Menachem Weinreb, Creative Director of Mishpacha Magazine, has joined the faculty of Naaleh College’s Graphics Certificate Program.  Mr. Weinreb brings a unique perspective to the position, both as an experienced and successful designer, and as someone closely involved in assessing and guiding other designers’ work through his job at Mishpacha.

Mr. Weinreb is a graduate of The School of Visual Arts and Queens College.  He has been working in design and animation for many years, including work for Toys R Us, Absolut Vodka, and the Reader’s Digest.  Mr. Weinreb has been working as Mishpacha’s Creative Director since 2009.  He shares his excitement at joining the Naaleh College team in the following interview:

Q:  What do you love most about graphic design?

MW:  Making emotional graphics.   It’s a lot about connection, just like good music reaches out and touches the core of a person, powerful imagery has the ability to connect to the viewer.

Q:  What is your goal for your students at Naaleh College?

MW:  My goal is for students to learn how to break thinks down. A good designer sees through the design and knows how to break it down to the grid and then build it up again. Like a good musician, they can hear something, separate it and build it again. Once this is achieved it doesn’t matter if a client or editor wants to make changes because the process becomes very connected and tight.

Q:  What advice would you give to a designer looking for their first job?

MW:  A good designer would benefit more from an internship in a great firm than taking a position as the creative designer in a bad design firm right away. I would recommend taking a small or big freelance job, talking and talking to the client to try to find out what they want. After coming up with a design show it to a teacher or mentor to get a good opinion and have it tested. This will build the confidence level of the designer and help him put out high quality work that clients will love.

Q:  Is there room for more designers in this already competitive field?

MW:  Good designers are always needed. It might take time, but the world and Hashem wants your talent to get out there!

Q:  What qualities are most important in a graphic designer?

A good designer will be able to take criticism. You need to be a good filter. I had teachers that made students cry. Not because they were mean, it was to really challenge the students and ask them to question what they were doing. Everyone knows that being wrong is not fun, but if you can’t take criticism then you won’t be a good designer or a good partner in a marriage or anywhere in business.

A good designer also needs to share new ideas with others. Thinking that if you share a trick or idea you will lose is harmful to your professional development. Share things and your mind will be filled with more. You certainly can apply this on a religious level as well, but it works professionally all the time.

Q:  How is the Naaleh College program different from other graphics training programs?

MW:  The program is very detailed and in-depth, students have a lot of contact with teachers, which is vital to proper training, and employment preparation is done is a very concrete way, in the form of portfolio building, resume development, and job interview preparation.  I am excited to be working in a frum program that is geared to helping my community develop in this area.

Registration for Naaleh College’s Certificate Programs is in full swing!  Fall Semester begins right after Sukkos, on September 30^th.  Go to www.naalehcollege.com/cert to learn more about Naaleh’s certificates in Graphic Design, Web Development, and Computer Programming, or contact Rabbi Sruli Safran at (732)363-6768 or [email protected].