts and ideas are valuable. Really.

This semester, I am interning with Silencia, a small public relations firm in center city Philadelphia.  When I started in late August, the owner had been asked to be a part of the public relations team for Eagle’s player Asante Samuel’s foundation, Bring it Home Moms.  Though I’m not a sports fanatic, I was still excited to accompany Aly, the owner, to a meeting at the Nova Care Center to meet with Asante and present our ideas.  Though I didn’t present, it was a great experience to see how one pitches an idea to the client and is prepared to…

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Doe-Eyed

Design studios are everywhere because design is needed everywhere. It seems obvious, but when looking for jobs and places to live post-grad its a helpful reminder. Especially with the ever-increasing permeance of the Internet, small or rural design studios are able to have a larger and more diverse client base. New York and London are alluring, especially when you’re aiming for an career fast-track position. But there are often overlooked design studios that are just as prestigious as the ones in big cities, while being in the suburbs of less brand-name states means that you have more of a chance…

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It’s a Dog-Help-Dog World Out There

A few weeks ago, we lost our design intern. He moved on to bigger and better things, landing a gig as a designer at a big Center City communications firm. We’re all glad for him, but it left us hanging in the balance, devoid of our graphically inclined intern. The three remaining interns – copywriting (me), business (Kristen), and PR/Events (Melanie) – were struggling to pick up the leftover slack. Our everyday task of keeping up-to-date on press postings was getting behind, and any design work was being pushed back. Enter Kendall, new design intern found via Kristen. Kendall is…

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The Roots

Since I’m pretty sure most of the people who read this blog are under 60 and live in the Philadelphia area, I’m going to assume you’ve heard of The Roots. As one of the most influential bands to the funk, neo-soul and hip-hop zeitgeist of the last 10+ years, (I didn’t know it had been that long), The Roots have toured the globe. They regularly preform at sold-out shows, festivals, and events for thousands of people, but having only ever seen them once (at The Roots Picnic 2008 which was like a chilled out block party with a mosh pit instead of…

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DBC Launches new websites left + right

Since beginning my internship at Diccicco Battista Communications earlier this May, the entire creative team – web developers, writer, creative director and designer – have been hard at work on The Original Canal’s new website. The Original Canal’s, a liquor store based in South Jersey, is notorious for offering the lowest prices on beer + liquor allowed by the state of New Jersey. I, for one, think the new website is fantastic and successfully gives the brand a fresh, fun feel. Check it out at:  Additionally, DBC has been hard at work revamping its own website, another project that has…

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The View from Intern Alley

On the top floors of Philadelphia’s PNB Building, you’ll find an extravagant office. The space used to be the penthouse apartment for Rodman Wanamaker and his family back in the 20’s. The original molding, fireplaces, and materials are still intact, but that isn’t the only thing that contributes to the unique atmosphere. For over a decade, Red Tettemer has been building an American Cabinet of Curiosities in this converted space. The two floor office is mainly decorated with eclectic nic-nacs.  Antique signs and posters are mounted on walls of vibrant blue, yellow, and red. Chandeliers reminiscent of Larry Fuente’s work…

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