Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Life I Learned Working at Kinko’s

During my last two semesters of art school, I took a job in the computer services department at Kinko’s. This was before FedEx took over, back when the dress code was khaki pants and a blue button-down—neither of which fit my style then or now. Instead, I found a long, baggy khaki skirt that I could just pull off with my platform brown boots—a souvenir from my first trip overseas with my mom to London.

People say that working in food service teaches you about people. So does working at Kinko’s. It was my first job as a graphic designer, and nearly every project needed to be turned around in “about an hour” as their tagline promised. I spent time on the print floor, nervously pre-flighting files, always worried that I’d approve something incorrectly and waste an entire roll of expensive glossy plotter paper—which I did, more than once. But I felt at home in the computer services department, where the energy was high, the music was good, and the projects were endless.

We were the last-minute miracle workers of funeral programs, brochures, yearbooks, wedding invitations, business cards—you name it. If someone walked in needing it, we figured out a way to make it happen. We worked on shiny Apple G3 computers, using programs like Adobe Pagemaker, Quark, and Illustrator, all while managing walk-in clients with no time to waste. Looking back, it was one of the best crash courses in client communication, creative problem-solving, and rapid execution that I could have ever asked for.

And the perks? Unlimited access to professional design software and printing equipment—an unexpected goldmine for assembling my portfolio.

After graduation, I left Kinko’s to take a job at Philadelphia Decal Company, where I was offered the chance to travel to Hong Kong and tour manufacturing factories—an opportunity that set the stage for the career I have today.

But Kinko’s shaped me. It taught me that deadlines don’t care about perfection, that thinking on your feet is just as valuable as technical skill, and that being resourceful, adaptable, and unflappable under pressure is what makes a designer truly great.

Everything I ever needed to know about life, I learned working at Kinko’s.