University Relations Internship
Graphic Design Internship
A mockup of a Baldwin Wallace pennant and a dog using a laptop with BW stickers.
Introduction
In early 2023 I took up a position as a graphic design intern for Baldwin Wallace University’s (BW) Department of University Relations. At University Relations, my responsibilities include graphic design work for multiple media, including digital items such as GIF stickers and social media posts, printed items like promotional signage and decorative stickers, and unexpected pieces like a pennant or a pair of socks.
Engaging in this internship experience presented me with an opportunity to partake in the interview process as a designer. This proved to be a new experience, as prior to interviewing for potential internship opportunities, I had never been to an interview for a job in which I had to present my portfolio of work to anyone. Though I found myself worrying that perhaps I was not being objective enough in explaining the strengths and weaknesses of my design, the interview went well, and at very least served as a good learning experience for future interviews. I decided that an internship with BW would be a good fit because of my interest in and passion for education. Additionally, the university has extensive guidelines on how its brand can be visually represented, so this opportunity provided a means to practice adherence to another entity’s branding guide.
This internship related to my personal and professional goals. Late this past summer, I had realized the reality of how much I appreciate an academic setting. To work in an environment with such constant learning and growth has been a goal of mine, and this internship provided an opportunity to work in the type of school environment that I desired without having to have any experience in teaching. Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, this internship also put a large emphasis on working as a part of a team, which is something with which I have very little previous experience in graphic design.
Learning Outcomes
Through the process of taking part in this internship, I’ve faced multiple challenges and successes. The first thing to address was University Relations’ project management. The department uses a couple pieces of software that were new to me, namely Extensis Connect and Wrike. We use Extensis Connect to manage the department’s photo library, and we use Wrike for overall project management, such as assigning tasks, approving projects, and posting revisions. Most of our general communication, however, was either directly in person, or through Microsoft Teams. Luckily, it only took a couple hours to get set up my accounts for the department’s software, and my familiarity with cloud-based file storage certainly helped my adjustment as well. Learning how to best utilize project management software, however, took about two weeks of observing others to fully grasp.
Brand Guidelines
Another major adjustment came in the form of making sure that I adhered to BW’s branding guidelines. I have previously made pieces that adhere to an organization’s branding guidelines, but this was the first time I would incorporate guidelines into anything other than a school project; in other words, I had done this before, but now the pressure is on. This was only made more challenging once one considers that past pieces by other designers did not necessarily always follow BW’s brand guidelines. I was able to find success on this front despite these challenges by ensuring acute mindfulness in terms of referencing BW’s brand guidelines often, checking with others in the department if there was something that seemed to be unclear about the guidelines put in place. After all, those that I work with are experts in representing the university.
Teamwork in the Office
That teamwork collaboration within a professional setting also introduced its own learning curve. Initially, I felt a sort of fear or nervousness about going to my colleagues for help, worried that if I were to approach them and ask them for a second pair of eyes on a project that it would single me out as the young and inexperienced intern, but I found quickly that there exists extensive communication between members of the department. Colleagues frequently pop over to each other’s offices and ask for a quick opinion on a piece or request larger-scale feedback during our morning meetings. This understanding that even professionals go to each other for help and second opinions helped build an understanding within me that even professionals regularly go to each other for help and second opinions. This even helped to develop my overall confidence in this new professional setting.
Another small challenge came into play when discussing critiques. I had done critiques in class, which certainly helped to build the foundations of this skill, however, working in university relations introduced a new element. At one point I had started a critical statement with the phrase “in my opinion,” and a colleague pointed out that in our field it is generally best to keep our critiques more objective, or at least in the language we use. Additionally, I had never done a critique for a project that was handed off to me before. The same colleague reminded me that I should present critiques as if the original designer is in the room, even if they are known not to be. Receiving professional criticism aided in being able to give professional criticism, as well as in helping to determine what sorts of design aspects I can approach in a more objective fashion.
Product Design
My greatest challenge in this internship came from one specific set of projects: product design. I was tasked with designing a set of materials to be given away as gifts to alumni, staff, current students, and prospective students. This set of materials included a set of one-inch button pins, a sheet of tech cling stickers, a sports pennant, and a pair of socks complete with a band that will hold them together. While my experience in packaging design in past courses helped me to understand design principles that I could utilize in designing the sock band, I had precisely no experience in designing pennants or any form of clothing. These items were designed to be given away to the BW community, so it was important to make sure that these socks were not just a normal pair of socks, but that they explicitly related to the university’s visual identity. I had never designed a pair of socks before and being presented with this challenge resulted in this project taking about a week later than I had originally hoped. Ultimately, there were not many other projects that required my attention at the time, and I designed multiple alternative sock patterns for consideration. I worked with my department colleagues and the admissions department to determine which design would be best suited for the purposes of gift distribution. In a sense, even though this project was internal in relation to BW, the admissions department was acting as a client, and communication with them was critical.
Designing for the Physical World
Lastly, I gained experience discussing printing materials. My graphic design education was largely digital, especially considering that a large portion of my design career took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in two main challenges for me: a lack of understanding of stationery, and difficulty grasping physical measurements. When working with software that allows a designer to zoom in and out freely, it can be hard to understand what measurements like one inch or five and three-eighths inches might look like. However, to combat this, working in the office allowed easier access to test prints, which previously were stuck behind a paywall and a trip to printing services. I also sometimes had physical pieces of older university relations materials that I could reference to understand what size something should be, for instance in the case of the sports pennant and the one-inch button pins, which allowed for me to more easily understand how big a piece I am working on is, and to subsequently make decisions on how to use the space I had to work with.
Academic Relevance
As someone who spent five years as an undergraduate student, I have taken many courses in multiple different fields and all of which have helped prepare me for experiences such as this internship. While each of the courses I have taken contributed to one of the three majors I have declared since enrolling at BW, a handful of courses stick out.
Computer Science
My earlier years studying software engineering and computer science were unexpectedly helpful in my pursuit of the arts. For instance, my CSC-380 Database: Theory, Application, & Administration course focused heavily on the organization of data and files, and made extensive use of computer queries, not unlike CSS selector queries. Furthermore, my CSC-235 System Requirements and Testing course was my first introduction to the overall concept and process of creating user personas, the practice of user testing, and the development cycle. All these latter lessons transferred quite directly from computing to design. For instance, when designing the packaging band for a pair of BW socks that were to be given away primarily to alumni, I struggled for days to design something fitting of a gift from the university. My supervisor reminded me to take a step back and consider what I, as a to-be alumnus of BW, would like to receive from the university. Taking this into account, I started to develop personas this packaging with multiple receiver personas in mind and found success in designing a piece that has an emphasis on the BW community and the importance of each Yellow Jacket, rather than sticking to the sterile, corporate approach that had me stuck in a rut for so long
Communications
My courses in communications were perhaps the least obvious in their contributions to my internship experience, but important, nonetheless. My CAS-112 Presentational Speaking course aided in my ability to present the material, whether digital or physical, that I create in my internship. The course gave me the foundational skills that I needed to keep an audience not only interested but engaged in a presentation. My CAS-232 Workshop in Journalism course aided in my copy writing and editing skills and helped to develop critical skills in determining importance and hierarchy of information, such as when helping
Art and Design
Surprising no one, the most crucial courses I took related to this internship experience were my arts classes. ART-240 Graphic Design I taught me the foundations of working with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, most notably Illustrator and InDesign. I expanded upon what I learned and put my knowledge to the test in other courses like ART-261 Typography, which taught me even more about type layout skills and best practices, as well as documentation of the design process by way of creating a process book. My skills in graphic design were pushed to the limits in ART-350 Graphic Design III, where I gained experience in packaging design and brand identity development, with ART-362 Logos and Symbols expanding further on brand identity guideline development and use; working for a university like BW requires strict adherence to its branding guidelines and graphic elements, and acute attention to detail. This deeper understanding of how to design with brand guidelines in mind aided me in designing pieces like the digital slides for BW Gives and the alumni give-away socks and packaging.
Personal Development
The internship experience overall helped to foster a greater sense of confidence in people skills within a professional setting. Working consistently with a particular group of people has helped me to become more comfortable with seeking feedback from others on projects on which I am working. In turn, feedback on my projects have also helped me to give higher quality, more objective feedback on others’ work.
This internship expanded my knowledge of teamwork and project management, particularly as they relate to communication. I have found myself more open to design choices and found new methods of improving my time management.
Collaborating with the team at BW University Relations has also resulted in an increase in confidence in my own work as a graphic designer. In developing my communication skills, I also developed more confidence in my ability to explain design choices in my graphic design work.
During my time as a student, I found myself worrying often about whether I would be able to produce high enough quality material on time. In my internship as well as during this past semester, feedback on my work has been overwhelmingly positive, even with shorter turnaround times than in previous semesters. This has helped to reassure that I have better developed my graphic design skills than I have tended to give myself credit for in the past.
Evaluation
Overall, partaking in this graphic design internship experience with BW’s Department of University Relations has helped me develop into the designer that I want to be. The experience added to the knowledge I gained through courses and other design work by providing me with novel challenges to overcome and learn from.
Through this internship, I faced stricter attendance and less flexible hours. There were specific periods of time set aside for working on projects related to University Relations, rather than the instruction time and homework model that I had grown used to. Furthermore, there was the knowledge that missing a day of work impacts my ability to meet deadlines and could even result in colleagues having to pick up whatever projects I may have missed out on, and so it was more important than ever to make sure that I am in the office whenever it is required of me, on time, and ready to work alongside my team. This helped to further develop my ability to work as a part of a team, this time in a context other than food service or retail.
In addition to those smaller successes, I have had the privilege to design multiple official works for BW, not only for the Department of University Relations itself, but for other departments and organizations such as Admissions, Sustainable BW, and the BW men’s football team, just to name a few. As with any commission, I had to produce these works in accordance with client specifications and produced in such a way that any deliverables were prepared correctly and on time.
Overall, this internship’s influence on my BW education has not only been positive, but it feels as if everything has been brought full circle. To be able to work for the very institution that helped me to gain the skills that I am now using every day in the office feels like the perfect way to wrap up a BW experience. I had a means to apply a broad range of concepts and practices that I have learned throughout my digital media and design course of study, from some of the earliest lessons about how to use the pathfinder tool in Illustrator to more recent lessons such as using brand guidelines, everything that I have learned in the past few years has been instrumental to my success in this field and in University Relations specifically.
This newfound reassurance that I have, in fact, honed the skills necessary to be a professional in the graphic design career field has not only prepared me for future graphic design opportunities, but helped me to learn about myself in ways that I had never considered prior to accepting this internship offer. The BW community has played a crucial and irreplaceable role in my life and has not only helped me to develop into the best version of myself that I can be but given me the courage to continue to do so moving forward into future endeavors. At the end of the day, that is what being a Yellow Jacket is all about.