New York City // 2010

OUMS took their annual trip to New York City from October 15–17, 2010. The main goal of visiting the Big Apple is to expose our members, many being aspiring designers, developers, animators, videographers and more, to companies that are at the forefront of the ever-changing media industry.

The trip is an integral part of the organization and proves to be one of the most beneficial activities for its members who are hoping to land jobs and internships in the coming months and years. It allows them to see what kind of environments they can work in, different areas of work, and team dynamics, as well as gain valuable advice from recent graduates or seasoned professionals. Over the course of the weekend, networking with alumni in a social environment plays another large role in the value of the trip.

Among the places OUMS visited were: Fantasy Interactive (Fi), Madison Square Garden Interactive Department, The New York Times Interactive Department, Crossboarders, and Digital Kitchen. At Fi, we heard about the interworking of a highly successful company who is always pushing boundaries in design and development. From discussing international business to creative advice, we gained a clear understanding that it is important to push yourself to your full potential as an individual and as a team. An alumna of Ohio University, Caroline Caine, showed us around the Madison Square Garden Interactive Department, where we learned about working on tight deadlines, the challenges of designing for large arena screens, and to find what you are passionate about and pursue it, even if it's not the direction you intended on going. Zach Wise, another successful alumni, opened up a discussion about the current state of multimedia at the Times, and what the future may hold for the continuing intersection of news and technology. At Crossboarders we learned about the pros and cons of working in a small company and gained insight into another working environment. Finally, Digital Kitchen shared with us the importance of how your outside interests influence your work, to provide the most successful – not most popular – product to the client, and to get inspiration from museums, libraries, people and music.

Columbus, Ohio // 2010

As break came to an end a new year approached along with a new quarter at OUMS. So for our first meeting we wanted to make a decision on where the group was going to go for our quarterly trip. After being in the "Big Apple" and seeing how much it offered, a lot of members were interested in seeing what was possible closer to home. So as a group we came to the conclusion that going to visit design firms in our state capital Columbus, Ohio would be a great chance for us to get to know our surroundings a little better.

When our group finally embarked on our trip to Columbus it turned out to be well worth it. We spent the day touring design firms like Blue Diesel and Resource Interactive while also taking time in between to explore the city a bit. Blue Diesel was really a cool place to visit because it had truely found its niche in the design market by specializing in healthcare design services. So not only would you get to do what you love by designing and developing but also you would get to learn about new innovations and advancements in the healthcare field with each project undertaken. Resource Interactive on the other hand was bigger and much more widespread with the design services it offers, and had the feel of a firm that would be based in NYC. As for our downtime, it was mostly spent in the North Market discussing what we thought of the places we had been to and trying to decide on which one of the delcious food stands to go to for lunch. Looking back on the trip it was a great idea to explore the opportunites so close to home. From a smaller more aimed company to a firm with a "Big Apple" feel Columbus offers a variety of career opportunites as well as a great community that one could really get used to.

New York City // 2009

Fall quarter 2009 was a great quarter for everyone at OUMS. It is when we as members come together and discuss goals, projects, and upcoming group trips. So when it came down to discussing trip ideas everyone was on board with heading to New York City, New York for the fall. With the help from Ohio University professors like Sam Girton, Terrance Oliver and our president Corey Michalek we were able to travel to New York for an entire weekend and visit some of the top design firms in the country and get a feel of what the "Big Apple" is all about. The cost of the trip was $200.00 which included: transportation, a 2 night stay at The Millineum UN Plaza, and tours to Glamour Magazine, Conde Nast Magazine, Code and Theory Interactive Design, and Big Spaceship Multimedia Design.

When we arrived we started early friday morning with tours at each of the magazine companies. Both had that big city feel that you would expect out of design firms located in NYC. They shared a certain fast paced, highly professional flow that would that any print designer would love to be a part of. Later in the day came the two multimedia design firms. The two completely differed in size and feel. First was Big Spaceship, number one when it comes to multimedia design across the nation. It was a big company that worked for big time clients and they weren't afraid to show it with there endless collection of design awards. Unlike Big Spaceship, Code and Theory offered a much more relaxed atmoshpere that everyone seemed to really like. Our tour guide was one of OU's very own Eric Mayville, who graduated in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Interactive Multimedia. Not only did he let us see what he gets to do everyday working for Code an Theory but he also went into great detail about what we as students should be doing now in order to prepare for the "real world". After spending the day touring both the print and multimedia design firms we all had a better understanding of what it takes to get where Eric and the rest of the designers are, and that we can achieve these goals as long as we work hard to earn it.

When Saturday came around we were all excited, especially the people who have never been to "The Big Apple", because it was our day to explore the city. From going to see the famous Museum of Modern Art, to visiting ground zero and Central park, all the way to eating at the most unique litte pizza shop we could find. Looking back on the trip it had everything. Not only did we get to see some of the best deisgn firms around but we also had the chance to really get a feel for what we could expect in taking a job in or around NYC.