17 Academy is flying by!

Last week 17 Academy kicked off with a bang and seventeen HQ was buzzing with interns in every department. Take a look at what went down. We'll be updating every day so keep coming back to see the latest news!

THE ART DEPARTMENT
Michelle Hoch, 21, is a third year Graphic Design Student at NMMU, Port Elizabeth. She loves people, marketing, art in all forms and music.

29 June 2009
In November 2003, I bought the very first issue of seventeen magazine South Africa, and today I’m sitting in the office where it was created. Back then the most exciting thing was entering the competitions every month, writing letters and hoping to hear something, anything from seventeen. I remember winning this fantastic hamper and thinking it was the best thing in the world. Although it came pretty close, it wasn’t… this is. I arrived this morning completely uncertain of what to expect. I was still tying my laces at the front desk when I got swooped into a production meeting for the September issue. The ideas and the excitement of all these young women blew me away, I had no idea this sort of passion existed. During the course of the day I learnt a lot of interesting things and even designed a page for the August issue (on sale 29 July - check out page 45!) One thing I know for certain is that I have a lot of E! News to go home and watch (I realised I’m not as up to date as I thought I was), and a long rest… because if tomorrow is anything like today has been, I’m going to need it!

30 June 2009
Usually I dread waking up to an early morning and loads of work but I was so excited to come back to this wonderfully vibrant environment. First I had to help Ashleigh (the designer) source images and make changes to the page I designed yesterday. By lunchtime I found out where I can get coffee and delicious gourmet sarmies! This afternoon I had lots of fun designing a MXit splash for the July Dance issue, which was rather tricky. There was so much information to fit in such a small space, it’s definitely like nothing I’ve done before. Add seventeen's MXit contact today! Back in PE I study Graphic Design where I work on adverts, packaging, direct mail, web etc. Publishing is a whole new area of design, which I was rather afraid to explore. Every day I become more comfortable with the idea of a career in publishing. After all, like most teenagers, magazines have been my favourite thing for years!

Sitting with Ashleigh going over my work

1 July 2009
This morning I got straight into things and was given the Reebok training program to design for www.seventeen.co.za. It took a lot longer than I expected because, once again, I’m not used to having so much information to fit onto one page! Once I finished that, I had to make changes to the copy in the MXit splash that I designed yesterday. I must say, I’m quite overwhelmed by the amount that gets done in this office by these few dedicated ladies. In each issue there are plenty of articles, specials, fashion shoots and more… and for each one to take place it takes hours of work and brainstorming. I realised today that nothing just falls into place!

2 July 2009
Today I got to go along to the fashion shoot! When I arrived at the studio I wasn’t sure who I’d talk to or what I’d do all day because there was a professional photographer, a make-up artist, a model and the seventeen fashion team, but soon we were all chatting and I had a wonderful time. What I valued most about my experience in the studio was definitely how many hints I got about shooting models and basically how to get things running smoothly. Studying Graphic Design I often have to take photographs in the studio but things never run smoothly. Today I learnt what to do to make my shoots go according to plan. It was fantastic!

3 July 2009
When I got to work this morning, Stacey, the art director was back from her trip overseas, so I had a chance to meet her. We had a lovely farewell breakfast for those of us who are leaving today. I got given an adorable gift bag, it was so unexpected and really thoughtful. I love all my cute gifts… but who wouldn’t? When it was time to get back to work, Stacey and Ashleigh had a lot to go through and catch up on, so I went downstairs to explore and see if there was anything I could help with. I started by helping the marketing interns, Nancy and Estea, sort out the goodie bags for the Tyger Valley Expo happening on the weekend. It was nice to meet some new people and see what they do.

Me with Anja at the farewell breakfast

Look at all that yummy food!

Overall my experience has been absolutely wonderful. Not only did I learn more about design but I learnt a lot about working in publishing. The seventeen team have been so helpful and friendly, which made me realise what kind of world this vibrant industry is.

17 Academy girls with Khwezi - thank you seventeen!!