INSIDE JOB : OCCUPATION: CALENDAR DESIGNER

Name: Sam Sparta

Company: Sparta Graphics

Thumbs up: “It’s a great hobby that was turned into a business. I’ve always been interested in airplanes, and now I have created an airplane calendar. In fact, I created the very first calendar that had a color photo of an airplane in flight. It’s a lot of fun. I like coming to work. I like airplanes, I like the people I deal with.”

Thumbs down: “The paper trail I have to contend with here. I’m good at putting a project together, but I dislike the paperwork--that’s why I have such a good staff to keep track of that for me.”

Next step: “Every year we add a calendar to the line. We ask our customers what kind of calendar they’d like to see, and if there are enough of them who’d like to see a particular type of calendar, we’ll accommodate . . . as long as it’s in the aircraft line.”

Advice: “You have to be able to take an idea and run with it. Not every idea is going to work. You may have two or three ideas on the table, and only one will work. You have to be patient. Frankly, there’s not much to designing a calendar--you start with the dates in blocks large enough for people to write in. The real talent is in the design and in having a good feel for your subject. You have to have a knack for knowing which photos or drawings will work best together.”

Educational and training requirements: No formal education is required, but designers should have a good feel and knowledge for the subject of the calendar project.

Size of work force: There are only about a half a dozen people who design calendars professionally in Orange County.

Expected demand: Minimal. There are fewer than six companies that produce calendars in Orange County, and they are small independent operations. The larger calendar makers are in the eastern United States, with a smattering of companies in Los Angeles.

Job description: Calendar designers determine the focus of a calendar. They gather photographs, drawings or other artwork, facts, and write copy to produce a weekly, monthly, or daily calendar of a specific genre or subject matter.

Major employing industries: Specialty advertising companies, calendar companies, greeting-card manufacturers, manufacturers of novelty items.