Hiring Graphic Designers!

Brief Introduction
Sali Tabachi is a graphic design company, located in Canada, Toronto. It was- founded by a married couple Melissa and Henry in 2007. They produced works, including advertising, book design, branding, concept design, graphic design, packaging, and web design.The studio name is inspired by Sali e Tabacchi, corner shops in Italy that once sold government controlled ‘salt and tobacco’. 

I interviewed one of our Graphic Design senior, Tiffany Wong, who worked at Sali Tabachi during this summer. 
 
How did you find this internship position?

I went to visit my friend in Canada last spring break, that was my first time to Canada and I fell in love with that place. So, I went online and searched for some design studios that I was interested in and called them on the spot and asked for an interview. 

What is it like working there?

I decided to work there because I was totally in love with their working environment. It's a very small studio so they basically work / live at the same place. It is a condo with a basement, 2 floors and a 3rd floor roof top patio. The basement is where their working space is located. It was very well decorated with framed posters, illustrations, vinyls, and a bunch of second hand vintage decorative pieces. It was a little bit awkward in the beginning, because I'm sitting right in front of the husband and wife. And when it comes to design, occasionally they get into fights. Usually I just looked down on my computer and pretended like I couldn't hear anything. 

Paid or unpaid?

It was supposed to be unpaid and it covers up 2 credits at Otis, but since we got along pretty well and had a great time working together they still paid me on the last day of work. (around $700)

What was the best experience you had working there?

I've worked at some big advertising agencies, but I'm sure I had a lot more to do here. Since they're really small, they always asked me to join their meetings with clients and to actually participate in brainstorming sessions. I've also been on some shows with them, such as a furniture design show "Mjolk." It was a great opportunity to meet a lot of great people and designers. 

What are some of the designs you participated in?

I participated in designing layouts for a Toronto based magazine called design- lines, Packaging ideas, rebrand project for an architecture company NAK, and some other logos and print designs.

Do you feel different working in a different country?
 
Yeah, I was there for a little bit more than a month (around 50 days) so I explored the city, and went to most of the places that I should go. Toronto is a very different place compared to LA. Weather was very weird. Sometimes it rains very heavy for only 5 minutes then the sun comes out. It is not as separated and spaced out as LA, everything is more gathered, so you don't need to drive. Their public transportation can basically take you everywhere. There is a lot more farmers markets, shows, festivals. People are nice but you can feel that they have a strong pride towards their country. Which is good :) means that they love their country! I've met a couple of people - you can tell from the way they were describing things - who don't like the US so much. 

- Evan -