PeakBiety welcomes art interns, Triston Thomas and Maria Boutzoukas, this fall.

Triston Thomas attends The Art Institute of Tampa and is majoring in Graphic Design. He describes himself as “a passionate designer with knowledge of editorial, packaging, and branding design, one of humble temperament, and having an unmatched enthusiasm for creating new things.”

Maria Boutzoukas is a student at the International Academy of Design and Technology. Born and raised in Clearwater, FL, Maria enjoys expressing her creativity in many ways—including graphic design, photography and DJing. Maria is also very active in the community, and has designed logos and T-shirts for a variety of organizations.

PeakBiety is pleased to welcome three art interns this quarter.

Lisa Cox is a senior in Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Tampa with past responsibility for all major college marketing materials including flyers, brochures, billboards, posters, email blasts, identity design, and more. Talented, employing both sides of her brain, Lisa is an IT wiz assisting students and faculty with computer software and troubleshooting. In addition to being an awesome designer, she maintains and repairs video, audio and photography equipment for the school. And she’s an active student member of Ad2 Tampa Bay. Is there anything she doesn’t do? We’re trying to figure that out.

Liz Hyler comes to us with a BFA in Graphic Design having graduated May, 2009 from Kansas State University. With extensive freelance design experience under her belt, she is a valued contributor to logo design and brand identity projects. Her award-winning talent has garnered 1st place in K-State’s Forever Proud Young Alumni logo design, runner-up for the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus logo design, and runner-up for K-State’s Center on Aging logo design. Liz is also an AIGA member since 2008 and was an officer in 2009. She’s also a proud member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. With her many accomplishments, accolades and associations, we are honored to have her working with the PeakBiety creative team.

David Miller is a senior at the Art Institute of Tampa working toward a BA in Web Design and Interactive Media. His accomplishments include building a learning assessment tool for The 50 States, constructing an interactive video player component with Adobe Flash and developing a movie trailer titled, The Combo Kid, using Adobe After Effects. David also assisted in the production of a short documentary about Ybor City titled Cigar City. If that’s not enough, David is an IT department associate maintaining equipment rentals, conducting print services for students and faculty, and monitoring computer labs.

PeakBiety is pleased to welcome three art interns this quarter.

Josue Franco is a senior in Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Tampa, and compares himself to an octopus: “Ever changing, shifting and wafting in accordance to its environment, the octopus has a great ability to adapt to its surroundings meticulously. My designs are flexible and adaptable to various approaches, media and styles.”

Alejandro Valdivia is also a senior in Graphic Design at the Art Institute. Alejandro describes himself as a creative problem solver, decision maker and team player, and has several years of freelance experience. He says “I’m a firm believer that simplicity is key. The attention span of the target audience is limited and finding a way through the maze of advertising that is already out there is challenging to say the least. That is why, usually, less is more.”

Nick Brower graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Advertising Design in November. He is eager to gain real-world industry experience and strives to create ads that not only solve problems but are also works of art.

PeakBiety welcomes graphic design interns, Hemi Shimizu and Meghan Buchanan.

Hemi (pronounced emmy), attends the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa and is majoring in graphic design. Hemi considers herself not only a graphic designer, but a diverse, persistent and creative illustrator. In the future, she plans to work at targeting Hispanic markets as well as the general market. Diversity not only runs in Hemi’s designs, but in her family, too. Her father is Japanese, her mother is Venezuelan and her husband is American.

Meghan Buchanan, a student at the Art Institute of Tampa, comes with freelance design experience and is a member of AIGA and Ad 2 Tampa Bay. She has worked on numerous projects, including rebranding, advertising campaigns and web site development. Her work was featured in the Design Futures Showcase of 2009. Megan has always had a passion for creative thinking. She strives to be a citizen designer, concerned for the betterment of society and is focusing on the necessity of design.

Both Hemi and Meghan have hit the ground running and have participated in branding research and conceptual illustrations. We are looking forward to what they will bring to the table in the coming months.

by Haris Silic

Finding an internship with an advertising agency in Tampa is not an easy task, to say the least. Hence my uncontrollable joy when Amy Phillips, PeakBiety Creative Director, offered me a summer internship position back in July.

I am a senior at The Art Institute of Tampa, pursuing a BA in Advertising. This degree is quite different than the BFA in Graphic Design, since the focus is more on strategy development and less on creative. However, in order to stay competitive in the industry, I have had to work hard on advancing both my creative execution as well as my strategic skills.

At PeakBiety, I have been able to apply both of those skill sets. I’ve worked on design solutions for their Tampa and central Florida-based clients and created a comprehensive SEO strategy for PeakBiety itself.  I really feel like I have been exposed to all functions of an advertising agency.

Haris giving a presentation on SEO strategy

My advice to anyone looking for an advertising internship in the Tampa Bay area is to stay flexible. Try to obtain as many different skill sets for your tool belt as possible through your education and be able to apply them. Internships at premier advertising agencies in Tampa, such as PeakBiety, are very limited and competition is strong, but it was definitely worth the fight.

Good luck future interns of PeakBiety!

PeakBiety is pleased to be working with Haris Silic, summer intern and student on his way to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from the Art Institute of Tampa in 2009.

He describes himself as a “global, strategic thinker, definer, persuader, curious visionary and storyteller.” His focus on graphic design, logo design and brand identity have made him well-suited for an advertising agency such as PeakBiety with a strong focus on strategic branding.