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December 12, 2014 - Comments Off on Intern Chronicles – with Christian Houmoller

Intern Chronicles – with Christian Houmoller

Our #ProjectManagement #WebDesign and #MultiMedia Dev intern Christian Houmoller fills us in on his favorite aspects of working for The Mechanism, what he has learned/experienced so far, and how he has adapted to the city that never sleeps.

Intern Chronicles

Intern Chronicles

Halfway into my internship at The Mechanism, I look back and reflect on the experience, so far. Even though I consider myself a city boy, I found it daunting coming to New York. The shear amount of people seems overwhelming when my little country of Denmark only has 5 million, and they are always in a hurry to get somewhere. The uptown/downtown subway ride, the insane taxi drivers, the east and west streets and the SoHo’s or NoHo’s, it all didn’t really make sense to me at first. But after a while it all just clicked and New York City became an exploration adventure. You always hear about the diversity of people, the melting pot of cultures, but diversity in NYC is found everywhere. Every neighborhood is different, like little towns within a city and the glorious food is worth the trip alone, I’m sure I’ve packed on a few pounds.

As for The Mechanism, It has been a wonderful experience so far. The firm is comprised of some talented developers and designers, with founder Dave Fletcher at the helm. During his 20-something years in the business, he has acquired a solid network of clients, including big pharma, big realty and government and it has been a joy for me, to soak up some of his knowledge. As an intern, with aspirations of starting my own company one day, working in a professional work environment has given me insight into how the web development industry works and broadened my understanding of how to run a business, from managing projects and employees to designing websites and working with clients. I have enjoyed seeing the process The Mechanism goes through, from the early conceptual phases to implementation and deployment of a product. Its impressive how embedded this process is in their work methods, it’s almost automated and along with good commutation makes productivity run smooth and fast. This is reminiscent of what I’ve learned in school and it makes me think that my education has not been a complete waste of time. It gives me the confidence to feel that my aspirations of starting my own company, may someday be possible.

On a personal note. The guys at The Mechanism, has been really welcoming, showing me around the city and inviting me to their homes. This has meant a lot to me. And I could not have imagined that my internship in New York City would be going so well.

December 11, 2008 - Comments Off on New York Times – How Helvetica Took Over the Subways

New York Times – How Helvetica Took Over the Subways

As a curious designer and New Yorker, I've always wondered why Helvetica is the font of choice for signage in the New York City subway system. Jennifer Lee of The New York Times wrote an excellent article about this subject over the weekend, entitled How Helvetica Took Over the Subways.

Published by: davefletcher in The Design Mechanism
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