This project was to create a portfolio of the work we created during this course. It was to create a space to continue to post our projects for future employment prospects.
Date
Dec. 12, 2021
Program Used
Indesign
What I Learned
I learned the importance of a combined design throughout the project. Creating a design that has repetition and a common theme connects every page, no matter when you add that project page. I learned how to Correlate with different fonts and font sizes. I learned the importance of a digital portfolio and the ease that it creates for a future employer to view the work and have links to the raw form.
During COVID-19 shops and stores closed all over town. People were scared to go anywhere for long periods of time, or to stay to long in small spaces.
There were few places that people felt comfortable being, and even then, masks were worn, and social distancing was in place. Cafes took a big hit when this happened. The shops with indoor seating had regulations put in place or had to limit to just a drive-thru, while drive-thru only pop-up shops where thriving.
Larger coffee shops that are well known in the area are popular with the morning crowds, waiting in line to get their “cup of joe” before work. Driving by, they look very busy as the drive-thru lines wrap around buildings.
Unfortunately for some indoor seating cafes the bounce back from COVID hasn’t happened that quickly. While they may be busy in the drive-thru and staying open, sitting inside for a few hours, you would think they had little customers at all.
When entering the lobby of the Starbucks or Wake Up Calls in Spokane you would think that indoor seating Cafes are dying. You are greeted by baristas who run around making drinks and food for the drive-thru orders. Looking around there are only a few customers settling in for a long stay.
“I would say most of our customer base is people who work like just regular nine to five jobs,” Alaska Johnson, Store Manager of Wake Up Call’s Evergreen store location, said. “In this area, in particular, we get a lot of blood work in the hospitals”
By looking at these two examples, you would think that the people in Spokane only get their coffees quick and on the go through drive-thru coffee stands.
However, shops like Casual Friday Donuts Cafe in Spokane Valley and Ladder Coffee Roasters in Spokane are Cafes that welcome customers to come inside and stay awhile.
Casual Friday Donuts has a shop dedicated to donuts in North Spokane, but the location in the Valley is a full Café with lots of seating to accommodate drinks of all kinds, coffee, tea, energy drinks, beer, wine etc.
“We get a lot more traffic through the door than in the drive-thru,” Shaiyane Edwards, Supervisor at Casual Friday Donuts Valley location, said. “A year ago it was more of the drive-thru. It’s actually really nice to see that it can get really packed in here.”
During the week its busier due to the close location to a High School, and baristas at Casual Friday Donuts see kids, families, and employees in the area all throughout the day.
Ladder Coffee Roasters has seen an uptick of customers in both the drive-thru and in store since the closure of their location in North Spokane at the end of 2022. From the early morning rush at 7 a.m. to the business meetings and lunches during the day, baristas are helping customers with personalized drinks and snacks to enjoy.
“For sure students, a lot of meetings happen here,” Jules Adame, Manager of the Valley Ladder Coffee Roasters said. “Lots of folks who are working the nine to five and facilitating any kind of meeting.”
The valley location is central to stores, shops, quiet neighborhoods, and a bank next door. With a large glass wall between the café and the bank next door, light seeps in creating a warm environment inviting everyone to come inside and stay a while.
“I see a lot of that, real-estate folks, people from the bank come in often,” Adame said. We have some older couples who live in the area that will dine in with us, parents with children. It’s kind of a mixed bag for demographic.”
I talked with Amanda at Swell Coffee about what kinds of customers that they see. Swell Coffee’s busiest hours are early in the morning as people are going to school or work.
The owner of Swell is a teacher in the Spokane area, so a large portion of their customer base is teachers and locals wanting to help support the up-and-coming shop.
Separate from their regulars, Swell sees a variety of customers and have been very consistent post COVID. Even though they are only a drive-thru, they don’t get many complaints for not having a lobby.
The Valley location was the first coffee shop to open for Swell. After a warm welcome the past few years they opened a second location on Trent this past year.
So, while some may think that sit in cafes are dying post COVID, shops like Casual Fridays Donuts and Café, and Ladder Coffee Roaster are proving them wrong.
When the Starbucks and other chain coffee shops are what you’re in the mood for, investigate the local diamonds in the ruff. They are ready and waiting. You never know, you may find your new favorite Café?
By: Marisa West, Senior Multimedia Journalism Major at Washington State University
The SPARK Innovation Hub is known by students and staff of Washington State University campus for many things.
Across from a large wall of screens, sits enormous stairs for students to gather for lectures, meetings, and even movie nights. Students gathered to study and enjoy the time before class.
When visiting Pullman, the first thing you notice is the flags giving directions to Washington State University (WSU) Campus. It is one of the focal points in Pullman, and the campus welcomes the citizens of Pullman, just like students and staff.
A student scrolls through his phone in a reading nook on the third floor of The Spark. This particular nook is common for reading undisturbed or watching the sunset over downtown Pullman.
The Spark is located on Washington Street as you enter campus and is open to everyone 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.
There are numerous attractions to enjoy at the Spark. A stop for a perfect cup of coffee and a snack from the Starbucks Cafe may take some time, but you will not regret stopping by.
The Starbuck in the Spark is known for being the busiest on Campus. In direct contest to the Starbucks in The Bookie, there is almost a constant line to get a coffee, cold drink, sandwich or snack between classes.
Studying in the group study rooms, the communal areas, curled up in a comfy chair, or sitting on the unique large steps, the Spark is available for whatever environment helps you keep on task.
Comfy chairs are available around the building, but these puffy chairs sit on the first floor. These chairs go quick, but if you can catch one available, they make a comfortable place to catch up on work.
Just make sure not to get too comfortable, some have been known to fall asleep in these chairs.
When I was given the prompt, “No Place Like Pullman” I immediately thought about the Spark building. When I came to the WSU campus last year, this was the first place someone suggested I check out. It is one of the go-to places to study, get together with friends and study groups, or just to get a snack and your daily Starbucks.
This last summer, The Spark Innovation Hub continued its versatility to the public by adding the Gesa Credit Union in the entrance and putting in an ATM in front of the building.
Gesa Credit Union was added to the building in the Summer of 2022. There are bank tellers on staff to help with any inquiry.
The way I tackled this assignment was to visit the Spark at different times of the day. I wanted to show what the atmosphere is like at different times during the day.
Students start to gather in the Spark Innovation Hub to get a jump start on homework and study for exams.
In the morning I got a view of the early birds getting coffee and studying before class, while later in the day I saw the long lines of people waiting for snacks, coffee, and late lunches after class as they get ready to start studying and homework.
Across from the Starbucks sits students studying between classes while enjoying breakfast or a snack.
My strategy for taking photos was to walk around the building and take pictures of my favorite rooms and nooks to study. I found several people enjoying the areas I have spent so much time in.
A student working on classwork while enjoying their Starbucks coffee and sandwich.
On the third floor of the Spark has two large sections where students can gather as groups or individually to get work done. These are separate from the classrooms and study rooms on that level.
Large comfy chairs are available on the first floor in a small gathering space. During the day students study there, but at night you may find a group of friends watching a movie on the monitor on the wall.
Staring at the same four walls can become very distracting when trying to focus on work. Refocusing on the task at hand can be difficult, but a lot of students and at home employees find it easier to do this when they have new scenery.
Many Cafes and restaurants around town welcome students and workers who need a new space to do their work. They have tables and spaces to spread out as needed.
Spokane, Washington has places like Casual Friday’s Cafe, The Ladder Roaster’s, and Dave’s Pizza that are great local spots to check out. A quick Google search for Cafe’s will help you find a local spot in your area.
Arby’s Roast Beef on Indiana Avenue has been under construction for over two years. The original start date of the remodel was in March of 2020. Due to the pandemic and regulations, there was a loss of construction crews causing delays. During the first part of the year the lobby was closed for renovations in that part of the restaurant, leaving just the drive thru for customers. Arby’s officially closed their drive thru on Jan. 25 to start the kitchen remodel, expecting to be closed for only two weeks. Unfortunately, due to complications and extended time needed, the drive through didn’t open again until the beginning of March, two years after the original start of the remodel.
The remodel has given upgrades that will allow for a faster service time, getting food to the customer faster. A new dual line, new ovens, and a new drive thru system was installed to help with food quality and performance. Throughout the remodel, the Spokane Arby’s company has paid their loyal employees who came back after the temporary shut-down. This allowed them a well-deserved break after a busy two years. It also gave them time to spend with family and focus on their daily lives outside of the company. Business has slowly picked up, as loyal customers have seen the drive thru open again. Arby’s hopes to be complete with the remodel and to open back up their lobby within the next month.
Arby’s signs waiting to be installed as remodel comes to an end. Photos taken by Marisa West
Arby’s remodel, takes longer than expected
Arby’s Roast Beef located on Indiana Avenue started a remodel in March of 2020 when the restaurant’s lobby closed for the pandemic; this last month, they official closed to finish.
What was supposed to be completed through stages in a few months, has lasted two years. This location started demolition on the lobby in the new year and officially closed the store for kitchen remodel Jan. 25.
As of now, the date for reopen is unknown. When reopen is scheduled it will consist of just the drive thru, to finish up finishing touches on the lobby.
The restaurant’s lobby is going to be the biggest change cosmetically; however, the kitchen is also getting an updated introducing a new dual backline allowing for faster service. The outside of the building will also have cosmetic changes. The iconic “A” sign will be updated with a new, larger sign. The overall look of the building will be refreshed to match the new interior.
The four Arby’s restaurants located in Spokane have the same owners, allowing them to do something that many other restaurants in the area have not been able to offer their employees, paid time off during a remodel.
“It certainly has impacted our business, but I’ve always been impressed with how or owners have taken care of the staff,” Tom Kunz, the General Manager said.
“I think that our situation is extremely different in that we are being paid to stay,” Kellie Tooke, an Assistant Manager said. “In most remodeling situations the staff is left to figure out their next paycheck is coming from, at least to some extent.”
The owners made the decision to pay their staff their normal paychecks during the close. This guaranteed that many of the employees will stay with the company after the remodel and entice others to join the crew when the business reopens.
This time has given employees at this location the time to refresh after a hectic and busy two-years.
“We as employees can use this time to recharge, reset and reflect on how our personal lives are going and what we want from the future without the stress of finances getting in the way,” Tooke said.
The business was planned to be closed for only two weeks, but it has been pushed further than expected. Being pushed back has meant losses to the company that were not planned, and many of the employees are looking forward to working for their paychecks again. Management for this location are eager to reopen, being closed is no way to run a restaurant.
“As far as how this has affected the business; we’ll only fully know the answer to that once we reopen,” Tooke said. “I’d say that each week we stay closed we make our customer base nervous.”
The Indiana location is located near the Spokane Valley mall, which has created many loyal customers who visit the restaurant on a regular basis.
“By the calls I’m getting we have a lot of loyal customers who are looking forward to our re-opening,” Kunz said.
The closure has made many customers nervous they will ever reopen. Calls are places to the store daily asking the following questions.
“Will we ever reopen?” Tooke said. “Will the staff be the same? Will the prices be much higher to meet the financial needs that were needed to remodel? Will the quality of it all diminish or expand? Thankfully we have a loyal customer base, so I know it will all work out.”
Unfortunately, the only way to see the effect to the business is to wait for the reopening. Employees hope to be welcomed back by their regular customers and many more excited to see the new look.
Not only has COVID-19 changed how education is taught, but it is changing the quality of education that students are receiving.
Through the last two years COVID-19 has changed the world that everyone is familiar with. This is not only including the healthcare system, shopping, restaurants, or the economic change.
Education has taken a hit, not only with the change to online and hybrid learning, but adding masks and cleaning schedules, limiting classrooms, and social distancing has made it harder for students to intake and comprehend the same level of education than they did before the pandemic.
Washington state regulations have changed many times during the pandemic, but over the last two years each school district have taken control of their regulations. So, some schools have different regulations than others.
For some students and teachers this new system has been beneficial.
“The mandated shutdown and hybrid schedules of the last two years have caused many changes both in how we teach and how students access learning,” Sara Ray, teacher with Cheney school district said. “In some ways it has improved how we present information to the students.”
Many of these benefits are technologically based. Due to the new system, everything is available online for students to always access, making it easier for students who need to review or double check on assignments and stay on track.
It has created the bridge between school and home stronger, allowing for better communication from teacher and student in hybrid classes.
“Some students found that they learn much better in a distance platform,” Ray said. They don’t get distracted by other students, they don’t get tempted to be off task, they are more comfortable and self-assured in their home environment, and they can work more at their own pace whether that is faster or slower than the other students.”
However other students have found that it is the worst way to learn.
“They do not do well if they are not in a school environment,” Ray said. “They need the community of a classroom and personal interaction with the teachers to fully understand the information being presented.”
While many people think that the hybrid schedules and online learning has been beneficial to students learning others felt that education has taken a back burner to health.
“Covid has changed my education by making me more focused on safety in the classroom than what I’m supposed to be learning,” Jasper Willson, Washington State University student said.
With the focus on health instead of education, many students have felt that they are behind in their education and life experiences. Many of them being freshman in High school and College this coming year. They have experience coming of age in quarantine, taking their focus away from education even more.
“They didn’t learn a lot of the developmental lessons that occur during a time in their life where they are personally going through many changes,” Ray said. “They had to relearn how to work in a classroom and follow school rules.”
The pandemic has been a big shift for students and teachers, but many school districts have pulled together and tried to make the best environments for education. Unfortunately, it is based on each students learning experience on whether it was successful.
This portfolio contains work I have completed in the field of journalism and Content Creation.
I am a Photographer with a wide repertoire; including but not limited to Family, Infant, and Personal Portraits. Most of my work the last few years has been Wedding and Engagement Photography.
I am also a freelance Journalist, Content Creator, and Coordinator.
Please contact me using the following contacts.
Contact
First Contact and Booking through Email
Email: connect.marisa.west@gmail.com
If there is a complication with booked appointment please reach out to me by phone so I see it in a timely fashion.
Phone: 509-869-6545
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MarisaWestDesigns 