Weekly update + question set 5!

 This week, I've gotten started with donorview, the program used to make the newsletters that are emailed out every week. I am getting accustomed to this new program, but we discussed some ways to change the newsletter that will make it feel more modern. I am working on new colors, fonts, and layouts to make the newsletter look less dated. One change I talked about with Maggie was changing one or both of the dark colors usually used in the newsletter. The two colors used are a dark green and a brown, so switching the brown with a lighter gray will be my first approach. There are not many font options on donorview, so I am also going to look into whether there is a way to upload fonts. Right now, I am just exploring the capabilities of the program, and looking at the newsletters the museum has put out in the past.

Question set 5

Q: In what ways does your employer motivate employees to work harder or more effectively?

A: I haven't really been around to see how they motivate employees. All of the interactions I've had with everyone there have been very laid back and non-stressful, which makes me feel comfortable, which I think makes me produce better work. If I know it is okay to make mistakes or to come up with something I have to end up fixing, I will take more chances in my design work, leading to better results. Overall what I think I'm trying to say is, the environment is comfortable and I feel comfortable with trying new and different things, which makes my design better overall.

Q: Which strategies are particularly helpful in motivating people?

A: I like the environment I've witnessed, because it is friendly and open minded. I think being open minded is a great thing for design work, and I feel that I am more motivated for it. I think it would be a lot harder to design something if I was not given any (or much) freedom to actually design anything. I feel like there are enough rules to follow to make the design exciting like a puzzle, but not so many rules that it feels crippling.

Q: What strategies might you suggest to improve morale and productivity?

A: I think they could be a bit more strict with deadlines (though they may not be as much with me since I am just an intern, therefore not doing anything extremely important or time sensitive). I think if I had more of a sense of impending deadlines, I would produce more work, and faster.