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THANKS I would like to thank Laurea University of Applied Sciences for giving me the opportunity to study in this school during this exchange program. I would also like to thank Conrad Lyaruu for helping me integrate in his school and creating a really rewarding exchange. I also want to thank Smart Insiders for welcoming me in their team and allow me to have new experiences. Thanks to this company, I discovered tourism and trip organization. Thank you to all the team for integrating me since the beginning, trusting on me and giving me responsibilities. Doing a year abroad helped me understand better the differences between the countries, the working ways, the culture, and comforts me in my future professional projects.
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INTRODUCTION
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FIRST SEMESTER
UNIVERSITY IN FINL AND
The culture The School First project Second Project Contributions of the Semester
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SECOND SEMESTER INTERNSHIP IN SPAIN
The company My missions Trip organisation Trip pictures/video Front door design MadridNightLife Website design Contributions of the Semester
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CONCLUSION
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DISCOVERING NEW CULTURES AND WORK PROCESS FROM ONE END OF EUROPE TO THE OTHER. 4
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y name is Juliette Boiteux, I’m 21 years old and currently on my fourth year in l’Institut de l’Internet et du Multimedia, specialized in Visual Communication. For my Master, I decided to turn towards the international program, to get more experience and improve my languages, my adaptation and communication skills. By choosing this program, I can have a global vision on the digital world and the different ways of working. Previously, I discovered the Web and Design fields during my DUT Métiers du Multimédia et de l’Internet, where I could become familiar with design, communication and web tools and softwares. I spent one semester in Montreal, Canada, before coming to IIM, where I could broaden my skills in graphic design. Furthermore, I realised a six months’ internship in a digital agency in Paris, as an Artistic Director Assistant.
I decided to study in Finland in Laurea University to discover a new culture but also to learn the Scandinavian method of working. My internship is in a travel agency based in Madrid called Smart Insiders. I chose this internship to deepen my graphical skills but also to improve my communication ability and my integration capability. The goal of this year abroad is to understand the difference of work between the countries, by adapting itself and adapt your behaviour. My report will be separated in two main parts. The first one will concern my semester in my host university in Finland. The second part will describe my experience in my internship in Smart Insiders. In both parts, I will develop the culture of the country explain about the school/company, then I will talk about my missions in each experience,and I will take stock of each semester.
I decided to keep doing my studies in IIM studying Web Design but also to perform my project management skills. This school allows me to have a double skill, in addition to an opening on the international.
The goal of this year abroad is to understand the difference of work between the countries, by adapting itself and adapt your behaviour.
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FIRST SEMESTER University in Finland
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THE CULTURE I choose Finland because I wanted to discover the culture of the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway and Finland). The Finnish life is really contrasted because they have a different vision of things. This northerncountry state of mind hey have pop culture star playing heavy metal or authors that doesn’t fit in the box. The capital of Finland is Helsinki, this is a small capital (a bit less than 600 000 people). The city is airy and clean, modern and full of cultural events and places.
This is pleasant to have a walk in the city center, never crowded and where you always find something new. You can find the main shops in the shopping malls or in the main streets, but this city is full of little stores, concept stores and ephemeral stores. The daily life is light-spirited, even if the native language is Finnish, everyone speaks English. Finland is part of the European Union, the money is Euro and there is one hour time difference.
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In Finland, nature is everywhere, even if you live in town. The country is full of forests, lakes and islands. You can travel easily to Russia, Sweden or Estonia by boat. And of course when the christmas season is coming, Finland offers amazing experiences in Lapland, the Santa Claus Village or in the arctic circle.
Finland has a lot of clichés, but most of them are true: - almost every house has a sauna, - 6% of the country are lakes, - the “Ruskea” autumn with so many colours and beautiful trees, - finnish is a really difficult language, - salmon and potatoes in every meal, - phosphorescent accessory for pedestrians at night, - from 2-3 hours of daylight in december,
and much more...
The number of inhabitants and the predominant nature is making Finland a really calm and peaceful country, where you feel safe. Finnish people are shy and discreet, respectful of other people’s private life. Their behaviour about the respect of the rules and laws is irreproachable. They are solitary, but they will do all they can to make you feel safe and comfortable.
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THE SCHOOL My host university was Laurea University of Applied Sciences. I was studying Business and Management in Hyvinkaa campus. This campus is located 40 kilometers north from Helsinki. All of the work in this school is based on self learning. The students are working by teams (between 4 and 6 persons) and each team has a project manager. Each student is working on two different projects for real clients. Each member of the team has to work 16 hours a week on each project. The first 8 hours, the team is meeting in school to work together, share their work and discuss about the project.
The other 8 hours, each team member is working by his own. We are working with international people, Finnish but also other Erasmus students, so everything is in English. Each team has a project manager and a secretary. The project manager will be in charge of delegating the tasks, create a group cohesion, communicate with the client, and make sure the deadlines are respected. The project manager is also the one that lead the meetings with the team, the teachers and the client. The project involves in several steps; the first step is the theoretical learning. The team has to learn several skills and tools to realise the project. In the project, the team has to develop about 5-6 topics related to the demand of the client.They have to write a theory part for each subject, using academic sources and being aware of the plagiat. Furthermore, the second part of the project is the realisation itself. The team has to put in practice what they learned before, reusing the tools and arguing the decisions with the smatterings.
This self learning method allow the student and the team to become more autonomous and adapt the information research with the final goal of the project.
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FIRST PROJECT International violinist project, Market Research and Branding This first project was my main project because I was the manager of it. We had to realise a market research and a branding for a Finnish violinist. She is playing classical music but with more. She mixes classical with rock or jazz. Her image is based on her eccentricity. She wants to be known in France, Russia and Germany, so the team looked for the classical music market in each country. The second part of this project was to work on her image, how to interact with the fans, how to be perceived online and how to improve her communication. We divided this project in two parts. The first one was all the marketing research about the other countries. We had to first analyse what she is doing, in which category she is, and who are her concurrents in Finland. After analysing this, we were looking for the same things but in the 3 countries she wants to play in. We realized a big part about the concurrents, who they are, where they play, with who, for who‌ When analysing the concurrents, we set up a SWOT analysis. In this part, we also realised a PESTEL analysis to help her understand the environment where she wants to go. And in addition, we built an ID for each country, with all the information she needs to know, such age the average age, the type of music the people like, the average salary, and so on‌
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The second part of this project was the branding a communication. The team made a research about her artist name, and also about a slogan that she can use for her albums or live concerts. We also realised a website for her. We had to create a graphical chart and realise it. I was in charge of the realisation of the project. We decided to use WordPress for this website, to make it easier for her to update the informations. With the help of a WordPress template, I created an universe that fit in her convictions and behaviour. She wanted to highlight her news
and music, this is why I chose a template specially created for musicians, with a soundcloud player. As the project manager on this projects, I was the one in charge of the relation between the team and the teachers, but also between the team and the client. I was in charge of delegating the work, make sure that we respect the deadlines and that we are answering the client’s demand.
merviviolin.com
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SECOND PROJECT
Market Research in Dubaï for Eduhouse This was my second project, less important, and more focused on marketing itself. We had to realise a market research for a training company in Finland. They are organising seminars and traineeship in Helsinki. They want to grow up and to expand to the Emirates, and more specially Dubaï area. We realised an analysis of the country, the culture, religion, behaviours, etc… because in the European countries and the Arabic ones have a lot of differences, and this is really important to understand this differences before organizing seminars there.
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In the same time, we analysed the competition in Dubaï, creating a SWOT analysis and a competitive analysis. We also built a PESTEL analysis to show the environment there. During this project, we realised a lot of pure marketing, not really related to the digital or the new technologies.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SEMESTER During this semester in Finland, I gained a lot of news experiences and skills. First of all I really improved my English, here in Finland, everyone speaks Finnish and English fluently. The fact of being with international people also helped me to improve my English. I discovered a new culture, and shared mine with other people. In a professional way, I gained another experience in project managing and interaction with a real client. I become more professional and I am now able to coordinate an international team. The negative point of this exchange is that I didn’t practice enough graphic design. Even the report that we had to write needed to follow a special layout, so I couldn’t create anything to make the project more graphical. I was lucky to be in charge of one project where a website was needed, I could use the design softwares and have a graphical research. It was good to learn more about marketing, but because it was not related enough to my field I felt disappointed and wanted to have more creative projects and really learn new graphical skills. To resume, I will say that everything is good to learn, even if market research is not really what I like. I now know how to use technical marketing tools and during all the semester I improved a lot my management skills. For this semester in the North of Europe, I discovered this typical culture, their way to work and I loved their style and all the creativity that pops out of this country. I meet unforgettable people and I created real relationship with them, I lived amazing experiences.
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SECOND SEMESTER Internship in Spain
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THE COMPANY Smart Insiders is a multicultural event organization based in Madrid, Spain, that operatest. Smart Insiders specializes in organizing events and trips and that provides its customers with high quality services to the young international public. The target market is young internationals based in Madrid. (International students, Erasmus exchange students, students from the USA or Latin America, or other students, au Pairs, language assistants, master students, “Escuela Española” students or interns). We, as Smart Insiders, aim to make the young international public feel comfortable, learn and explore as much as possible.
We aim to make the best out of the young international public’s stay and cannot emphasize enough that each one who participates in the social, cultural and educational events —whether a student, an Au Pair or traveler —benefits from international relationships and increased access not only to the Spanish but also to the global community.
Our team takes pride in offering the highest quality of services in the areas of transportation, accommodation, legalassistance and many more. Living abroad in a new culture can be personally and culturally rewarding. Therefore, we promote opportunities for everyone to experience the Spanish culture authentically and with local people. Our social and cultural activities consists of visiting theatre plays, flamenco shows, international language exchanges, parties, free-walking tours and more.
Smart Insiders knows exactly what the young international public is looking for and is also aware of potential problems and challenges it can face before or during its stay in Madrid.
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Competition
Smart insiders has 2 main competitors in Madrid. The first company is Be Madrid and the other is CityLife madrid. Both of them are offering more or less the same services as us. They do trips around Spain, they organise cultural outings in Madrid, but what they have extra is night life. Next year, Smart Insider is planning to open a new field dedicated to the nightlife in Madrid. On social media, Smart insiders has 10000 likes on Facebook and 1200 on Instagram, Be Madrid has 14000 on Facebook and 4000 on Instagram, and finally CityLife Madrid has 13000 on Facebook and 3700 on Instagram.
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We are currently increasing the number of followers on the social medias, thanks to the videos and all the daily post we are uploading on them. The competitors have a website, unlike Smart Insiders. Smart Insiders is providing trips with better quality, we are going to more places and we are organizing more activities in the trips. For a similar trip, Smart Insider is from 10 to 20 percent less expensive than the competition. Our weakness is that we don’t have the nightlife section in Madrid yet but we are organising unique trips and we do our best to make them unforgettable.
Economic context
Smart Insiders’ offer is for foreign students, so the spanish economics doesn’t reach them. The politics about studying and working in Spain is to take into account, to understand what are the conditions the students/interns have to live in Spain. The Erasmus program make everything easier, the students from Europe benefit of a scholarship and a support during the semester/year abroad. Most of the people are staying in Madrid from one semester to one year, and they want to visit the most they can.
We try to organise trips that fit in the target’s request, we take into account where they want to go with a student budget. All the the trips Smart Insiders is making are by bus, and we stay in hotels or hostels. Our goal is to get the best prices, to encourage more people to travel with us. We are open-minded and student-friendly. During the trips, we make themdiscover new cultures and share good moments with us, for the time they stay in Spain.
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THE SMART TEAM Smart Insiders is a small company, we are less than 15 people. We are a young and dynamic team, coming from all over the world.
The CEO makes all the decisions, he is working on the client relation, the external relations, the financials, the communication inside the team and with the clients. He is working equally with the treasurer, which is also working on organizing trips. Then, the team is divided into different poles. There is the customer relations sector. They are interacting with the clients.
An other pole is the external relations field. They are in charge of establishing contracts with the hotels, the guides or the bus companies. The communication pole in in charge of the communication inside the team, improving the communication channels and the general organisation in the office. They also work on the external communication, mostly on the social medias.
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minican ublic Rep
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CEO - TREASURER
CUSTOMER R E L AT I O N SERVICE
EXTERNAL R E L AT I O N SERVICE
DESIGN POLE Claudio: Artistic Director Graphic, audiovisual and Web Designer - Jorge: Graphic Designer - Jorge: Audiovisual Designer Graphic Designer - Liz:
- Me: C O M M U N I C AT I O N SERVICE
Finally, the last pole is the design one, where I am in. The Artistic Director is validating every creation the design team is making. Our work is various, a big part is realising all the elements for the social media. Another part is creating the flyers and itineraries for the trips. We are also creating intern designs, for the office and the internal communication. Then during the trip, we are the “trip photographer�, we take all the official pictures from the people in the trip. In the same time, we are also recording every moments to make a video montage.
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MY MISSIONS Trips and design
I had a high variety of missions during this internship: I created flyers, digital posts, videos, pictures, but I was also interacting with the clients or organising the trips. Most of my job was to create designs and layouts, but a big part of this internship was also to learn tourism, trip organisation, managing a group, improving my languages skills and also my self confidence and communication skills. I will develop my missions sorted by type and explain how I was working, using which tool and my personal point of view of each project.
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TRIP O R G A N I S AT I O N Smart Insiders is organizing trips every weekend. There are different types of trips. The first type is the “One Day Trip”. During this trip, we leave Madrid in the morning by bus, we are visiting a city near Madrid, we spend the day there and we come back in Madrid in the evening. The second type is the “Festival Day Trip”. This is almost the same than the day trips but instead of visiting a city, we are going to a special Festival really famous in Spain, such as “Las Fallas de Valencia”. On this trips, we leave Madrid really early in the morning, we spend the day and the evening in the festival, and we come back in Madrid during the night. After that, we have longer trips, the “Weekend Break” or the “Weekend Gateway”. This trip are during the weekend, normally from Friday morning until Sunday night. During this trips we are going for example to Portugal, in the North of Spain (Pais Vasco), or in Barcelona. We have more time to go further and explore other big cities in Spain or around. And finally, the last type of trip is the “Breakaway Adventure”. These trips are the longer one.that Smart Insiders is organizing. From one week to 14 days, we are travelling in Morocco or all around Europe.
For all the trips, we are travelling by bus, we are 3 leaders per trip, for a group of more or less 55 people. The organisation team will be composed by one “leader” member, this will be the expert of the trip, the one that knows the places and is in charge of the trip. Then in every trip we need an English speaker member, because even if most of the people are from Latin countries, some people don’t speak Spanish. And finally a trip photographer; this person will have to record and catch the best moments of the trips and take pictures of everyone. As an intern, I was never the leader of a trip, because for most of them, it was the first time in the cities. I was the english speaker member, even if it’s hard in the beginning to translate from English to Spanish because my Spanish is not fluent. I was also the photographer during the trips, I really like taking pictures and I am in the graphic design pole in the office, so I have more facilities to shoot great moments.
But travelling is not only enjoying and discovering new places, there is a lot to do as an organisator, before, during and after the trips.
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Before the trip The first step before going to a trip is to choose the right place. We have to be aware of the countries/cities where people want to go. We have to think like if we were Erasmus students or students doing an exchange in Madrid. They are only here for a couple of month so they want to see as much as they can, privileging the most famous places around Madrid and Spain.
Then we are creating the event on Facebook to inform people the upcoming trip. This is the first step of the interaction with the customer. We don’t show the exact itinerary because we will adapt the itinerary in function of the number of registration. After that, we create an itinerary day by day and start organising the activities and booking the hotels in the cities. We have to take into account the geographical places, the time we want to spend on each city and the extra-activities we want to organise. We have to call hotels/hostels to book the rooms for 55 peoples. The external relations pole is in charge of that, thanks to the previous trips we made we now have a lot of partnership with the hotels. On every trip, we hire a guide from the city we are visiting. The “Walking Tours” are really important when you arrive in a city to know the place better and learn more about the culture of the city. Sometimes we have own city’s activity, such
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as a boat trip on a river, the visit of a special monument (Eiffel Tour, Palacio de Sintra…). For these activities we need to know before going the best things to see and plan them for a group of 50 persons. We also book extra-activities like special dinner, typical restaurants to try the speciality of the city/ region. One important part before the trip is to welcome and inform the people about the trip, before they pay for it. To pay for the trips, the travellers have to come to the office, in the same time we explain them all the specific informations about this trip (for example if they need a visa). One week before the trip, we send an email to everyone with a recapitulation of everything, and also a sheet where they can sign up for the rooms in the hotels. Finally, before going to the trip, the 3 organisators have to learn about the city and the culture, to be able to answer the questions of the clients. At least one of the 3 organisator knows the cities well, and the two others needs to know the basics. And then, we are ready to go...
During the trip During the trip we have to be open, welcoming and smiling to the clients. We have to inform the customer all the time, we are the representants of the trip, and make them feel safe and enclosed by us.
Then we have to supervise the group during the walking tours or other activities. . During the activities we make sure everyone is here and have registered for the activities.
We always have to juggle between Spanish and English, I improved my languages skills efficiently. We have to be professional and lead the group. The general ambiance of the group has a big impact on the good proceeding of the trip, if the group have a good time, it will be more easy for us to lead the trip. This is really important to take care of the customer’s feelings and needs to make a trip a success and create a group cohesion.
My most important job during all of the trips is to take pictures and record videos. I have to take pictures of everyone, catching them having fun to make memories of this moments in the trips. On every famous places, or where the landscape is beautiful, I make group pictures and I shoot teh people. In the same time I have to record videos, of the people but also of the places we see. I have to catch the best moments and stay tuned of everything happening.
A task that doesn’t seem to be one is to talk in the microphone. On every organised trip there are people speaking in the micros. For me it was a big challenge during the first trip; I had to speak in front of 55 people that I didn’t know. The first time it felt strange but after some practice I started to like talking in the bus. The most important things we have to say in the bus is to explain the itinerary of the trip, keep saying the meeting hours to make sure everyone will be on time.
During a trip, the itinerary cannot be followed from the beginning until the end. Some problems can happen and we have to adapt the planned itinerary. For example, when I was in Portugal, the weather was so bad that we had to cancel the boat trip, so we had to find another activity, and adapt the schedule. We have to react fast and even when we have problems like that, we have to show positiveness and professionalism all the time.
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After the trip After the trip, our work is not over, first of all we create a survey that we send to the people from the trip, to ask for their feedback on the trip in general, but also more specifically on the activities, hotels, etc… We also ask them what they thought about our team, the quality of the bus and if they have anything else to add to this trip. This surveys are really helpful for us because we can analyse the feedback of the customer, this can only make us improving our services. We can know how they lived their experience with Smart Insiders. With the feedback of the clients and our own feedback, we discuss with all the Smart Insiders’ team and make decisions about what to keep, what to improve, what to change in the trips. After every trip, there is something to improve, a trip can never be perfect, even if most of the times, we only have positive feedbacks on the trips. One big part of the “after-trip” is to select all the pictures that we will put on facebook, but also to create the video. I had to make the videos of every trip I went on. I really like doing these videos because I recorded so many good moments, this is a pleasure to make a video montage with the elements that I have. I will explain more about the creation process in another part of this report.
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We need to stay in contact with the people from the trip, make them feel special and remember them they lived an incredible experience with us. For that we are really active on social medias, we show the pictures of the trips, the video, we like their own pictures and comment them. This is also really pleasing to see the shares, likes and comments on the videos I made or the pictures I took, they want to share their trip with their family or friends and they have a lot of success.
TRIP PICTURES
Just like I stated before, during the trips I had to take pictures. I always have my camera with me, trying to catch every moments of the trips. The goal is to take pictures of the places we visit - of course, but also pictures of the people, to make memories for them, so they can share and show their experience with us later. Outside work, I love taking pictures, I like seeing thing from another angle and make things look better. I really enjoy taking pictures during the trips, make people happy and being the one that will give all the memories. During a 2-3 days trip, I can take from 400 to 600 pictures. Of course we are not going to post all of them on Facebook, but I want to be sure that I am not missing anything.
Here is a gallery photo with some of the pictures in the trips. You can find all of them on Smart Insiders’ Facebook page
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P O R T U G A L
LISBON, SINTRA, PORTO
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As my first trip, I was a bit shy taking pictures of everyone, but I felt more confident after the first shoots.
I had to take care of my camera not it is all wet, but I still had to take pictures of the travellers in the viewpoints.
The biggest issue was the weather, during all the trip it was raining and the sky was really cloudy.
As a first experience of trip photographer, I can say that I liked my job and enjoyed this moments.
S E G O V I A
PEDRAZA, EL ESCORIAL
Segovia is a day trip, I had to take pictures during this trip, but during the “day trips” you don’t really have time to create a real relationship with the travellers, I just had to take pictures of them and helping them having fun.
I liked taking pictures in this trip because the weather was really nice and the landscapes were amazing.
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P A I S
V A S C O
BILBAO, SAN SEBASTIAN, BIARRITZ
During this week end trip, I was sharing my job with Claudio, we were both taking the pictures for this trip. Unfortunately, my camera got broken in the middle of the trip. Thankfully I have an on-board camera (like
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a GoPro) that saved me for the rest of the trip. Of course the quality is not comparable to a reflex’s one, but people were interested on this little camera and made it really fun.
M O R O C C O
T R I P
CHAOUEN, SAHARA, MARRAKESH...
During this long trip, I had time to know the travellers and understand their behaviour, and what they like. This helped me catching good moments. Thanks to the weather, the quality of the pictures is nicer. Because my camera got broken, I had to learn how to use a new one, all the settings
are different and when you are use to a special model, it is hard to change to another one at the beginning. During the camel safari, I was so excited that I shooted all the time, but it was hard because the camels are moving a lot and there is no stability.
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VIDEOS OF THE TRIPS
Also during the trips, I had to record sequences to make a video montage after each trip. I realised more or less 6 videos. Some of them are small ones, because it was for day trips or to present the cultural activities in Madrid. I used different softwares, to learn more and to make my own opinion of my favourite tool. I will explain the main videos, how I realised it, how long it took me to realize it and my personal feelings about each videos. After the trip, I have to sort all the rushes and select the ones I want to use in the video. My method is to rename every video, with the name of the place/city and what the video is about. For example, sintra-largeview. mov. This step takes some time, but it help me organise myself and make me save time later.
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Then I start to work on the Adobe software, putting all the rushes together. First of all I choose a song, for me this is really important that the video has rhythm and the beat of the video needs to be linked to the images. The videos I am realising last from 1 minutes to 3 minutes, they are short and not monotone or too much repetitive. To arouse the viewer’s interest, we need diverse shots and a shaded music. We want to create a surprise effect, incite the curiosity of the viewer. The most important is not to lose their attention, this is why we change the shots regularly and show new scenes. During the video, I’m not showing the same place/angle of view more than 15 seconds. I want to sort out emotions, mystery and suspense during my videos.
First Video: Weekend BreakAway to Portugal
The trip to Portugal was my first trip, I was in the company since one week, and they told me to come to this trip to get to know better our convictions and how we work. They asked me to take the pictures and to record a video for Facebook. During this trip, it was raining all the time, it was really hard to film good sequences because the camera was all wet, and the lighting was not really good. I had to adapt in this situation and bring out the best of it.
For this video, I choosed to use AfterEffects, because I am comfortable with this software and it was the first video that I realised in Smart Insiders. I wanted to be sure of the tool I was using, to show a faster result
The video is posted on Facebook http://bit.do/VideoPortugal
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Second Video : BreakAway Adventure to Morocco
This is my favourite video. We went to Morocco for one week, we travelled all around the country and saw many different places and experienced the different culture. One of the best thing to record and shoot was the expedition in the Sahara desert. We spent one night in the middle of the desert, riding camels and making a 4x4 safari in the dunes. For this trip, the weather was really
good, which helped me catching bright scenes. The people during this trip liked to play the game with me and were enjoying being filmed. Thanks to this good fellowship, my video is full of good humor and joy of life, just like Smart Insiders’ convictions. I also added more animations in this video, try to play a lot with the rhythm of the music to really catch the viewer’s attention.
The video is posted on Facebook http://bit.do/VideoMorocco
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Third Video : Flamenco Show
This is a really small video, destinated to promote the cultural activities that Smart Insiders is proposing in Madrid. I went to a Flamenco Show to record the people dancing. The goal of this video was to catch the attention of the viewer in less than 30 seconds. We uploaded a video specially for facebook (around 30 seconds) showing this typical dance, and an other video specially for instagram (only 15 seconds). The scenes are the same from one video to the other, I just accelerated the rhythm of the Instagram
one. While realising this video I tried to catch obviously the dance, but I wanted to show the emotions, the vibes and the the ambiance of a Flamenco show. I realised this video on Adobe Premiere, it was the first time for me using this software, I discovered how to assemble the shoots and how to play with the animations. I also learn how to adapt a content in function of the media you are uploading it on, adapt the timing, the animations and the duration of the video.
Facebook Video: http://bit.do/VideoFlamencoFB Instagram Video: http://bit.do/VideoFlamencoInsta
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DOOR DESIGN When I arrived in Smart Insiders, they wanted to redecorate the office. They needed a sticker to put in front of the door, and also a design for the walls. I created the sticker for the front door. This will be the first thing that the customer see when coming to the office. The informations needed are the logo, the opening hours of the office and also the contact informations. I realized two propositions for this project, one really simple, with only the main informations, and another one, more developed and which corresponds more to the atmosphere of Smart Insiders. The second version was selected and put on the front door. I wanted to create something serious because the office is in the same building than big insurance companies. This needed to be clear and clean to fit in the building’s design. But we are a travelling agency, we work for young people, studentfriendly, so I decided to add some fresh elements, that reminds you of Smart Insiders beliefs and convictions. I decided to re-use the hashtag that Smart Insiders is using on social media: #LiveTheExperience. I used the 2 colors of Smart Insiders, a clear blue and a pink. Inside the Hashtag design, I added some shades of clouds, and also different colours hues to add depth in the final design.
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I realised this project using Illustrator, to send vectors shapes to the printer. I really liked this project, because you can see your work after printing, you have to understand the request of the printer, to respect some rules to finalize the design and make it become real. When realizing this project, I could prove that I was able to adapt fast, take my marks in the team and show them that I can defend my ideas and argue them.
MADRID NIGHT LIFE Smart Insiders wants to broaden his services, opening a “nightlife” service. The goal is to create a new brand, completely dedicated to the nightlife in Madrid. This service will be available in September, but before that, we have to create the Facebook page to get recognized. I’ve been in charge of all the design for this project. I created all the style guide, the logo and I declined this on many different supports and for different medias. We are still looking for a final name.
Step 1 : benchmark
When starting a new project, the first step is to make some research and benchmark. I wanted to create an atmosphere that makes you think about party, the night ambiance but I didn’t want to do the same as all the party flyer that we can find nowadays. I wanted something new, fresh and clean. Some of the inspirations I found helped me choose the color, the style and the tone of this project.
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Step 2: the logo
The logo is really important for a brand, this is the graphical representation of it, it is used on all the communication medium. The logo strengthen the brand image and help the customer identify the brand. The logo should highlight the convictions of the company and reflect their value. I decided to create a logo easy to read, only composed with a typography specially adapted for this logo. I wanted to highlight the word “Madrid�, so I used a font without thickening, really graphic and with geometrical shapes. This typography is pretty simple, just white , but the lines that form the letters of the word cross and fit together in a precise way and makes a dynamic and lively composition. I decided to leave the logo white, so the backgrounds will be more dark, with some purple tones and darker images. I found it more logical because we are providing a nightlife experience, the designs should reflect that.
Step 3: the design
After the benchmarking, I decided to create several versions, different ides with different style and feelings. The first version is the more clear and airy. The principle is to find a picture that fits with the message, for example party people, or some party lights, and I add to this picture a shady treatment, some effects and arrange the color. All of the designs should have the same treatment, so they all look similar and are recognizable from one to the other. I tried to keep the intensity of the image, to choose good images that really reflect the nightlife but which are also free to use. The image research has been a big part of my work. The images are really important, the meaning of the final design rest on the images. I choosed image that bring out sensations, that are pleasing to see and show directly what Madrid NightLife is about.
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The second version is more bracing, more sparkling. The colors are in the same tone, from pink to purple, with a bit of blue but they are more saturated and shiny. For the background, I used an image that I decomposed with geometrical shapes and different effects. This version is more sparkling, has more elements and reflects more the party side of this brand. I decided to play with this colorful nuances. I also had to think about a way to emphasize the logo, and make it a part of the design and not just an element added in top of the layout. The shapes I drew in the background fits with the logo, there is a dedicated space for it. For this I worked on photoshop and the tools I used the most are the Photoshop brushes and the layers filters like curves or saturation to alter the colors.
I had to adapt my design to social media’s posts. On this Facebook post, I had to include the aim of the company : having a party everyday. I had to highlight the fact that every night, something new is happening. The goal is to interest people with mystery and to make them curious. They have to understand that every night in the the week, Madrid Night Life will throw a party, and it will be a new concept every week. I have showed every day of the week, with questions marks to visualize this. I used some effects on the typography and the question marks to create a more attractive ambiance
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I also created an example of a flyer, based on the same design (2 versions). The format is different, there is more informations to put inside so the working process has to change. I had to decide where to put the different element carefully, I used a grid system to place them with coherence and give a meaning to the final design. The elements have to fit together to create an armony in the meaning but also in the visual. I just adapted my design to change the format and bring out clearly the informations. Then I just adapted my designs on wristbands, to prepare the upcoming parties and to put my designs into practice. One last variation will be the roll out banner. This is the big banners that are printed on a canvas sheet, to put in the entrance of the nights clubs for example.
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WEBSITE MOCK-UP Smart Insider doesn’t have a website. This is an issue considering that all the informations about the trips could be on it, and the traveller can find easily everything he is looking for and mostly pay online. Nowadays, a website is more than useful, every companies has one. Considering that my speciality is web design and I know many things about digital, I proposed a new version for the website, innovative, fresh and practical. Later I will adapt my design for all devices, because our target is using the phone more than computers.
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I am currently working on this design, not all the pages are done. I decided to create an atmosphere that reminds travelling and exploring. I chose to include pictures of landscapes with strong meaning. While scrolling, I put many elements that reminds that we are operating trips, and make it easier for the user to book for a trip.
I tried to think about the User Experience while creating this design. The traveller wants to know about the trips, have details, but also want to be rapt with wonder and discover more. With the search bar in the header, the customer can look for a special trip, or just discover new trips that we can offer. I wanted to create a serenity, reusing the blue and the pink from the logo, but only some keys of it and more pastel to fit with the general feeling of the layout.
I am still working on the page declinaisions’. Right now, the home page is done with severals sections sch as the latest videos, the newest trips or the intuitive search bar. I created the page with the list of the trips (MacBook on the top-left corner) and also the “about us” page, where we tell the story of smart Insiders, we explain our convictions and value and also show the team.
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CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE INTERNSHIP This internship at Smart Insiders is my first working experience abroad. Working in this travel agency allowed me to improve my language skills and I learned how to communicate with international people. I really improved my skills during this internship, at the visual communication level, I used Adobe’s software everyday and I improved my expertise in the video editing software. I gained precision and strictness. I learned how to make my work attractive and coherent, how to inspire and bring out the joy and happiness in my creations. This internship (such as my semester in Finland) made me more professional and I now have several experiences working in a team, respect the deadlines and make a quality work. Smart insiders brought me a very enriching experience which enabled me to improve myself, my technique but also to integrate myself within a company and find out how it operates. I brought to the business a dynamism and motivation that allowed me to make myself heard and to propose solutions and argue my graphics choice. During this internship, I blossomed my visual communication skills, but also in my skills of management and organisation. I learn a really new field by experiencing the work in a travel agency. I worked on the main projects inside the office, but I also had responsibilities, I could show what I was capable of, and make my own decisions. The team integrated me since the beginning, they had trust on me and they helped me open up.
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The hardest part in this job was to juggle with different languages all the time. When I arrived in Madrid, I had to speak in Spanish with some of my colleagues. For example, the boss of the company doesn’t speak English (only the basics), I really had to work hard on my Spanish skills to be able to work with him. During the trips, most
of the people are speaking in Spanish. By practicing everyday, I could learn fast and I am now able to make myself understood by the others. I can not say that my Spanish is fluent, of course, but I can deal with everyday life conversations. I really liked working in Smart Insiders, I was really integrated in an international team, I shared my culture and and I discovered theirs. This is one more working experience that comforts me in my career plan. I want to work in an international company, I like speaking different languages, and the mix of culture inside a work team is bringing more ideas and bring out great results. I also travelled a lot during this internship, I discovered many different places, I get accustomed with the Spanish culture and the surrounding area. Always with my camera, I now have more than 10000 pictures and maybe 7 hours of videos. Practically everything was perfect, I will never forget this experience, but in the professional area, I can say that sometimes the organisation inside the office is not
perfect, we sometimes had communications issues. I cannot know everything about the trips as an intern, and when someone come to the office for questions I am not able to answer them, so I have the feeling that this is not really professional. I would also have liked to work on the website since the beginning, because this is my speciality and I really think that a website is mandatory when you are a travel agency.
Personally speaking, I got integrated in a team really involved in his work and with a lot of ideas, I created real relationship with them. I experienced a lot of things, discovered so many cultures and shared mine as well. Professionally speaking, I discovered how to plan a trip and communicate about it. This internship in an other step in the working world, which comforts me in my future plans and in the fact that I want to be creative in my work and I want to live new experiences inside my job, whether a job where you do repetitive things.
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Bibliography / Inspiration
C R E AT I V E M A R K E T. C O M BEHANCE.NET AW W WA R D S.CO M DRIBBBLE.COM SITEINSPIRE.COM P I N T E R E S T. C O M F L AT I C O N . C O M UNSPLASH.COM DESIGN-SEEDS.COM GRAPHICBURGER.COM 51
Thanks to this year abroad, I gained new experiences of what will be my professional field. In addition to my previous internship and my previous experience abroad, I can say that I am discovering the world, but more precisely the world of graphic design and project management jobs. I’ve been accompanied by fantastic people, they helped me get integrated and take advantage of the places I stayed. I could increase my skills in Project Management in Finland, and in Spain I intensified my expertise in graphic design and also in communication. Of course this year abroad really helped me with my language skills. I practiced English everyday during the all year, and here in Spain I am learning Spanish. In Finland the teachers trusted me, I’ve been a project manager, I really enjoyed this position and I in Spain, I made the most of my creativity in the projects I realized. My two experiences are completely different, but I could explore various tasks, various cultures and various working experiences. The next step is to realise the second year of Master in IIM school, and my last internship will be open on international (in a foreign country or in France but in an international company) to get to know a new environment, improve my language skills and adapt myself in a new work environment, and enhance myself in graphic design and management.
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