Celebrating our Summer Interns

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Meet our Summer Interns Jamie and Ethan! Throughout the summer we have seen them grow as designers into wise and intelligent professional individuals. They had the chance to dive into many categories within the design world including social designs, marketing materials, client work and more. While we are sad to see them go, we are excited for their next adventure! We know that they will continue to “stand tall” with confidence and stand out, no matter where their future takes them.

We have learned so much about Jamie and Ethan and were excited to hear about some of their favorite experiences here this summer.

Meet Jamie Loverdi:

What school are you attending?

I am a senior at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, graduating in Fall of 2022.

Major?

I am a Communications Design major with a focus on Graphic Design. I am also a double minor in History of Art and Design & Psychology.

What got you into this field?

I have been drawing my whole life really, beginning art classes when I was in first grade, followed by a technical high school to continue to study art and design. When I started at Pratt I was actually an illustration major. My first year at Pratt consisted of “foundation” classes which taught the fundamentals of art and design and exposed me to various new mediums, practices, and programs. As the year went on I found myself gravitating to more graphic-based projects and decided to switch to a Graphic Design focus during my sophomore year. 

Do you have any favorite hobbies?

I draw pretty frequently and occasionally paint (mostly in the summer when I can paint outside). I love the beach and spend as much of my summers there as possible. Recently, I got into reading so I have been doing that pretty often. I also have more recently gotten into cooking. 

Favorite Food?

Chicken Française is definitely my go-to!

Coolest place you’ve been and why?

Definitely Greece. I went this past June with my best friend and absolutely loved it. It offers so much. If you’re looking for a cultural experience, there’s amazing art, architecture, and history. It also has the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to, great food, and lots of shopping for a more relaxed time. We visited the Acropolis while we were there, which was definitely one of the coolest experiences. I really love to travel. So far, other than Greece, I have been to England, France, and Spain. I went on all of those trips with my best friend, which was such a great experience. I also have trips planned to Hungary, Austria, and Czech Republic coming up next year. Next on my list to plan is Croatia. 

Favorite thing about interning at Smith Design? 

I really enjoyed the variety of work that I have gotten to do. I have been exposed to so much and worked on so many types of projects, which has been really fun. It has allowed me to learn so much over a relatively short period of time. One of my favorite projects was a client project where we had the opportunity to design a few different concepts and even got to present them in a mock client meeting. It was really great to experience the process first hand from the start of receiving a brief, designing, collaborating, and presenting. 

Challenge you faced at Smith Design and what was the outcome? 

I think the biggest challenge has been balancing the timelines of due dates. I have been working on multiple things a day, with varying due dates. Often the turnaround time of completing a  project is pretty quick, so it has definitely been an adjustment to what I am used to. This has turned out to be a good thing, as it has taught me a lot and really helped me with my time management. 

Fun trick or tip you learned at Smith Design? 

One of the designers, Jess, taught me a trick in Illustrator to recolor artwork that I have not been able to stop using. It allows you to change specific colors in a selection, alter the placement of colors with a palette, and generate new color palettes. It is so helpful in so many different scenarios and saves so much time. 

Meet Ethan Wolfsberg:

What school are you attending?  

I am a senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Major?

I am a Packaging Design major.

What got you into this field or major?

I took a graphic design class in high school and just fell in love with design. I ended up looking into FIT since it’s a SUNY school and I’m from upstate NY, and at FIT I discovered their Packaging Design Department.

Do you have any favorite hobbies?  

My favorite hobby is probably starting new hobbies. Playing the guitar, embroidering, writing poetry, Tai Chi, skateboarding, and more. I just enjoy trying out new things whenever I can. 

Favorite Food?

Nothing beats a good baguette with some olive oil and vinegar. 

Coolest place you’ve been and why?  

I think the coolest place I’ve been was Meow Wolf’s “House of Eternal Return” in Sante Fe, New Mexico. It’s a wild immersive art experience where you enter this house and as you go through you’re transported to this surreal world. Each section is made up of art and design of a bunch of creative people. Going through the experience was very inspiring to me, and was a large influence for me to go into a creative field.

Fun fact about you? 

I’ve read/listened to 15 books over the course of this summer!

Favorite thing about interning at Smith Design?  

It is a very welcoming atmosphere and just about every day I was getting to work on something new and gain a variety of experience, from packaging design to branding, to social media, motion graphics, and marketing. 

Favorite project worked on while interning?  

It was super cool to get to work with big brands that I had known for so long. Getting to see behind the curtain and potentially have an impact with the brands that I’ve known all my life was a really fulfilling feeling.

Challenge you faced at Smith Design and what was the outcome?  

One challenge I faced was how much quicker the pace here is compared to a project at school where you might be working on a project all by yourself for weeks. In the professional world working with a team, the timelines are much quicker. In the end I think I’ve been able to become much more capable in a team setting, and am able to keep myself more organized!

Fun trick or tip you learned at Smith Design? 

I’ve learned a ton of Illustrator and Photoshop techniques that I’m sure are not as exciting to other people as they are to me. For example if you hold option and click on a linked file in Illustrator, it opens the linked file. Who knew?!