What I learnt on my graphic design internship

Read a blog by BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Lauren on her summer internship with creative design agency, borne.

How I got the design internship

Over the summer, I decided to find a placement within a graphic design agency. After I graduate, I am very keen on finding a career which is located locally within Norfolk.

It was important for me to research and reach out to local agencies as although there are a lot of big opportunities in London, personally I would rather not live and work within a big city and Norwich has plenty of design agencies.

In the middle of my second year, I emailed my portfolio to several agencies in Norwich to see whether any could offer me any experience. I was lucky enough to get a reply from borne, a company I could only have dreamed of getting a placement with!

Their style of work is respected and in awe of by NUA Graphic Design students. I was at borne for 2 weeks and experienced and learnt a lot about the daily life of how a graphic design agency works.

What I took away from my internship

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Whilst at borne, I was very excited to be involved in a live brief where I helped design the cover of Flint Magazine, an NUA magazine. Asking questions on how to create an effect or how to do something on Photoshop allowed the work I produced to look professional as well as learning new skills along the way.

In addition, I was talking to Chris, one of the strategists at borne and I discussed with him about my dissertation topic. He gave me some useful resources to look at ideas to consider within my written work.

Talking to clients

Whilst working on Flint, I was fortunate enough to experience a live briefing for the first time and to attend a second meeting where we discussed the progress of the magazine. It was interesting being in the environment where you are not the client of your own work i.e. working on your own uni brief.

Having an actual client critique and give feedback was a very valuable experience, it prepares you for when you step into the industry giving you confidence to meet a client’s requirements.

Roles within a design agency

At university, we are required to do all of the all the steps within the development of a project. At borne, it was interesting to see how the different individual roles make an agency work effectively. From talking to the client, to budgeting projects to creating the design artwork, being within an agency broadened my horizons to the different job elements.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at borne and I look forward to seeing what opportunities there are for me after my final year at NUA.