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the internship seeking activities you are doing

Right now I am just enjoying the current internships as they begin to sunset; there are discussions of work being done outside of the requirements for the class and I would be happy to assist both clients with their future development needs.

the internship work you are doing

The work I’m doing is starting to slow down. Mainly it’s just fine-tuning and delivering at this point, with as much training as I can get in now along the way.

the experiences you are having

I am learning a lot about my teaching style and how I can improve as I work between clients. Mainly I find that when I explain things, I don’t tend to keep them brief and can get carried away in tangents or other thoughts. In some cases this is alright; the internship for Badger State Limousine is on-site with the client, so I do not feel the pressure of the environment or constraints of the conversation method imposed on me. On the other hand, unfortunately the only way right now for the internship with Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church to be discussed is remotely through Teams. In this sense I am considering several factors, like screen presentation and scheduling, but mostly time. Respecting the time the client affords me is essential, so for both projects I began making checklists before, during, and after the meeting, to keep track of all of the deliverables and things I need to clarify. Managing these thoughts helped productivity in meetings and deliver requests to the client much faster.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

Well, here are the final sites:

Badger State Limousine

https://www.badgerstatelimousine.com/

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church

https://www.faithelc.org/

It has been an immense undertaking to fulfill all of the requirements in the way that I tackled them during the last few weeks of the course. But I met all of the hours (went a little over, in fact), the clients are happy, and I am focused on fulfilling the remaining documentation to complete this course!

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading! Have a great summer! 🙂

the internship seeking activities you are doing

Currently I’m keeping my ears to the ground, but not looking for anything actively. I’m fulfilled with my current work, and there are plans to assist development outside of the course as well.

the internship work you are doing

The work that I have been doing is intense, but it’s getting down there! Whittling away at hours is exhausting, but just gotta keep going to the end! No giving up here!

the experiences you are having

This past weekend was filled with work to get the sites looking ready for the portfolio night! It was a lot of adjustment of what I had already done; making sure elements looked good across devices, understanding more about the Contact Form’s functionality, and a bunch of cosmetic work to prep before the reveal on portfolio night. It’s hectic, but going through the website with the client gives me insight on what I need to focus on the next time I create a website, or copy for a website for that matter.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

Did you know that when you display card payment options on a website, that those graphics have to adhere to design language standards set by the credit card companies? Don’t fret, there are some great free resources available for you here:

15 Free Payment Method Icon Sets

It was awesome to find this as it saved me a lot of time in production of the icons on the contact form. The best part? The resources I selected from that list were free-to-use with no attribution necessary. As an artist, I still did leave attribution in the Alt-Tags, but it makes the website look more cohesive when an element does not have to have visible attribution associated with it.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I am not necessarily seeking activities at this time. My ears will be to the ground outside of this course, but right now I am fulfilled with my current commitments.

the internship work you are doing

The work that I have been doing is intense. Admittedly I let things get a little out of hand, but I have been working hard and scheduling things out to make a plan for success by the end of the course.

the experiences you are having

This weeks struggles were mainly with Final Cut Pro X. Learning any new software is a daunting task, but to produce a professional high-resolution video within a weekend is wild! There were all kinds of trials and tribulations to face.

First, I had to scrub all of the photos with an image editor clean of any sensitive information, including completely blocking visible license plates & blurring faces or logos I did not have the rights to use. I had also taken the liberty of vetting any photos that I was unsure I would have the rights to use the structures in the background, such as the Milwaukee Skyline, the Hoan Bridge, or the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Then, after taking the 158 compiled photos through that scrubbing process, I presented them back to the client and we evaluated which photos to use going forward and which to archive. This business has been on the web for 10+ years, so some of the images found on the web reflected that with their compression, artifact, resolution, and photo editing/filters applied. What represented the brand then may not provide a cohesive look now.

Finally, after narrowing the photos down to 53, I got started on learning the ins-and-outs of Final Cut Pro. There was some experience from using Premiere that carried over, but mostly it was a whole new ball game for me!

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

It was a tireless weekend for me at the computer, but I managed to crash course through Final Cut Pro X and deliver a two minute ad that worked.

I would recommend looking into the resources of Google Fonts and FreePD.

Google Fonts is a good resource that contains attribution-free fonts for commercial and private use.

FreePD is a great site for free-to-use, public domain music for private and commercial use.

These resources offer a lot of peace-of-mind when uploading customized content to a website.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I am not necessarily seeking activities, however another opportunity is available, in case I need additional hours to complete this course.

the internship work you are doing

Today I had a talk with both of my clients regarding the work remaining.

the experiences you are having

Basically just corralling everything I’ve done and my activities into a compilation for the end of the course.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

Based on my experience this past week, please make sure you have backups of your files on hand. Buy an external USB drive from Amazon, Best Buy, Office Max, Target, or Wal-Mart. You can always back up files to these external locations manually, but there are both third and first party backup solutions available for you to use.

In this instance, my laptop was unable to turn on. When I was able to finally reboot the laptop, I initiated a full disk backup in this way:

• Plug In your external drive.
• Type “Backup” into Windows Search
• Select “Backup Settings”
• Go to Backup & Restore (Windows 7)
• Select “Create a System Image”
• Follow the steps in selecting the storage media and initiating the backup.

It’s generally recommended by IT Pros to follow the 1-2-3 backup method. 3 different backups, in 3 different mediums. Consider the following:

• Hard Drive
• Solid State Drive
• Flash Drive
• Memory Card
• Optical Media (CD/DVD/Blu-Ray)
• Cloud Storage

the internship seeking activities you are doing

Keeping eyes and ears open for other internship work but mostly just following through on the two internships I have now.

the internship work you are doing

Most of the work I’ve been doing this week has been communication with clients to receive more information; clarify details and get ready for product launch on one end while just starting the other.

the experiences you are having

Made a plan and scheduled out the remaining assignments in the semester; hope to check in with Tammy and tie any loose ends that need straightening out.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

This week was mainly consulting with clients on the work needed to be done and how to transfer files; this can especially be challenging in the remote era we live in. In the case of my first internship project, I was able to get by with the photos and resources made already for previous websites and Facebook. For this next one, we’ve looked into various methods of filesharing for when files are just too large/cumbersome to send over email.

If you’re in the same predicament, you should check out:

1. Dropbox – Dropbox
2. Google Drive – Google
3. OneDrive – Microsoft
4. Creative Cloud File Sharing – Adobe
5. Amazon Drive – Amazon

There are many services out there that can prove useful for these specific tasks. It largely depends on the content you are transferring, and also what your client already is equipped to manage. You don’t have to have an account for each of the services listed above, but it may be beneficial to have more than one set up already. Personally I would recommend OneDrive and Google Drive. The reasoning involved here is that OneDrive is often activated in the process of setting up a Windows 10 computer, so there’s a good chance they already are signed into that service and can begin to utilize it right away. For communication with clients that own a Mac, I would recommend Google Drive as it is cross-platform friendly and only requires a web browser to access.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

Finally have work started on the second internship! Plus, I am wrapping up work on the first internship. So I’m keeping my eyes open but pretty occupied trying to wrap up what I have before semester’s end.

the internship work you are doing

The work I am doing has mostly been powering through the tough parts of the first internship to get to a better place on both websites. Contact Forms have been figured out, another page has been finalized, and we are pretty close to going live with our design, which involves a migration of the WordPress instance to the final domain/hosting destination.

the experiences you are having

Feeling good about the progress I’ve made; taking inventory and making steps to ensure I will complete what I have before the end of the course. It appears daunting now, but making a plan is the key to making progress.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

This week I’ve utilized the most important resource you can during this project: Your client! After showing Tammy my progress with the websites I went and showed my client the progress as well, where I got some further advice and clarification on the contact form and other pages I’ve worked on.

In this case, with the Contact Form, there were multiple approaches I could take to recording the user input of Date and Time. There were plenty of attractive solutions available with a nice interface serving as plugins for Contact Form 7. I quickly was greeted with limitations on these plugins; they either wanted a Pro membership for full access to features, or wanted permissions to the WordPress instance that I felt were an unnecessary overreach and did not choose to “opt-in” to the plugin’s services.

Then I checked how the time was recorded on the old website’s form (with permission from the client) using Chrome’s “View Source” module… to find that the user’s inputted time was a simple drop-down all along! (e.g. “12:00AM”, “1:00AM”, etc.)

Just goes to show that your client and the old website may be a more valuable resource to you than you may think!

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I sent in the second draft for my second internship with revisions from Tammy and signatures/info from the client. Hope to start work soon!

the internship work you are doing

Right now I’m working with the client of the first internship to make sure layout is going as planned/envisioned, and communicating with the client of the second internship to iron out the project scope for final approval.

the experiences you are having

Mostly just enjoying formatting the new website and struggling writing copy that sounds good–getting the message across in a concise matter.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

This week I’ve experienced the mental road blocks involved in writing copy. Does this sound good? Is the phrasing okay? Are we informing the client accurately and clearly? There are plenty of considerations to take into account.

Some advice I can provide:

• Look back to the project scope. Think of the Mission Statement. Does your copy follow the mission you and your client signed off on? How about meeting the goals of your objectives?
• Consolidate as much data they have published already as you can. Even if they don’t have an existing website you can base your messaging off of, they may have a Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest page that they have made their branding more clear on. This can help you make your messaging clear, too.
• Does an image say it better? A picture is worth a thousand… well, you know. But if you find yourself struggling to detail an aspect of a business, perhaps showing is worth more than telling through use of an image or a video.
• Fail early, fail often. If you’re stuck on a slogan, tagline, or key piece of messaging, it’s okay. Get the lead out and just write as much as you can come up with. Send the complete list to your client and narrow down winners.
• Communicate with your client for clarity. If you’re having real trouble, there’s only one place to go! Talk to your client as you go along publishing milestone versions of the website to avoid confusion or time-costly revision work.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I sent in the draft for my second internship and recieved it back with some notes from Tammy. Looking to submit it Wednesday and get started soon!

the internship work you are doing

Right now I’m designing the rest of the website and generating copy as per my client’s specifications. So far I’m having a good time.

the experiences you are having

The hiccups I talked about last week have been resolved and it appears animating elements like slideshows appear as intended on mobile devices now, which is excellent. This is one of the pillar goals of the project, as the current website does not support the responsive web in any way.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

Have you ever noticed watching a TV show that your favorite brands aren’t present? Replaced with sound-alikes such as “McRonald’s”, or loose representations like “Sandwich Queen”? Or how sometimes a laptop or tablet will have it’s identifying branding taped over? Perhaps you’ve also noticed how certain shots of a scene will be framed to not include a particular building, sculpture, or landmark. Shows do this in order to avoid having to pay a royalty fee to the company, entity, or artist in question for the use of the intellectual property (such as logos, branding, signage, artwork, buildings, or other trademarked work).

Speaking from research this week, I suggest that my classmates research the photos provided by your client and make sure they are OK to use in a business/commercial setting. There may be elements of a photo’s background, that–whether the photo was taken by the client or not–you as a web designer do not have the rights to use, and you or the client may have to contact the establishment/entity for written approval before publishing. If you don’t do this, you could be putting yourself and the client at risk for copyright/trademark infringement.

There are some times where the photo is downright unusable. But in those cases where a soda can is seen in the background, or a car’s logo is detracting from the focus of the photo, I recommend using Photopea. Photopea is a web-based photo editor like Photoshop but free-to-use, so long as you have an internet connection.

1. Open PhotoPea/Photoshop.
2. Open the photo you want to remove branding from.
3. Use the Spot Healing Brush tool and select “Content Aware”.
4. Brush over the area you want to remove branding from. This may take multiple passes and use of multiple tools after the fact to get the desired look. I recommend using the Smudge Tool and Eyedropper to blend colors further together.
5. Voila! You are now at a far lower risk in receiving legal repercussions from the intellectual property holder.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I drafted the second project proposal for my second Internship. Looking forward to hearing back from Tammy and hitting the ground running!

the internship work you are doing

Right now I’m moving content from the old site to the folder structure of the new site; just making sure all the media that carries over remains accessible.

the experiences you are having

Slowly but surely making progress. I’m experiencing a few hiccups with my theme that I’ve chosen, so there may yet be a point where I gather multiple themes and see which my client would prefer. Either way I think laying out the content first will help make the decision making process between themes much easier.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

If you are wanting to make an audience on mobile web, you’ll have to format your images as such. Here’s what I recommend:

1. Open Adobe Photoshop (other imaging editing software may also work).
2. Open your JPEG, PNG, GIF, RAW, or TIFF files into Photoshop’s editor.
3. Choose Save For Web from the File dropdown menu.
4. Adjust your content’s type, size, and quality to align with mobile web recommendations. For example, if needing to scale down a 1920x1080px PNG file, I would recommend saving it in 640x480px resolution, with JPG file format selected and the quality brought down to 8 (from their 0-12 scale).
5. Done! If you want, you can also make this a repeatable Photoshop action instead, but I find Save for Web to be better as it shows you the estimated file size as you edit.

the internship seeking activities you are doing

I just had a lengthy video discussion for the second internship opportunity in Oshkosh. I’ll be making a website for a church from scratch; as in, they currently have no web presence at all. So talks of creating a website, along with perhaps social media links, are all being proposed and sorted into a project scope.

the internship work you are doing

At the moment I have an instance of WordPress active to test out the form plugin I’ve chosen, Contact Form 7. Supposedly there’s a bit of a learning curve but I am interested in learning it over other options as I have consistently heard CF7 is free versus other solutions.

the experiences you are having

I’ve made progress in transitioning some of the assets from the existing site to the new site. I’m still working on drafts for layouts and logos, but oftentimes with WordPress I find it best to backup the site and just experiment within the playground. If it works, save a backup and keep moving forward. If it doesn’t, restore the backup. I think this is a better way of drafting ideas because it more accurately conveys the limitations of what is possible with your own skillset and comfort levels of working in a CMS.

mini tutorials or examples of work you did

I’ve been researching Form Plugins to use that are free and experimenting with them to find one that suits the needs of my client. The ones I have seen recommended are:

• Content Form 7
• Ninja Forms
• Caldera Forms
• Formidable
• WP Forms

Do you have any that you would recommend? List them below!