In today’s Insight, I am discussing my digital design summer internship with Maven. Interning at Maven is a creative problem-solving process that challenges me to think critically about my writing and design capabilities. I’ve learned to cultivate business messaging using visual mediums. I have developed an eye for how things fit together and flow in graphics on the web and mobile devices.
My internship is not only refining my writing and design skills but also showing me how those skills impact the business world. It took time for me to see these individual pieces as a whole. I had to re-evaluate my competencies and develop others so I could fully understand how to apply my skills. Now, I ask myself: What pieces are critical for designing digitally?
Collaboration
I’ve learned that whether you’re editing a blog post or designing a social media graphic, it’s vital to view your work from the client’s perspective and target audience. Internal collaboration ensures that the client’s needs and ideas echo throughout the design. By working with Maven’s in-house graphic designer, I receive guided and detailed support for my design’s visual execution. Since my work is a representation of the company as a whole, his perspective improves, enhances, and elevates the quality of my work.
Time Management & Deadlines
My internship has helped identify and break bad habits; one of my biggest challenges is time management. Each project has a critical deadline, whether designing or writing social media content, sourcing imagery, or editing blog posts. Learning and utilizing shortcuts helps me meet those deadlines.
Design Process
First, I have to understand the client’s needs and know their timeline. I ask as many questions as I can and research the business to understand their industry, brand, value, and audience. Reviewing the client’s website and social media platforms gives me a sense of their style, messaging, and identity.
I am also learning that understanding a company’s branding standards helps maintain a cohesive look. Every company has specific branding standards to maintain consistency across all platforms and establish brand identity and integrity. These standards include typography, font, colors, logo use and placement, and imagery.
One of the most important lessons that I am taking with me is knowing the dimensions for each social media platform. In turn, ensuring that I design to scale and all art displays correctly. At Maven, we design with mobile devices in mind first, as people are more likely to look at things on their phones. So starting from the smallest screen establishes a seamless user experience across all devices.
SEO for Blogs
Editing blog posts can be challenging and stressful; it needs to be visible to meta and keyword searches on search engines. Without rewriting someone’s work, I focus on reworking the post to meet SEO and readability standards.
Sourcing Imagery
Sourcing images takes time, especially when searching for pictures or videos with copyright claims. I’ve learned not to focus on one idea, but consider many ideas for imagery that provide the same message. If I’m hard-pressed to find an image of a spokesperson, I search for a picture of a podium or microphone instead.
Branding Standards
I am also learning that understanding a company’s branding standards helps maintain a cohesive look. Every company has specific branding standards to maintain consistency across all platforms and establish brand identity and integrity. These standards include typography, font, colors, logo use and placement, and imagery.
Thank you for reading my Insight about my digital design internship with Maven. If you know someone interested in Fall internship opportunities, check out our student internship section.
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