Vaida Design

New Creighton basketball shirt. Can’t be reprinted because...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:54:00 -0600

New Creighton basketball shirt. Can’t be reprinted because it violates NCAA rules. Damn.

vaidadesign.com

New logo for Cat Shirt Comedy. vaidadesign.com

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:51:00 -0600

New logo for Cat Shirt Comedy.

vaidadesign.com

This is what I’ve been up to lately. (Lawlor’s...

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:48:00 -0600

Omaha Jr. Lancers

Omaha Jr. Lancers

UNO Mavericks

UNO Mavericks Hockey

UNO Mavericks Hockey

UNO Mavericks Hockey

UNO Mavericks Hockey

Creighton Bluejays Basketball

Creighton Bluejays Basketball

Creighton Bluejays Basketball

This is what I’ve been up to lately. (Lawlor’s retail apparel)

Victory is mine!

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:17:00 -0500

Haven’t been able to post lately as I’ve been very busy at my new job. Last month I was offered a part time job as a designer for a small custom apparel company which just went full time last week! Now I spend my days designing t-shirts instead of answering angry phone calls. I was finally able to quit my shitty call center job and now my professional graphic design career (apart from freelance) has begun!

One perk at my new job is the ability to get screen printing supplies and garments at cost as well as use of their shop for printing. With these resources now readily available, I hope to move forward with my plan of starting my own clothing line, putting my designs on shirts and hoodies and selling them online and to smaller stores around town.

On the freelance front, last month I was also able to get my highest profile client yet: the Mayor! A friend of mine works for his re-election campaign and she asked me to design a poster promoting a website that would help educate people about the mayor’s accomplishments. The campaign ended up liking my design best and I was offered the contract. Within the next few months my design will appear on posters, t-shirts, buttons, stickers, and even billboards! I’m not able to show the designs until the campaign releases them, but pictures will definitely follow!

Electric vehicle infrastructure infographic.

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 11:42:41 -0500

Electric vehicle infrastructure infographic.

New business cards.

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:43:03 -0500

New business cards.

"Good Design Is..." Exhibition

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:53:00 -0500

"Good Design Is..." Exhibition:

My 10 entries are labeled with my name (Brett Vaida). I really don’t understand the judges’ decision for best of show. Call me crazy but shouldn’t the winning poster in a poster contest based on the work of Dieter Rams look like something designed by Dieter Rams? You know, clean, modern, etc.? What am I missing here?

Wow, I need to start updating this more...

Thu, 03 May 2012 21:45:00 -0500

A quick rundown of events since my last update:

I’ve had two more job interviews, one for a temp position and one for an in-house position at a bank. The temp position paid less then my call center job, lasted only 6 weeks, and would involve only editing photos so I wouldn’t be learning any new skills; I ended up turning this one down. The in-house position at the bank was filled internally by a bank employee. When I asked what had disqualified me for employment they said that they just prefer to hire internally if possible. Fair enough I guess.

I’ve been going to pretty much any (free) graphic design event I hear about. One of my old professors who runs a small studio (too small to be hiring) puts on a monthly networking event for designers at various bars throughout Omaha, which I always make sure to attend. I also entered an AIGA poster design contest last month. I didn’t end up winning but at the event I saw that my work was better than most, besides the winning entries, which gave me a little boost of confidence despite the overwhelming frustrations of my job search thus far.

I’ve also been reaching out to studios around town for portfolio reviews. So far, this has been my best idea yet. The quality of my portfolio is growing by leaps and bounds as more and more creative directors provide feedback. I noticed they are having less criticisms and more compliments as time goes on and my portfolio improves.

I still apply for jobs online daily as they appear, although they have slowed down again lately. I’m also looking for more freelance work in the short term and have taken on some pro bono work for a local theatre renovation project.

I’ll try to spare you another novel and do shorter more frequent updates.

A link!

Something nice one of my clients said:

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 11:45:00 -0600

Brett has an extremely high attention to detail, which is critical when it comes to selecting our partners. Being so busy, I only have time to ask people once to do something right, and knowing Brett will come through is a huge relief - and he typically even exceeds my requests and adds his own touch. I couldn’t ask for much more in a designer.

-Chad Schneider; Owner, PracticeSports.com

Logo for my brother’s snow-plowin, stuff-haulin, handyman...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:21:00 -0600

Logo for my brother’s snow-plowin, stuff-haulin, handyman business.

Meh

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:17:00 -0600

Tried to network at Meet the Pros but almost no one went to the after-party networking event. I only managed to hand out about eight of the promo cards I made; almost $85 wasted. I made three contacts which have all gone bust in the past week. Applying for jobs online again. Another networking event in a couple of weeks; not holding my breath.

Feeling pessimistic.

Clever Beast website and apparel designs

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:18:00 -0600

Clever Beast website and apparel designs

True story.

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:35:00 -0600

True story.

New logo for Clever Beast Clothing.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:20:00 -0600

New logo for Clever Beast Clothing.

Ok, let's try this again.

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:27:00 -0600

So after some very lengthy and disappointing interview processes I’m once again back where I started. One studio in particular continues to give my very mixed messages.

I had a total of three separate interviews there for a front-end developer position. After the third interview I was told that the only other applicant by that point was more qualified but that I could apply for a paid internship (paying less than my current job, a lot less) to gain more experience. But then a manager from that same studio invited me to review student portfolios at Meet the Pros next month.

Meet the Pros is an big portfolio review event set up by American Advertising Federation of Omaha. Students will come from all over to have the portfolios reviewed and make contacts. I’ve decided to go and network as much as possible at the after-hours party for the reviewers. I also found some new leads to try for a mass mailing I’ll be doing at the end of next month.

No one will likely be hiring until at least early February so I’m taking this month to add more projects to my portfolio and expand my freelance business. More frequent updates to follow.

A link!

Back to the drawing board.

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:12:00 -0600

It’s been a little over a month and still not much progress.

After four interviews: one place gave me the possibly of a great job doing web development, but I won’t find out for another three months. At another place the HR lady doing the interview didn’t even look at my portfolio but instead read questions from a worksheet; not holding my breath on that one. Another place I’m assuming is a “no” but I will never find out because the creative director there stopped returning my calls. One which is a “no” because I don’t have agency experience, which is what I was applying there to get in the first place.

It’s possible there will be more hiring once the new year starts but that means my hopes of getting out of my customer service job before it turns into living nightmare during the holidays is not going to happen.

I’m going to try to get more freelance jobs for the time being until my job hunt starts picking up again. Failing that, it’s going to be a long, cold, dark winter.

The plot thickens...

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:40:00 -0500

Things have accelerated somewhat. I was contacted by a few more people and managed to get a couple more interviews. I was also offered some freelance contracts handling the overflow work for a couple local firms.

These freelance gigs will be great for making a little extra money, learning how different studios handle their creative and production processes, and gaining agency experience. “Try before you buy” as one of my contacts put it. Definitely a good start, but the ultimate goal is still a full time job.

A link!

56 emails, 34 letters, and $207 later, here's where I am:

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:01:00 -0500

I’ve managed to land one interview so far, about a third of the studios aren’t hiring right now, and the rest haven’t responded yet.

The interview is with an ad agency not far from where I live. Hopefully I’ll get more responses in the coming days so as not to pin all my hopes on this one interview. With all the non-hiring going on right now I’m sure competition will be fierce but I’m trying to stay optimistic. I’ve often heard that in the graphic design industry, your first real job is the hardest to get. I’m hoping to put that obstacle behind me so I can stop having to worry about the business aspect of freelancing and just focus on doing great work.

Brought to you by Vaida Design

The search continues...

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:59:24 -0500

I met with one of my former professors on Sunday to get some advice on graphic design job hunting/freelancing in Omaha. He gave me a tour of his studio (I think he’s about as obsessed with Star Wars as I am), took me to lunch, and gave me tons of useful intel on the industry in general. We ended up hanging out for almost 3 hours before he needed to get back to work.

Armed with this new info, I spent the rest of the day compiling a database of potential employers and their contact info. I just sent out 28 more emails with my resume and work samples. The grand total is now 45 inquiries sent with 5 responding that they have no openings at present.

More to come.

Brought to you by Vaida Design

Applying for jobs like a normal person.

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:57:00 -0500

Taking advantage of a short break I have from freelancing right now, I decided to really start looking for a full time design job. I love freelancing, but trying to run an entire freelance studio by myself while holding down of full time job outside my field is starting to suck all the joy out of my life.

I was going to make some promo packets to mail out and impress potential employers into offering me a job. The project would involve finding some small cardboard boxes, printing my logo on them and filling them with work sample placards, stickers, business cards, and a short CV/resume. I planned on making about 20 of these and mailing them out to several design studios here in Omaha.

Here’s a picture of something similar:

The project was delayed due to other projects and promos I was doing. Getting more and more frustrated with my current employment situation, I decided to sit down and actually make these things.

I shared this idea with a family member, who had a novel idea: “Why don’t you just apply for jobs like a normal person?” As gimmicky as graphic design promotions seem to be getting these days, simply sending an email or a resume asking for an interview seemed too simple, too easy.

But she was right. How much time and money would I end up spending on these and in the end, would it be worth it? Most places just might not even have jobs to fill, no matter how awesome a packet they receive.

I’m not giving up on the idea, just shelving it for now. Last night I sent resumes and links to my portfolio to about 20 potential employers. So far I got one automated response (No), one offer for potential freelance work but no full time employment, and one portfolio review by a former professor of mine. Not a terrible response for the first 24 hours, but we’ll see what the next week brings.

Your move Omaha.