Since January, I've been working with my mentor Lisa at Gallagher and Design in San Francisco. I've learned many aspects of a designer's job by watching what Lisa and her office do, and most significantly I have become familiar with the concept of sustainability. Learning about sustainable design has shown me how society, economy, and the environment are interdependent upon one another. Through the course of my Capstone project, my research on sustainability has been my most important learning tool.
While working with Lisa I learned not only how product life cycles and other design factors work, but also how to better myself. I have developed new values concerning the natural resource protection, fair work, economy, and a host of other political issues that I had previously been oblivious to. I have also gained the social skills needed to operate in a business setting, which will undoubtedly help me in my future career, whatever it may be. On top of these realizations, I am still convinced that I am interested in this field of study- this project has reinforced my goals.
Some parts of my project's journey were stressful. I had some trouble seeing Lisa regularly because I was dependent on both my mom and Caltrain for transportation, and because I had to attend school until 3:00 every weekday my time with her was limited to about three hours each time. Despite the difficulties, I was able to learn a good deal about what truly interested me during my project hours.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Finishing Up
On Wednesday, April 10th, I went into Gallagher again to organize the closet catalog. The last bin I sorted was full of fabric, which made me want to go home and sew. Lisa gave me some more products to research, and I researched them to see which sustainability certifications they had. We started to compile a list of the eco-friendly materials so we can explain to her office how to build more consciously and sustainably. I felt about the same as I have been for the last month.
My project hours are 13.5 and counting.
My project hours are 13.5 and counting.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
I Did Something New
On Monday, April 8th, I spent one hour doing research for Lisa. She had asked me via email to use the site http://ecoscorecard.com to enter the names of the companies that I've been endlessly listing, to see which were more sustainable, or "eco-friendly" than the others. Out of about 30 brand names I looked up, only one was certified through the site. For Gallagher, that might mean making a lot of new connections, if they choose to become more "green" (my goal is to help them become more green by the time I leave). Lisa has told me that in future projects, she'd like to see sustainability take a more prevalent role in the way Gallagher chooses its materials.
I have yet to explore ecoscorecard further; there is more information about what is or is not sustainable there that could truly benefit my project and future actions. However; I might need to download software for digital design before I can see ecoscorecard's full potential. Since Cal Poly's City and Reigonal Planning department requires I have that anyway, I might get a program so I can design like a professional in my spare time (joking).
One more hour leaves me with 11.5 hours completed. At around 4:00 today, I'll be going over to Lisa's office again, to do more cataloging.
I have yet to explore ecoscorecard further; there is more information about what is or is not sustainable there that could truly benefit my project and future actions. However; I might need to download software for digital design before I can see ecoscorecard's full potential. Since Cal Poly's City and Reigonal Planning department requires I have that anyway, I might get a program so I can design like a professional in my spare time (joking).
One more hour leaves me with 11.5 hours completed. At around 4:00 today, I'll be going over to Lisa's office again, to do more cataloging.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Guess What I Did This Time?
Yesterday, March 21st, I actually began something (slightly) different! No longer did I have to read magazines- I worked with materials. I documented what brands and types of materials were in the bins under the shelf, everything from carpet swatches to squares of sheet metal and architectural glass. I also started my own documenting; I took pictures of the materials I thought were cool. A lot of the woods and stone materials were sustainably sourced, and will be useful examples for my final project presentation.
The word document I use to catalog is so long now that I don't remember everything that's on it, and I have learned to get to the train station early on the way home, so I don't have to cram myself into the last available seat, next to the crazy man. It's the practical things we learn that matter, anyway.
That was the last two hours of 10 and a half I have worked.
The word document I use to catalog is so long now that I don't remember everything that's on it, and I have learned to get to the train station early on the way home, so I don't have to cram myself into the last available seat, next to the crazy man. It's the practical things we learn that matter, anyway.
That was the last two hours of 10 and a half I have worked.
More Cataloging
Just as expected, I spent two hours on March 13th (from 3:45 to 5:45 pm) recording the title, genre, and publication date of each catalog in Gallagher's storage closet. I became so bored that I started eavesdropping on Lisa and her coworkers, who were out in the office. They were hilarious, but also hard at work, conferring about how to make themselves more efficient. I made it to the last binder. Next time, I would start cataloging their actual samples, the ones in bins underneath the shelves.
I have completed a running total of eight hours and thirty minutes with my mentor.
I have completed a running total of eight hours and thirty minutes with my mentor.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
More Books, More Pictures
Like I'd anticipated, I spent two hours of my intern work on February 20th cataloging whatever else was on the shelf in the storage closet. While I still haven't finished, I'm doing what it takes. I see it as practice for real life- I think that jobs that people get before they graduate high school tend to be like this. Besides, I'm improving my organization skills!
I know it sounds as if my mentor has been ignoring me, but she definitely has not. She's been keeping in contact with me outside of my working hours to see that I'm also putting in time to do research on sustainability. We recently explored ways that I can help her educate her office about sustainable practices, while she helps me develop a better understanding about her work. It seems as though we'll be giving a presentation to her office at the end of my internship which gives her colleagues ways to implement sustainable practices in their day-to-day actions. I hope that I'll be able to use some of this presentation in the one I'll be giving at school in May.
Apart from the paperwork, I have been learning from being in Lisa's working environment. Each time I visit, I see and hear what goes on in her typical workday. She does some traveling, at least once every two week, to meet with clients or attend meetings, and she spends a lot of her time online or over the phone, communicating with various people about a host of different things. Her job demands good social skills, organization, timeliness, and creativity (to my relief). I expect I'll be doing the same cataloging next time I visit. I am unsure what I'll do after that, but I know Lisa has more work for me which will benefit both of us.
This has been the last two hours of six and a half that I've spent on the Capstone Project.
I know it sounds as if my mentor has been ignoring me, but she definitely has not. She's been keeping in contact with me outside of my working hours to see that I'm also putting in time to do research on sustainability. We recently explored ways that I can help her educate her office about sustainable practices, while she helps me develop a better understanding about her work. It seems as though we'll be giving a presentation to her office at the end of my internship which gives her colleagues ways to implement sustainable practices in their day-to-day actions. I hope that I'll be able to use some of this presentation in the one I'll be giving at school in May.
Apart from the paperwork, I have been learning from being in Lisa's working environment. Each time I visit, I see and hear what goes on in her typical workday. She does some traveling, at least once every two week, to meet with clients or attend meetings, and she spends a lot of her time online or over the phone, communicating with various people about a host of different things. Her job demands good social skills, organization, timeliness, and creativity (to my relief). I expect I'll be doing the same cataloging next time I visit. I am unsure what I'll do after that, but I know Lisa has more work for me which will benefit both of us.
This has been the last two hours of six and a half that I've spent on the Capstone Project.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Independence!
On Wednesday, February 13th, I took Caltrain to Lisa's office for the first time. I hadn't taken it solo before, so I was a little nervous, but I ended up enjoying watching all the businesspeople glancing awkwardly at each other.
As previously mentioned, I began working in their storage "closet". Lisa asked me to catalog all their print resources, which were mostly product sample brochures and catalogs. I set up my laptop in my little corner and spent the next hour and a half recording the titles, publication years, and categories of all the magazines I could get to before I had to catch the train home. While my job was obviously mundane, I enjoyed it enough. Everyone knows office work is boring, and I wasn't expecting much to begin with. I had a four-page-long Word document I had to show for my work by the end of the day, which made me feel more accomplished than I otherwise would have. I managed to catalog about one fourth of the book-like materials in the storage room. They have a lot of pamphlets from the 80's.
I got really excited from looking at their product catalogs. Call it sad, but seeing what kinds of materials and finances go into a typical building project intrigues me. It was almost like reading picture books, just more educational. I started to get inspired by what I was looking at, and I realized that that's the exact reason why I've always been interested in this field: I see materials, and I want to create and build things. I was pretty tempted to appropriate some of their more colorful magazines, but I resisted.
My plan for the following Wednesday, and probably the next few visits after that, was to continue compiling a database of the office's reading materials (and continue to take Caltrain, like grown-ups do). This visit marked the last 90 minutes of my project, setting a running total of four and a half hours completed.
As previously mentioned, I began working in their storage "closet". Lisa asked me to catalog all their print resources, which were mostly product sample brochures and catalogs. I set up my laptop in my little corner and spent the next hour and a half recording the titles, publication years, and categories of all the magazines I could get to before I had to catch the train home. While my job was obviously mundane, I enjoyed it enough. Everyone knows office work is boring, and I wasn't expecting much to begin with. I had a four-page-long Word document I had to show for my work by the end of the day, which made me feel more accomplished than I otherwise would have. I managed to catalog about one fourth of the book-like materials in the storage room. They have a lot of pamphlets from the 80's.
I got really excited from looking at their product catalogs. Call it sad, but seeing what kinds of materials and finances go into a typical building project intrigues me. It was almost like reading picture books, just more educational. I started to get inspired by what I was looking at, and I realized that that's the exact reason why I've always been interested in this field: I see materials, and I want to create and build things. I was pretty tempted to appropriate some of their more colorful magazines, but I resisted.
My plan for the following Wednesday, and probably the next few visits after that, was to continue compiling a database of the office's reading materials (and continue to take Caltrain, like grown-ups do). This visit marked the last 90 minutes of my project, setting a running total of four and a half hours completed.
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