Get ready ladies and gents! We’re starting a new series of posts here – Intern Insights – and they’re going to be by our Graphics Intern – Kim! She is going to be writing about a wide variety of topics that may or may not directly relate to website design as the public thinks of it. In the meantime, sit back and meet Kim!

Hi! 

My name is Kimberly Hall, but I go by many nicknames; Kim, Kimmy, and Spud/Spudley Dudley (reserved for Shawna) just to name a few.

I’m a 19-year-old college student and graphic designer-in-training. I’m currently in my 1st year of college at Husson University, and I’m majoring in Graphic/Visual Design. I’m joining Shawna for my second internship with her in hopes to pick up some extra skills and experience along the way. When I graduate, I hope to run a business selling stickers, prints, and design services–specifically illustrations and basic logo designs. I’d like to be a little familiar with most areas of design so I can be a Jack of All Trades. 

I’m excited to be a part of the S. Barnes Designs team and get some more experience while providing some graphics to help Shawna beautify her business. In my future posts, I’ll be sharing some tips and experiences from my time interning with Shawna, stuff I’m learning in school, walkthroughs of my design process, and whatever else cool and design-related topics I can come up with.

I met the Boss Lady, Shawna, at the very end of my Junior year of high school. That summer, I started working at her Belfast print shop as a Design Intern. It was a long, fun series of learning experiences, including design, print, and customer service skills. Not only did I learn the trade, but I learned some things about myself as well. I learned that I had a lot of traits of inattentiveness and social anxiety; because of this, I was overwhelmed easily at times. Shawna, not only a great boss but also an amazing teacher and friend, taught me life skills to keep myself organized and on top of things without feeling so stressed. I’ll tell you more about these skills in a later post where I can go more in-depth.

A goal I have related to design work is starting an online shop, maybe starting with Etsy and Fiverr to sell products and services. Another, bigger goal, is to make my business big enough to put some money into my savings and make some progress toward my student debt. And finally, one of the really big goals is to make my shop big enough to support me as a primary job. I’ve always loved the idea of working from home and making my own hours, so as long as I can keep focused and organized, I think I can make it happen.  

A non-design-related goal I have is to buy my dream car. I grew up tagging along with my dad on his days off when we had the chance, and I got to experience a lot of vehicles and machines because of that. Now, I’m obsessed with anything that has at least 4 wheels and an engine. Oddly enough, even though I grew up around pickup trucks and American vehicles, my dream car is a Japanese convertible sports car. I’d like to have a first-generation Mazda Miata, and I hope to save up while I’m in school so I can buy one when I graduate. It would be like an extra motivator to work hard and keep my eye on the prize. One of the prizes is a super cool sporty little car. 

Some other fun facts about me if you’re interested:

• My favorite color is pink, with red and yellow tied for a close second. 
• My favorite food is sushi.
• My favorite drink is either red Gatorade or AriZona Green Tea. 
• I’m allergic to cats and pineapples.
• I can fit 27 grapes in my mouth.

Thanks for taking the time to read about me! I’m excited to share my experiences and knowledge; this should be fun!