Me, My Internship and I

If there was ever a worse time to be graphic design student…

Finishing 2nd year of university with having as many “face to face” classes as I have fingers.  It became apparent that finding placement was going to be no easy feat.

Between studios realising they could work from home and a backlog of students who never got the opportunity to complete a placement year, opportunities were very scarce.

Numerous emails, calls, “I’ll get back to you” and “I’ll pass your details on” later, the opportunity had finally presented itself after Ripple responded to my application. They agreed to take me on as an Intern for a fixed term which was the best news I could’ve got.

The first month was a colossal wake up call. You think you’re a good designer at university until you’re sat next to someone with 5x the experience, working on projects for clients and companies worth millions.

Usually, Uni briefs come nicely gift wrapped and tailored to have some creative connections built in to make it easy for the student. So the experience being in a new environment where you’re not the client of your own designs was a welcomed challenge.

Although it didn’t take long to learn that if you can’t recite the full booklet, poster or design. You haven’t proof read it enough… (the standard is incredibly high).

That being said, the attitude and atmosphere of the studio is one of the reasons I’ve loved working here. Ripple are an agency who can produce flawless and creative designs alongside being incredibly friendly and approachable.

I explained in the interview my strengths and weaknesses in design and they have accommodated this perfectly due to the immense range of services they have to offer that have helped me refine my strengths and improve on those weaknesses.

I’m currently 5 months into the internship and I may have clocked up 15,000 miles and an eye-watering fuel bill driving from Antrim every day…But I’ve learned more already than what I could have ever hoped for.