Day 1
This is the last full week of my practicum at Rethink! I can’t believe how quick everything has felt. For most of the day, I was designing props to be used on the shoot for Wednesday. I was pretty nervous because there was a quick timeline for this task, and I was afraid something would get looked over, like image rights, file set up, etc.
Day 2
Happy Tuesday! I got some props looked at in the morning by the Creative Directors and continued producing more for the set.
Day 3
Today is shoot day for the art direction project I was helping out with! Although I’m unable to go to the set, the team had a zoom call set up so that the clients could watch the shoot, where I was also able to sit in and watch. Fun fact! Sofia’s guinea pigs may or may not have been involved…stay tuned.
I also had an amazing coffee chat with Aliz, a strategist at Rethink. We had such a insightful conversation on her role as a strategist, as well as how to incorporate strategic thinking in my own work. Since my design work has been a bit slower this week, I also got to see her process on a current project she’s on and even help out a bit with outreach work.
Some key points I took away…
1. Always ask why. As designers, we tend to hold interest in unique solutions, but why should our mom, sister, friend, and neighbours care about the campaign or product? What is the incentive for them? She said her role at the beginning of any project is to keep asking creatives and accounts “why” to distill the clear strategy.
2. Timing. For campaigns and projects to “blow up” on media, a lot can be because of timing. Some projects take a bit longer to gain media traction, and sometimes current events or key historical dates can trigger attention.
The day ended off with some amazing news…after discussing with Hans, I’ve gotten a 3-month extension at Rethink as a design intern! I’m super excited to continue my journey here and really pick at everyone’s brain and learn as much as I can about the company and creative process while I’m here.
Day 4
Today is a bit of a slow day! I wrapped up most of the projects I had, so I’m continuing to help out the strategist, but aside from that, my workload is pretty much empty for the end of the week.
Day 5
It’s another slow day, but that’s okay! I spent the day mostly looking at award-winning designs on D&AD and Communication Arts to ideate some CP (Creative Proposals). Grace and Hans suggested that I think of unique ideas to pitch to the Creative Directors when I have time. I feel as if I have a long way to go for that, but it doesn’t hurt to have fun and ideate!
RECAP
I’ll end this week’s blog with a quote someone included in this week’s Friday Update at Rethink (An email featuring project updates and shoutouts to each other! It’s super fun and warm initiative they do every week).
“Any seed of doubt will blossom into a tree of pain.”
Something that always needed to be remembered: over-communicate, over-communicate, over-communicate! All the CDs and mentors I’ve had at Rethink emphasize not to hold back on questions and that it’s better to annoy them than to make a mistake or cause trouble later on. Next Monday is my official last day of practicum, and next week will be my last practicum blog post! How time flies, holy moly.