AARP Publications // Graphic Design Internship

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Design Internship for a Magazine

I found out about this internship opportunity on LinkedIn - the person hiring was a former alumni and adjunct professor who reposted the listing on my feed. I had applied at the beginning of the summer. I got an email back from their HR manager and set up a virtual interview where they gauged my personality and work ethic. I passed the first round and was given a second interview with the design team where I got to talk more about my design process and time management skills, which seemed to resonate with the team. I was given another a week later! 

AARP is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 years old and older. Their magazine has the most readers than any other publication in the country, with over 30 million readers as of 2023. Their magazine focuses on everything from lifestyle stories to health reads and political responses. My direct supervisor is the Associate Art Director at AARP who mainly focuses on the web newsletter that AARP directs to women over the age of 55, or The Ethel. I was given the opportunity to work on article illustrations for the Ethel, as well as help out with the layout of the magazine spreads. I was also allowed the opportunity to reach out to freelance illustrators and create concept sketches for Illustrations we would use in the magazines/newsletters.

While I loved working on the article illustrations, which made it on the website and was a gratifying feeling to see my work online, I really loved working with all the contract designers/illustrators! I loved coming up with concept sketches for the direction I wanted the article to go in, and see them execute it perfectly. Art Direction was something I never really got the opportunity to do in a student setting, so I loved getting the chance to do it at AARP.

My biggest takeaway from this experience was that collaboration is everything in a design setting - the best work is never made alone! It’s okay to ask for a second opinion or lean on others for critique to make the best possible work, and that was reinforced everyday from all the helpful advice my coworkers gave me.

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