Hile has been hired to design and develop Blazent Inc.’s user interface for one of their upcoming software products. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Blazent Inc.’s software organizes and aggregates a company’s overwhelming asset information into a clear, streamlined data report. This provides the information technology outsourcer with a better understanding of the company and insight that allows them to make smarter and more cost-effective decisions when programming the company’s IT. Blazent Inc. has four office locations throughout the country, including a local support branch in Novi, Michigan.

I met Monica Getz, Hile Design’s copywriter, at a presentation she gave to my advertising class at the University of Michigan last semester. I was the sole English major floating in a sea of unenthusiastic communication and marketing drones with zero interest in the creative aspects of advertising copy. When she informed us that she was a copywriter (not a copyrighter, as my professor had previously told us) and a former English major at U of M, I perked up from the deflated late-afternoon nap I had grown accustomed to and experienced a spark of energy from the potential relevance the class now held for my life and future career.

A graduation ceremony combined with a two-month back-and-forth email correspondence finally got me an interview. I was brutally grilled in the darkened conference cave by the hotheaded Dave Hile and ice-cold Monica Getz about how I would contribute anything other than a waste of time to their company. Though I don’t really remember what actually happened due to blacking out from fear and stress (but appearing to remain conscious and functional—a skill I learned while dealing with project and term paper deadlines at U of M), it appears I somehow convinced them to keep me around.

Day one, while sitting at my (shared) desk as an (un)paid intern, Dave army-crawled from his office to my area and tied my shoelaces together. As I stood up to embark on finding the restroom (that no one would direct me to), I struck the ground fast and hard. In a daze, I saw Bob, Hile’s Director of Online Technology, approaching me. I met Bob last semester too, as he also came to speak to my class while plagued with swine flu and a sharp disdain for people in general that day. His presentation didn’t inspire the same (false) hope I left with after listening to and speaking with Monica. But I digress—getting back to Bob, I thought he was coming to help me up, perhaps in return for appreciation that I was the only person to ask questions during his “presentation.” He did show me where the bathroom was … but he dragged me there by my hair and then gave me a noogy, repeating something like a dark Gregorian chant with the words, “Welcome to Hile, now go make me some coffee.” I got back to my desk, and Art, Hile’s web programmer, came over to give me my new company email address, [email protected] My computer also mysteriously crashed an hour later and has yet to recover. Art blames me.

(The above story is completely fictitious. But recently liberated from strict college paper guidelines, I took the suggestion of writing a blog post about my time here as far as I saw fit.)

So here’s the real story. My time here as an intern at Hile has been fantastic. Hile has given me a foot in the door to an industry that I didn’t really know how to approach, and I can’t thank them enough for going out on a limb and trusting my writing skills. Everyone in the office is friendly and willing to answer my potentially obvious and/or annoying questions, and even in my first week I have already gained valuable insight and portfolio work that I never could have received in school. I have never had a “real” job before, or rather, one that put my academic skills to use, and it’s exciting to be in an environment where I get to finally utilize them. I’m very much looking forward to future work and getting to know the company, and yes, maybe even eking out a minimum wage.

Hile Design is excited to host an open house with the West Washtenaw Business Association on March 30th at 4:30 in the afternoon. Coffee and refreshments will be graciously supplied by Coffee House Creamery. At 5:30 Dave Hile will give a short presentation on inexpensive marketing techniques.

Hile Design has been selected to redesign the website for Great Lakes Seminars. The updated website will increase navigability and add a class-search feature while providing an updated look for the company.

Great Lakes Seminars specializes in offering educational seminars throughout the United States for physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers and physicians. The company was founded in 1998 by Patrick Hoban, also co-founder of Washtenaw County’s Probility Physical Therapy, with one instructor teaching a single course. Today Great Lakes Seminars offers 11 different classes, including their Integrated Manual Therapy Certification course. The seminars are taught by 12 instructors and 13 assistants. The company also employs four full-time office staff members.

Hile has been contracted by Associates in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation PC of Ann Arbor to redesign the company’s logo, identity and website. The website will provide information about APM&R and the details of their services, which include: electromyography, prolotherapy, motor point blocks, regenerative injection therapy and many more for conditions ranging from neck pain to cerebral palsy. Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also referred to as physiatry, is a field that specializes in restoring optimal function to people with injuries to the muscles, bones, tissues, and nervous system by treating the whole person without surgery.