My Digital Project

One of the components of out ITAP experience is to design and create a “digital project.” To be honest, this was one of the most attractive aspects of the ITAP program, for me, because I was especially interested in learning new tools beyond my current skill set.

I was (and still am) most interested in learning a visual editing and design tool, such as Photoshop or InDesign. The process of designing a project that would allow me to learn and adequately apply these tools, however, was not as easy as I had thought it would be. It took me and my mentors a while to solidify my project but the project that we decided on will allow me to use both the skills that I have gained from my academic work at HWS as well as the new skills I will gain from learning design software through ITAP: I will be a part of the process of re-branding our current HWS IT department.

The plan is for another student worker and myself to lead the project in terms of both concept and creation of the content. All the while, we will be working closely with various members of the IT department both to gain perspectives as well as assure “approval” for the work we are doing. To me, this will be an exciting way to better understand individual roles in IT as well as each section of IT beyond what the professional interviews and general exposure offer. Further, the student worker that I am paired with is a PRO at InDesign, so I plan to take full advantage of my time with her! We will likely be using InDesign for most of the printed material (i.e. posters, logo design, etc.) so this will be a great way for me to gain exposure to the tool. It should be an interesting and very beneficial experience!

As of right now, my partner and I are in the process of creating samples for our branding concept that we will then present and hopefully gain approval for moving forward. The ultimate goal for the time we have left this semester is to have a finalized concept as well as some actual material that can begin being implemented as early as this January! Next semester, we will be able to take the feedback from our initial “trial run” and change/build upon it accordingly. By the end of next semester, it is the hope that HWS IT will have an updated and effective branding concept!

- Megan

My next post: Professional interview #2, with Kelly!