Ashia
Gaskin Gordon
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Core Technology
I had the opportunity to work with some incredibly fascinating technology as Chief Design Officer at Drip Check, which helped to build our company. To manage everything from marketing to customer interaction we employed a variety of digital solutions. In addition to helping to design our online store so that customers could easily browse while placing purchases, I worked with AI to forecast patterns & properly brand our company. It was all about utilizing technology to ensure efficient operations while providing our clients an excellent, seamless experience. It was a fantastic opportunity to understand how everything works together in company by fusing design with practical technology.
Canva
From the beginning of our company in September 2024 to now, Drip Check has been using technology for various reasons. From doing research for our company to designing our brand, every department relied & utilized multiple platforms to establish, flourish & maintain Drip Check. By far, one of the most essential & prominent applications we used throughout the year was Canva. Even before starting our company, Canva was the go-to for creating our resumes & cover letters to apply for our positions in the future business. After debating on the purpose & type of corporation the class aimed to curate, Canva was the primary platform exercised to construct our logo plus the slogan to match along with our firm short & long term goals. Long after, Canva was used repeatedly by every department to generate our required projects & presentations, but especially the design team. The company branding plus the business executive summary & the personal finance project, I believe, was my best work by far throughout the entirety of the time I worked on Canva. Although I worked hard everyday, those 3 works were assignments I spent hours upon hours doing research & designing in order to convey the goals & aspirations of our company plus to win awards for regional/national competitions.
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moments of leadership
Starting the Branding Presentation
Making our branding presentation for a national competition & for all workers to use going forward was one of the first significant tasks I took on at the start of Drip Check, & it truly set the tone for the remainder of the year. Along with classmates, we created the brand name & slogan, established our color scheme (black, white, gold, and green), along with creating the overall style that we continue to use today. The foundation for our visual & stylistic presentation on our website, social media accounts, and even in our brand-related conversations was laid by that initiative. It was my first chance to step into a leadership role & make sure the creative vision for our company was strong from day one.
How Do I Work With Others?
Although it was typical for me as Chief Design Officer to be constantly interacting with others, I worked with the heads of every department throughout the year in order to skillfully complete every necessary task. For example, so as to create the business executive summary for our company in a more creative manner, I worked closely with the chief financial officer, Riley McCormick, so I can obtain more original designs for the presentation. Considering our HR (Human Resources) department had only 1 person handling all of the work, I assisted Angelo in creating & designing from the ground-up the employee handbook for Drip Check as well as the attempted newsletter. I helped our other department heads with creating our company test for our employees regarding the basics aspects & information of our business. For the presentation of our business plan to the judges during the trade show, I supported the chief officers with practicing how they would present & how to smoothly pitch details without overlooking the slideshow too much. Even from the beginning & before our company started, I teamed up with the marketing department to create the slogan for Drip Check to make sure the creative vision & the brand message aligned.
How drip check embody this?
Drip Check embodies this by establishing a platform for all to express themselves openly without judgement besides just the way of styling clothes. With a new closet, Drip Check represents unity & collaboration of people from all backgrounds regardless of socioeconomic status. The teamwork of me & all of the rest of our employees showcases the essential value of family that Drip Check works to promote through our marketing & communication with our customers. Especially with creativity & individuality being our company’s main core values, our employees replicate this through their everyday attire with brands varying from Jordans & Essentials to Ed Hardy & Brandy Melville.
How do i exhibit professionalism?
Throughout the year, I showed professionalism in various ways whether behind the scenes or on center stage for Drip Check. From the very beginning, I set a high standard by creating our original branding presentation, making sure the visuals & tone aligned with the luxury feel we wanted to represent. I consistently maintained brand consistency across all our platforms, even guiding fellow employees on design choices, fonts, & layouts to keep everything polished as well as cohesive. I also collaborated with departments outside of design such as marketing, HR, & finance, on vital projects such as our company test plus the executive summary document, making sure everything stayed clear, organized, & aligned with our overall brand. Behind the scenes, I played a major role in preparing the Virtual Enterprise business plan presentation, researching & designing the slides so the other officers could present confidently & professionally to the judges. At the trade show, I was one of many helping to advertise & promote our product to potential customers & even competing businesses. Whether I was helping prepare a presentation or representing the brand at the trade show, I always made sure to show up prepared, organized as well as keeping our image sharp & consistent.
Our
FUNCTIONALISM
Everyday during the year of all of us working on Drip Check, we started by the HR department (Angelo) doing the daily attendance on all employees while also checking on the sales department for any receipts for order made previously. Arianna, being the social media manager, would check & run through the company email & social media platforms for any feedback from customers or fellow businesses under Virtual Enterprise. After attendance & emails, every department would have a rundown on what tasks need to be completed & the due dates for each assignment. Following such a debrief all workers would break off & do their own assignments, with the exception being the sales department as they would leave the classroom to pitch & gain sales from customers throughout the school or even regional within New York. After every month, a employee of the month would be deliberated on & determined by not only the higher ups of Drip Check but as well as the HR department, who would present the award among the chief officers. The employee selected would earn a additional paygrade on top of their monthly pay given by the financial department. However, there are other ways to earn additional bonuses, such as company hosted games occurring every once in a blue moon, established to incentivize employees & create a positive work environment.