One of my favorite parts of the job is meeting lots of people doing lots of interesting things. I once had someone call me about doing a bentsher for his son’s bar mitzvah. This bar mitzvah boy is very artistic and was inspired by Gadi Pollack’s illustrated bentsher so he drew illustrations to make his very own version. They had the images scanned and I put together a bentsher in a style similar to Gadi Pollack’s. While working on the project all I could think about was how much I love what I do because of all the fun unique and interesting projects that come my way.

My signature work is…

A project I’m really proud of is the work I did for a gala that took place in Los Angeles this year for United Hatzalah and Hatzolah of Los Angeles. The event celebrated the volunteers who are regular men in the community people you meet at shul or the bakery but when their walkie-talkie alerts them to an emergency they suddenly become these superheroes and save lives. I created a graphic that was a bit out of the box but very eye-catching — a man in a suit tearing open his dress shirt to reveal the Hatzolah logo on his superhero-style shirt underneath. Graphic design is all about communicating an idea with words and images this was a great example of that and more important it was a big hit and made a real impact!

If I could go back to school now I’d like to learn…

Typography to better understand the form of letters and how they work together. Web design and programming so I could add that component to my business-design services. And marketing because the core of any design for companies and organizations is knowing how to target your market and how to sell your product or service. I work with a business consultant on many projects and for gala events with an event producer. I learn so much from them but I’d really love to know even more. Most of my clients want more business and everyone wants a flyer that’s “eye-catching” and “different ” but what they really need to know is how to catch their target market’s attention and that depends on the target market’s interests.

My most challenging assignment was

A particular client who was sending me tedious revisions over and over and over again, and it never ended. I finally just told them I couldn’t work with them anymore. Mostly the difficulty comes from having too many deadlines close together. There are often not enough hours in the day; it’s about time management and knowing when to say no or hire more help.

I tend to gravitate toward the color __________ because

Green, because I love nature.

The two main changes I’ve seen in the field since I started are

Online classes weren’t really popular when I was in school, but technology has made it easier to attend an online course with a live teacher from just about anywhere in the world. Another change I’ve noticed is that there are more inexpensive or free online resources — stock and vector images, tutorials that you can look up if you need to figure out how to do something you haven’t learned, like how to make and use font styles in InDesign, for example.

When I get an invitation or a brochure in the mail, the first thing I notice is

The design, the fonts, the composition — basically, everything — and I’m very critical. If I like it a lot, I file it for reference.

Zippy Thumim, 40, is a graphic designer in Manchester. She’s the director of DesignAlive.com and has been working in the field for 24 years.

The amount of time you’re given to spend on your work, to be creative, is definitely shorter, but that’s how the business has evolved

You may think all I do is design things. In real life, a graphic designer also

works as a business manager — you have to speak to your clients, understand their needs and wants, and when you’re speaking to them, you’re marketing your work, so you need to be good at communicating. There’s also pricing the job and the technical aspects — working with a timeline, getting the stuff to the printer. There are busy times, but it’s good to know that graphic design is very compatible with being a mother — you can work from home, you don’t have to run around. But obviously you have deadlines, so you need to be organized, and set limits — extra fees for last-minute jobs, for example, or “No calls during supper and bedtime,” and arrange for extra help during peak times.

My signature work

Aside from the many book jacket covers I’ve designed, it’s the creation of Design Alive, an online design school providing courses to Jewish students worldwide. I started it in 2009 when I was in Eretz Yisrael teaching design in seminaries and schools. I used to take on promising students as assistants for projects, and one time an assistant couldn’t come to me so I showed her remotely how to do what I needed. Then I thought, “Why don’t I teach more people with remote access?” I researched web-conferencing options and hired a second teacher to teach the Adobe programs, and that year after Succos, Design Alive was born and we started courses. We saw how well that went, and, due to demand, added more classes: web design, interior design, motion graphics, and we’ve got plans for more. We’ve taught students around the world: across the States, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, England, and South Africa.

If I could go back to school now, I’d like to learn

Web design. Along with the logo and materials, most clients also want a website. At the moment, I forward them to my students — we have free job postings on our website. I tell the clients to post the project, and our graduates get an e-mail blast with postings.

My most challenging assignment was

Designing the Oz Vehadar English Mishnah Berurah layout. I created the template, and it was a challenge to fit the translation, explanation, and biur halachah, for all the footnotes to match up with the Hebrew, and for the whole design to be clear and easy to navigate.

I tend to gravitate toward the color __________ because

Blue — it inspires confidence and gives a professional look.

The two main changes I’ve seen in the field since I started are

One: design software is easier to obtain, so there are a lot of amateur designers around. They’ve dabbled or done short-and-quick courses, and they flood the market, sometimes undermining graphic designers who studied extensively and professionally. Two: the speed at which people are expected to produce work; ease of access to the Web has put a lot of pressure on designers to produce work fast. The amount of time you’re given to spend on your work, to be creative, is definitely shorter, but that’s how the business has evolved.

When I get an invitation or a brochure in the mail, the first thing I notice is

the typography. On most invitations, the typography is standard, so when it’s different, you notice. When someone does anything different with an invitation — the format of the page or the texture — it makes an impression. I once did a bar mitzvah invitation for a printer who wanted it to advertise his business. He asked me to come up with a way to show off all these cool things he could do — embossing, cutouts, spot lamination, pearlizing — without it looking ungepatchked. That was a memorable job.

Mati Jacobovits, 59, is a graphic designer in Brooklyn, New York. She’s the owner of Studio 1588 and has been working in the field for more than 30 years.

My partner thought I was nuts — what if he was an ax murderer? — but it worked out great

You may think all I do is design things. In real life, a graphic designer also

I used to tell my students, “You won’t find a job just doing the fun stuff.” The actual designing is one aspect, but there’s the nitty-gritty of every project: proofing, deadlines, customer requests, printing, and, if you’re freelancing, billing and bookkeeping.

My signature work

When I started in the mid-’80s, I was working at a light table, literally cutting, waxing, and pasting up ads and pages for a local Jewish publication. That’s where I met my future partner, Muzi Husni. There was much talk about computer graphics taking over the industry. We went to the premiere Apple computer show at the Javits Center and forged ahead and bought computers — it was all Macintosh in those days, and quite expensive!

First we had to learn the basics, like how to turn on the computer and use a mouse, and then we started with the program guides for PageMaker — there was a lot of trial and error. Six months later, we made the leap and opened our own design studio, Prographics.

As our business grew, people kept asking where they could learn computer graphics, so we opened The Center for Computer Technology in Brooklyn. It was affiliated with Long Island University, and we taught thousands of people from all walks of life — I think that’s what I’m best known for.

Today I’m working at a somewhat slower pace, doing what I really enjoy instead of running two businesses. My clients include the Jewish Home — a weekly Five Towns newspaper, and Olam — the Jewish Press’s weekly magazine. Page layout is my forte: incorporating images and graphics to entice the reader to read on, and putting together the publication by balancing the ads and articles and getting everything to fit. It’s like piecing together a puzzle.

If I could go back to school now, I’d like to learn

Photography, to complement my design skills. Lots of projects need photography, and I think I’d enjoy combining my skills. Also, I’d take lots of amazing pictures of my grandchildren!

My most challenging assignment was

I once designed a 75th anniversary commemorative journal for a big organization. They wanted a huge hardcover book, and in it were write-ups of prominent members. It was probably my longest project — about two years — but the tough part was that a lot of the members were elderly, and sadly, often when we finished a page, somebody passed away, and we had to keep changing the wording.

I tend to gravitate toward the color __________ because

It depends on the project and target market. If I’m designing an ad for a little girls’ ballet group, I’m going to think pink. If it’s for a finance company, it’ll be more conservative, maybe navy or gray. Personally, well, I love green — I have a wasabi-green kitchen.

The two main changes I’ve seen in the field since I started are

One is the programs: first PageMaker, then QuarkXPress, and now it’s all in Adobe InDesign. And the technology keeps advancing. What Photoshop can do is really crazy: you can select a piece of a picture, like an arm that’s bent down, and lift it to make it look raised.

The second is the World Wide Web. No one knew where it would lead, but everyone knew they wanted in. For that they needed websites and website designers, and a whole new field was born. Of course, our school started offering those courses. Initially we had a hard time finding instructors because there just weren’t many people qualified enough to teach!

We had a full class signed up for a two-and-a-half-month course, and our one teacher quit the week it was scheduled to start. I put an ad online, and a Canadian guy called — he sounded good and professional, but to hire him sight unseen? I asked him how old he was. He said, “Twenty, but I look older and wiser. Pay for my ticket and I’ll stay in New York the length of the course.” I asked, “Where will you stay?” and he said, “Do you have a basement?” And suddenly I had a houseguest and a teacher! My partner thought I was nuts — what if he was an ax murderer? — but it worked out great. Turned out he was Jewish; my kids loved him and he stayed almost a year.

When I get an invitation or a brochure in the mail, the first thing I notice is

The design, of course, and the quality of the printing and paper. I can tell if the designer gave this job attention or if it was a rush job. I’m very open to various designs and techniques, but whatever style you’re going for — modern, contemporary, retro — did you accomplish it? Sometimes I say, “Ah, I see what they were trying to do, but they didn’t quite get it.” Other times, I see a great work and new ideas, and I get inspired.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 528)