Internships
03.16.12
Be the Best Intern Ever!
Since
I've been working as a full time designer for over a year, I am really
understanding the flip side of the work relationship between interns and
the art department. Interns are not only here to gain professional
experience, but they are essentially becoming key members of the
magazine.
Here are some examples of what you may end
up doing as a design intern and how much your contributions are
impacting the art department:
1. Updating the Mini Board (or Wall)
It may end up being 100% of your
responsibility to update these every month. It's very important because
if stories drop, or if pages get added, we usually refer to the mini
board during meetings, and it's important that they're up to date. Also
we check the flow of the magazine by referring to the mini board, so
design choices could end up changing based on the order of the pages.
2. Doing Photo Research
Sometimes when deadlines
are coming close or ideas are changing for stories, we may ask you to
do some photo research to get us what we're looking for. If we are
doing a complicated story where we need a giant handful of photos to
choose from, we'll ask you to help the photo department with that search as well.
It could take you the better half of the day!
Yes, that's a lot of
searching, but this is very important because sometimes the designer has
something specific in mind, or the subject is sensitive and we want to
make sure we're choosing the most appropriate photos. There are plenty of
reasons why we need a lot of photos handy, but basically don't
think we're giving you busy work. It's a very important part of the
magazine to have great imagery, and stock images can be a tough thing to
get right.
3. Doing Administrative Tasks
We may ask you to
get the mail everyday. Or distribute the art department's new issue
plans or manuscripts. Honestly, it may not be super exciting, but it
will only take you about 10 minutes, and it's crucial to keep everyone
updated and as orderly as possible. If members of the art department
have different documents, it can put meetings at a standstill and
wastes a lot of time figuring out what to follow. Also it's
something that an Assistant Designer (like myself) does as well. So it's
a taste of what you would be doing if you were an employee.
4. Page Layouts
Obviously this is what you wait for
when you get a design internship at a magazine! But here are some
things to keep in mind:
- The better you perform at doing the non-design
tasks (updating the mini board, distributing paperwork, etc) the more we
will want to test your abilities.
- Once you start working on design
layouts, it's important to give us options or show us that you're really
thinking about all the possibilities.
- Also don't feel like you can't
ask your art department questions. We want you to learn how to create a
layout that's perfect for the mag. It's pretty cool when you see your
page in a magazine that millions of others are looking at as well. It
may end up in your portfolio too!
5. Your Overall Attitude
Personality
is HUGE when
you're working in a creative environment. You have to be able to
communicate your thoughts and respect the thoughts of others. You'll
probably be working with some awesome people, but keep in mind that
we're still your colleagues (even though some of us may only be a year
or two out of school). We probably don't want to hear your stories from
when
you were at the bar last night, or topics that could be inappropriate in
the
slightest.
You should be able to judge what that line is depending on who you're
working with. It's important to stay professional because it not only
impresses us, but it makes us want to give you great recommendations.
Your full attention towards your internship
really says a lot too. We love when you take the initiative or go the
extra mile to really polish your work. Asking if anyone has anything
else
that they need for the night is also greatly appreciated. It shows us
that you want the whole
experience and are willing to stay a few minutes late to do so. The art
department may stay another few hours working on layouts, so we can
honestly use your help to the very last minute of your day.
- Posted by contributor Nicole Zigmont, Assistant Designer at Family Circle Magazine
Thanks to Nicole for these awesome tips! Got any tips or insights of your own to share? Comment below or email us.