Notes from Maya at Schwadesign: I started with a tour of the studio and an introduction to what I was going to be doing during my internship. I was expecting the usual tasks such as organizing books. Josh told me to explore their website, to learn more about the studio he started almost 12 years ago. While exploring, I found out what a schwa is, and where their logo came from. A schwa, represented by the upside-down ‘e’, is a “neutral middle vowel…subtle, yet necessary.” A schwa makes communication clear, courteous, and creative. And throughout my internship, I have witnessed the people at Schwa work enthusiastically and diligently to communicate their clients needs and uniqueness.
But on my very first day, I knew things were going to be different when Josh, my boss, turned to me and asked, “Do you like to cook?” — we discussed the parallels between design and cooking. Type, color, form, function, and content are critical to design just as timing, presentation, and ingredients are to design and cooking. Segueing into my project, I got really excited because I didn’t think that I would be able to design something that would actually benefit an organization that I care about. Eventually I decided to design a poster and logo for an environmental organization at my school named Eco. This was very important to me because Eco is the only opportunity at my school for the students to be involved with environmental awareness. Students work side by side with the teachers to make sustainable choices as the school develops. I wanted to inform the students that they could make a change for the school and in their own environmental footprint. Making a poster that was informative and attractive was a way to encourage awareness and involvement in the meetings, and in the organization. After some research and writing a project proposal, I learned to approach projects as being given an opportunity, not given a problem that needs help.
The studio wall is decorated with a compilation of photographs, posters, illustrations, and labels. On top of the refrigerator, there is a very large sculpture of two bananas, and hidden in the high Pawtucket mill ceilings there is a large disco ball suspended. This strangely reminds me of my room because I too have my assemblage embellishing my walls, as well as a disco ball. (Sadly, I do not have the bananas.) Being in a real work environment is awesome; at Schwa there is normally around five people in the studio, a lot of the team, called Ministers, work outside the studio.
I have always wanted to pursue an artistic career path, and after this experience I am even more eager to explore the world of graphic design.