Meredith Trip

I thought the meredith trip was pretty great. I'm not going to lie, I honestly didn't expect the magazine to be as big it was. I've worked at other magazine publications but none as big as Meredith. After growing up with many of it's publications like Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle, the office was well beyond my expectations. I always imagined the publications as looking like a second home and in some areas of the office building it does look cozy. But at the same time, it looked very modern.

Iowa was definitely a new experience and as much as I would like to work for Meredith, I don't think that if I received a job there that I wouldn't be able to tolerate the cornfields. Sometimes open space is good but too much of a good thing could be bad. While on the trip, I found out that I will be in Readymade group 1. The team seemed to have their mission statement and vision ready. The only thing that the group was missing was a title. The editor that we spoke to about the group's magazine had many ideas and suggested that we should model the magazine after a start up idea that Meredith had shortly before they took over Readymade.

I was happy to find out that the issue that we are suppose to be doing is not a remake of the established Readymade but a all new magazine aimed at college students. It's almost like creating a new magazine. I'm glad that I followed my first mind and went against what John F. said.



I already see things that I already possibly want to change about the magazine. I'm avid reader of the magazine but now looking at it a little closer, I realize there are just something that need to be tweaked and I can't wait until I get a chance to do so.

I also thought it was enlightening how at Meredith they spent to much time picking the perfect cover. It's like a contest where everyone gets a vote and supports their decision. Then the best part is that you don't know what is picked until it goes to print. I think that it's so cool that the business despite its size is so close. It's like when you join Meredith, you're joining a family. It reminds me of the lighthearted jesting that many of us did with close buddies in high school. Usually when I envision work, I envision grueling long days where the workload is almost piled to the ceiling. It might sound a little overexaggerated, but that's what I imagined. But Meredith puts a total spin on that makes working in the big leagues appealing. I was also surprised to find out that recent graduates could move up through a company so quickly. It lightened my outlook about the designer workforce for a bit.