<bt>Armed with a degree in communication design and a passion for the performing arts, recent college graduate Alissa Taylor found an ideal learning experience interning at the Kennedy Center’s graphic-design department last summer.
Taylor, who lives in Fairfax Station, was one of the 22 summer interns chosen from a pool of 400 applicants for the Kennedy Center Vilar Institute For Arts Management internship. The Vilar Institute gives participants practical experience in managing performing arts through a full-time position in a specific department and weekly seminars on arts management.
AFTER GRADUATING with honors from Carnegie Mellon this year, Taylor had hoped to begin her career as a graphic designer in an advertising firm but was faced with limited job opportunities. She decided to apply for the Kennedy Center internship in the graphic- design area to get on-the-job experience and learn about performing-arts management.
“I played the violin for 13 years and I wanted to see what it would take to manage a performing-art group,” Taylor said.
During her internship, Taylor redesigned the National Symphony Orchestra’s and the general subscriber guides distributed to Kennedy Center subscribers informing them of event schedules and ticket prices. Taylor defined the use of graphics, colors and fonts for the guides and coordinated the placement of content with the copy editors. She then sent the completed designs to the printer and edited the test run of the guides before finalizing it. The project allowed Taylor to use her creativity and learn about new areas of graphic design.
“I hadn’t had as much practical experience working with printers and designing things and making them workable for other people,” Taylor said.
"The guide has to follow a certain format but she was able to freshen up the look and make it look like a new piece," said advertising creative manager Scott Bushnell, who served as Taylor's supervisor.
TAYLOR also performed other tasks such as submitting Kennedy Center ads to The Washington Post and creating inserts for Stagebill programs. Although, some of these tasks adhered to predefined designs and required limited creativity, they exposed Taylor to the less innovative side of graphic designing and helped her clearly define her career goals.
“It was a valuable experience. I know that I am looking for a place that gives a little more freedom with your projects,” Taylor said. “It was pretty low key. You could walk up to anybody and ask them to give you a hand or I could walk into my supervisor’s office anytime for help."
Interns attended various outings such as a tour of the Supreme Court. Taylor was also given time to work on her portfolio and made contacts that maybe useful in her job search. During her three months at the Kennedy Center, Taylor was able to get more practical experience and insight into the graphic-design career.
The deadline for the Kennedy Center Winter/Spring 2003 internships is Nov. 1. The internship includes a stipend of $800 per month.