Illustration Practice MFA at AARP

My journey with AARP began when I was actively searching for internships in publication design. I discovered the opportunity through a faculty member who taught designing for a diverse and mature audience. I secured the internship after a competitive application process, which included a phone call and an interview that tested my design sensibilities and understanding of AARP's audience.

My primary responsibilities included working on layouts for the upcoming issues of AARP's magazine, creating branding assets, assisting in preparing presentations, and providing support for social media campaigns. I was deeply involved in the conceptualization to final production stages of several key layouts, which taught me the intricacies of publication design in a real-world setting. I am most proud of a layout design I created for a feature article in the magazine. I’m eager to see the response of the readers.

The most important thing I learned was the significance of empathetic design – creating with an understanding of and sensitivity to the audience’s perspective. I acquired new skills in advanced layout design, typography, and digital publishing tools. My proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign and Photoshop, improved significantly.

This internship has been instrumental in clarifying my career goals. It reinforced my passion for publication design and my desire to work in a creative role that has a meaningful impact on its audience. It also opened my eyes to the vast potential and responsibility that comes with designing for diverse demographics. It was an opportunity to contribute to meaningful projects and grow both professionally and personally. 

Baltimore Tree Trust Internship

This semester, I got to work with Baltimore Tree Trust as their communication design intern. I was lucky enough to meet my supervisor, the senior communications director at Baltimore Tree Trust, at the fall semester Practice and Pie event hosted by Career Development. Immediately, I became obsessed with Baltimore Tree Trust and the work they do for the Baltimore community. Baltimore Tree Trust is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that is focused on providing trees, environmental education, and career pathways in forestry to the Baltimore community. The bulk of what they do revolves around their team of Neighborhood Forestry Technicians – an awesome team of people born and raised in Baltimore who go out into the community and plant trees in neighborhoods that need it most.

Beyond just planting trees, Baltimore Tree Trust also provides educational resources on the importance of green spaces in urban environments and seeks to unite different Baltimore communities through city greening. This sort of work was super inspiring to me, so I reached out to my supervisor not long after the event, and somehow managed to impress the BTT team enough that they took me on. The bulk of my work at BTT was centered around helping the current communications team – which consisted of my supervisor and two other wonderful people – by creating email and social media graphics, print material, and fun graphics for fundraisers and events. Other than my supervisor, most of the team didn’t have a lot of graphic design education, so I was there to help create visuals for some of their messaging. Most of their communications revolved around environmental education and fundraising, and I was able to learn a lot about Baltimore’s native ecosystems through my research for the different campaigns and events they were involved in. I was able to create a lot of really great work that I’m super proud of (and which will definitely go into my portfolio), learn a lot about Baltimore’s environment and the importance of green spaces in cities, and create connections with great people doing important work.

This experience has definitely helped me realize that I want to continue doing work in the realms of activism and education, and showed me what my strengths are as a designer as well as gave me the opportunity to work on my weaknesses. I’m super thankful for the team at Baltimore Tree Trust for giving me the opportunity to work with them this semester, and for Career Development for not only having this for-credit internship program, but also for hosting Practice & Pie! If not for that event, it would have been a lot more difficult for me to secure this internship.

Prop Up Shop Internship

Originally I was going to intern for someone else, but I expressed an interest in product photography and they introduced me to the Prop Up Shop–a product photography studio. Then, I was interviewed and I’ve been working there for the last four months.  

The Prop Shop is run by a prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. My direct supervisor was the studio manager and his role was to help manage the cleanliness of the studio, helping clients rent props, as well as documenting studio prop inventory to show up on the Prop Shop Website. I was also tasked with helping my supervisor and the past studio manager style props for a creative shoot. The Prop Shop is run by my supervisor who is a Prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. I was also able to shoot their fabric collections and was tasked with helping the current studio manager style them. 

I’m most proud of getting the opportunity to style props for their website. The most important thing that I’ve learned is learning how to collaborate with other photographers. This internship has helped with my career goals of learning what goes into product photography and working with other photographers and how important styling is to photography. These skills will very much benefit me not only in product work but my portraiture work as well.

BEGA Intern

During my internship with my supervisor, a remote, creative, professional specializing in graphic design and website development, I engaged in a diverse array of tasks that enriched my understanding of the field. As my supervisors direct mentee, I collaborated closely with him on various projects, including creating website mood boards tailored to clients' needs and preferences.

Despite the logistical challenge of being in different time zones, I learned to manage my time effectively and maintain open lines of communication to ensure seamless workflow. Additionally, I had the opportunity to expand my skill set by mastering Prezi, an AI platform, to craft visually compelling presentations for client pitches and project proposals. Under my supervisors guidance, I gained insights into the nuances of graphic design within a professional context, learning not only the technical aspects but also the importance of effective communication and client management.

As I navigated the intricacies of remote work, I developed a heightened sense of adaptability and resilience, quickly acclimating to the company's preferred project management tools and collaborative platforms. Reflecting on my experience, I take pride in my ability to deliver consistently high-quality work amidst the challenges of remote collaboration. This internship has been instrumental in clarifying my career aspirations in graphic design, providing me with invaluable hands-on experience and equipping me with the skills and confidence to excel in the industry. 

MICA RCCE E/Studio Internship

I was thrilled when my advisor introduced me to the RCCE E/Studio Internship that aligned perfectly with my interests in business and entrepreneurship. I quickly began preparing my application and polishing my portfolio to showcase my skills and passion for the field. This internship is eligible for credit which was another aspect that made it an ideal fit for my academic goals. It also provides hands-on experience and knowledge that will undoubtedly shape my future career in the business world, and I was eager to seize this opportunity to learn and grow. 

The Executive Creative Director at Andre Bean Brand served as our internship director at the RCCE E/Studio Internship. Throughout my time under his guidance, I gained insights into the world of marketing, drawing from his wealth of real-life experiences. The knowledge and personal stories he shared with us proved to be incredibly valuable resources, as they are not typically accessible within the confines of a traditional school setting. I deeply appreciated our director’s adept leadership skills, as he skillfully directed our team, fostering a collaborative and productive environment. Thanks to his mentorship, we were able to successfully tackle tasks for our clients and I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned from such a seasoned professional. I will carry the lessons I learned from him throughout my career in business and entrepreneurship. 

During my internship, I had the opportunity to take on significant responsibilities for both Oopsduck and ORA the Brand website deliveries. As a lead, I devoted much of my time to crafting engaging and user-friendly UI/UX designs for both projects, ensuring a seamless online experience for their audiences. Additionally, I contributed my photography skills to enhance ORA the Brand's visual appeal. Moreover, I collaborated closely with others, offering my insights and ideas for the motion graphics used in Oopsduck's captivating intro video. Being involved in these diverse aspects of the projects allowed me to gain hands-on experience and strengthen my skill set, making this internship an incredibly fulfilling and enriching experience. I am grateful for having had the chance to begin my professional journey at RCCE E/Studio and am enthusiastic about continuing to grow and thrive in the business and entrepreneurship realm.

J4D

The place where I conducted the internship was a small company called J4D. Like other advertising companies, J4D was a company that designed advertisements for clients' specific needs or requests. We worked together as a team with one set of values called “We make big waves.” This means that the advertisements we make cause big waves and make a difference in the world.

My direct supervisor was the CEO of J4D. He provided me with enough opportunities to learn the overall company flow and work so that I could adapt well to the company, and those efforts made me able to complete a successful internship thanks to him. During the internship, as a member of the design team, I participated in the process of designing and producing advertisements for various domestic and foreign client companies such as Nike, Porsche, Yuserin, Goose Island, and Innisfree. The company was separated into a planning team and a production team but often the work was carried out as one team. I worked on the production team, and I participated in everything from the idea process to filming and editing the finished advertisement.

The proudest time during the internship was when my ideas and the videos I edited were shown to the public through various media such as TV, YouTube, and movie theaters. No matter how good the idea was while producing the advertisement, there were times when the idea had to be re-invented according to the client's requirements, and many modifications had to be made during the production process and even after the production. These processes were endless and painful, but the satisfaction of seeing them in various media after production made me forget those times.

Through this internship, I learned that communication is very important. And of course, I've learned that you have to have creative thinking, you have to have the ability to handle the tools that can create it, but communication has to take precedence over all of this. The process of creating advertisements is a cycle of communicating with clients, team members, and supervisors. If one of these doesn't work out well, a project won't be completed. I thought creative ideas were the most important thing for designers, but this internship gave me a new perspective on my job as a designer.

Washingtonian Magazine

After connecting with a fellow GDMFA colleague at MICA, he offered me an internship opportunity at Washingtonian Magazine. Publication and Editorial design were something I was interested in, so I decided to pursue this internship

Washingtonian Magazine publishes monthly magazines highlighting information and events about and in D.C. My GDMFA colleague was my supervisor and is also the Creative Director at Washingtonian Magazine. As an art fellow/intern, I would report to him during our morning and end-of-day meetings, and he would give me feedback and critique the assignments and current projects. My responsibilities were to assist with design projects by creating and preparing mood boards, collecting swipes or images for research, researching typefaces, illustrations, and logo designs, and designing iterations and series of spread designs about the topics. I also had the opportunity to create spot illustrations for a project. 

I am proud that I learned something new every day at my internship like new terminology and design skills. Most of all, I am proud that I was able to make new connections and meet other designers in the industry. I also wanted to gain more confidence and not be afraid to make mistakes. Even after a challenging task that I wasn’t great at, my supervisor still gave me a second chance to help me improve. During the second time, I understood the assignment and knew what I needed to do to improve or not make the same mistake.

New skills I have learned are things specifically in the editorial design world, for instance, photo essays. During the end-of-day meetings with the creative director, I learned a lot from the lectures and detailed explanations of the design assignments. He explained in detail what to do with photos and captions, what not to do with professionally taken photos, such as cropping or resizing them, how to work with a whole body of text on two spreads and how to balance images throughout the pages.

This internship has helped me understand my skill sets and showed me where I need to improve and what, and also encouraged me to pursue deeper into publication and editorial design. I was also able to make more connections and learn about the difference between a studio and a company/agency. I better understand what type of working environment I wish to look for and work in in the future. 

Wray Ward

When searching for a summer internship in the United States, I knew I was going to be staying in North Carolina. I was looking to work for a marketing agency, so I found one in the area and applied to Wray Ward’s FORM internship. FORM is a paid, 10-week, full-time summer internship where you’ll work on real projects with eight other interns. I was accepted into the program and I had a great host family let me stay with them for the duration of the internship. 

Wray Ward is a full-service agency creating inspired marketing solutions for brands in the home and building categories based in Charlotte, NC. My direct supervisor during my time there was a motion and design director at the agency.

My responsibilities at the agency were to help with my assigned department’s projects. I created short logo animations and primarily created promotional videos for a non-profit visual arts organization called Charlotte Art League. For our campaign with Charlotte Art League, we created a marketing communications plan and a visual campaign to increase awareness in the Charlotte area and effectively communicate everything Charlotte Art League does and offers. We also created videos for this campaign. As a videography intern, I was mainly in charge of these.

I am proud that I was able to work on real client projects for this internship. My biggest takeaway would be how to work in a team. We had a total of nine interns, and we often had to collaborate. I learned how to better communicate within the group and manage my time. Additionally, I learned how to set up lighting and use Premiere Pro at the internship.

Through this internship, I have become more confident but also realize that I need more experience in marketing agencies and design studios to achieve my long-term goal. One day, I want to create my own successful design company in Korea.

 

Marine Lane

Marine Lane is a NYC design+branding studio founded in 2012. It is a place composed of highly inspired women, bonded by a shared love of design and belief in the power it has to connect, inspire, sell and amuse. To secure this internship, I went on the company's website, found their email and wrote them a cover letter expressing my interest in the position and introducing myself.

My supervisor was the Creative Director and responsible for giving me tasks as well as revising and troubleshooting them with me. Her role within the company is to coordinate all the design related things, making sure they are perfect to be sent to the client. My involvement in the projects depended on the demand that was needed that day. On Fridays, we had an overview meeting of what the next week would look like, but sometimes we had to play it by ear and change the plans a little. I worked on branding projects, social media, animations, website design, presentation decks, packaging, etc.

I am proud of going through the interview process with so many candidates and getting the job of my dreams in NYC. They liked my work so much that they invited me to work with them in the future, after graduating. I'm also proud for scoring the entrepreneurship scholarship, which made it possible for me to achieve all of this. 

I have learned that not always things are going to go as planned and what designers deem as perfect might not always be what the client wants in the end, and that is okay. During this experience, I believe I have definitely developed my communication skills – from presenting projects to clients, to explaining concepts/ideas to coworkers.

Since Marine Lane is women owned, it is very inspirational to see females thriving in the biggest city in the world, making amazing design products and getting recognition for it. It was incredible to see their business model and understand how they make it all work. 

Around the World in 80 Fabrics (ATW80F)

 This summer I had the privilege of working with Around the World in 80 Fabrics. ATW80F is a non-profit organization centered around connecting people back to the planet through the fabrics we wear. While with ATW80F, I worked under the team Outreach Director who was also my connection for securing the internship. I had first met her at a previous internship and I was really excited when she told me about ATW80F. 

My role with the organization consisted of research, project management and assistance, and graphic design work. When I started the internship, I began with natural dye research that went towards a TED Talk and pop-up event that the founders of the organization were holding. Later I was able to work with my supervisor partially in person on various small projects. Because of my prior natural dye research, I became the home base connection while the team went on a trip to Morocco to work with a small community of weavers and help them transition from synthetic dyes to natural dyes. They also collaborated with a team of microbiologists to extract pigments from the soil to use for dyeing. After they returned from Morocco, I worked on creating a trip booklet with a summary of the trip and the natural dye recipes used. This book was then printed for the weavers to have for future use.

Because this organization is still relatively new, I feel that I was able to learn how a team works without the restraints of a strict professional environment. I learned so much about how a team of dedicated and talented people can collaborate with each other and use emotion as a tool in their work instead of trying to remove it from the workplace.

I feel like this was the most valuable takeaway from my internship because I feel art is so emotional in nature and I struggled to see a career where emotion was valued instead of frowned upon. It helped me to widen my spectrum of jobs that I can see myself pursuing and made me less overwhelmed with the prospect of getting a job after college. Overall, I am so glad I had the opportunity to work with ATW80F as it allowed me to form so many connections which I will continue to come back to throughout my career.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

I found this internship from researching different museums that have graphic design internship opportunities. I applied through the official website and got interviewed and then notified I was accepted.

My direct supervisor was a graphic designer at the Met. In my department, I participated in the process and collaboration in between the graphics, exhibition, production and lighting designers. By working closely with my mentor, I observed the way he works from his technical skills and time management skills. I was also able to learn more about how to prioritize projects based on their importance. Having real deadlines and thinking about the next steps when the files were out of my hands made me work in a more organized manner. 

Additionally, It was really valuable for me to experience creating works that will be installed and printed in real space instead of just existing in digital form. Thinking about how things would look in actual scale, under the lighting of a space, with a crowd observing were things that I would never be able to find out before trying and experimenting.

During my time there, I collaborated with another person on a project to redesign the current small exhibition in the Korean department, called Jegi, in large exhibition. We had to work together from learning, researching, about the show, figuring out the concept of the show, and ways to use design to convey the curators message. We started the process by meeting the curator and talking to her about her initial ideas. From this meeting we split off to develop the exhibition and the graphics. Throughout the project we were always collaborating and bouncing opinions off each other about the progress. I was able to get critiques from multiple people and experience the actual process in preparing a show. At the end of the internship, we presented a deck of promotional graphics and exhibition plans to the whole department and also the curator which was such a valuable and proud moment.

Even outside of my department, this internship has allowed me to learn about the museum industry in general. The weekly education programs and hearing insights from various departments of the museum outside of design was informative and interesting at the same time. It made me realize that I like working in museums and that I genuinely care about exhibitions, the interaction of the institution - visitors, and education.

Cleveland Metroparks

This summer, I was fortunate to serve as a brand and creative services intern at the Cleveland Metroparks. The parks system has received the National Gold Medal for “best in the nation.” It includes 18 reservations or parks, golf courses, and a zoo as well as several other properties. Their mission is to protect nature, connect communities and inspire conservation in our world.

I became aware of the internship opportunity after spending a day with the Metropark's Marketing Team as part of a high school senior project. I applied for a creative services internship role later in the fall and after several interviews and sharing my portfolio, I landed the job.

My supervisor was the Director of Brand and Advertising at the Cleveland Metroparks. As a brand and creative services intern, I was assigned a series of impactful projects. I leveraged my graphic design and illustration skills to develop actionable concepts for the Metropark’s 2024 Calendar, 2024 Eclipse merchandise, commemorative seal art for each of the 18 reservations, and digital marketing collateral for events and exhibits.

I am most proud of the commemorative and collectible seal art. I have created something “on brand,” that will increase engagement with the parks, be scalable to other properties, and highly merchandisable for the Metroparks.

This internship opportunity has both clarified and affirmed my career aspiration to be a graphic designer and illustrator. Additionally, the role has helped me improve in and acquire many skills, including: project organization, project presentation, technical skills with Adobe Illustrator, photography, collaborating and contributing as part of a high performing team.

On the long list of things I have learned this summer, most important is the need to be intentional with my art. I learned that as an artist, I have an important role in protecting and enhancing a company’s brand and reputation. This means that while I can push boundaries with a concept, I must stay true to my client’s brand and brand guidelines. That said, I must also maintain energy, optimism and belief in my concepts which conveys to my clients, it’s an overall balancing act.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

For my internship, I worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. My main project centered around helping out with an Astro-Animation Exhibition, but throughout my ten weeks I also got to work as a graphics support artist. I had multiple mentors for the exhibition and for my graphics support work. This summer, I worked on researching and prototyping potential animation related activities for the exhibition as well as many other graphics projects, including photography assistance, photo processing, logo design, and creating an illustrated poster. 

I found out about this internship in my Astro-Animation class last semester taught by my mentors. They were already familiar with my work from other classes I had taken with them and so I applied for the position, went through a short interview process and got hired from there. One of the exhibition mentors is an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard and so I was given a desk in-person in the office of my graphics support mentors. Despite technically working for my supervisor for the exhibition, others were more than happy to act as additional mentors for me and teach me about the graphics support work they do and they provided me with a lot of opportunities to work on graphics projects on top of my work with my mentors.

One of my favorite things about this internship was the amount of outreach I was able to do and the connections I was able to make all over Goddard. With the help of my mentors, I was able to sit in on a lot of cool meetings with different scientists and groups. One such connection that really excited me was that I was able to meet and interview members of the Conceptual Imaging Lab, the animation team of Goddard. Watching the work of professionals in a field I want to pursue was so exciting and inspiring, but it also made me more confident in how achievable that kind of career path is. 

I’m really proud of how much I pushed myself to take every opportunity I could and put myself out there. I haven’t always been the most confident in my abilities as a professional artist, but networking this summer and meeting with really cool NASA scientists and artists helped me feel like I was really making the best out of my internship.

Polychrome

Polychrome is an online design studio. The studio creates trend reports and fully repetitive patterns. I found out about this opportunity through an interview the founder did for a fashion podcast. I checked out their design studio and applied.

My direct supervisor was the founder of the studio. While working there, I helped with researching fashion trends through fashion websites like Vogue. I pinned pictures to Pinterest boards for different future trends and helped with creating photo mock-ups for pre-existing patterns. Another responsibility I had was creating patterns with Photoshop and Illustrator.

I feel proud of my skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, I learned many good digital tricks through this internship experience. My biggest take-away was learning how to keep everything labeled and organized; though I think I still have room for improvement. I feel one important thing about doing pattern design is staying productive, and that needs a well-planned out workflow. I also learned a lot about creating vector patterns in Illustrator how to do trend research.

AARP

AARP is an interest group in the United States that focuses on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. I worked within the ICM (Integrated Communication and Marketing) Department. A professor of mine shared the link to the Publication Design Intern position and along with the application, he connected me to another professor who actually works at the company as a designer who I was able to reach out to with my materials and exchange a few emails.

For the most part I worked with the Associate Art Director. Though she was more of my day-to-day supervisor, I worked with several people on different projects. I worked with the Assistant Art Director with The Ethel Newsletter’s social media posts. I was also specifically tasked with designing the International Women’s History Month campaign. There is another newsletter by AARP called the Veteren’s Report for which I was asked to design bi-weekly covers of the stories featured. Additionally, I was trained in the software used by the company to work on the publication and eventually tasked to design some small spreads and sidebars. Lastly, I worked on “sizzle reels'' which are essentially quick motion graphics that introduce the upcoming issue.

I am quite proud of the newsletter reels as I did have to quite quickly learn their brand identities and be able to depict them accurately to an audience base that is different from what I am used to. Additionally, I feel as though I was quite proactive in asking for more work through the duration of the internship which I did in the hopes of leaving a positive impact and impression on the team.

My biggest takeaway was how strenuous, fast-paced and collaborative the publication process is from conceptualizing to print. I also learned a lot about working in a large corporate setting with a hierarchy of positions to report to and get approvals from.

I have learned several new skills through this including practical ones like new softwares, and also other skills like time management and organization required to multitask. This has helped clarify my career goals as I definitely still hope to work in editorial/publishing. It was earlier simply an interest, but now I have experienced it in a very real setting at a company that is extremely established. Instead of deterring me, I only feel more excited to hopefully step into it in the future.

The Syndicate

 

The Syndicate is an entertainment marketing agency that focuses on musicians and comedians. They also work in radio promotion. I was working with Dismiss Yourself, an independent record label and one of the people I was working with posted a link to the internship. I applied for the position and did an interview after my application went through. My supervisor was in charge of the design department in the Syndicate. She oversaw the design team and works with the marketing team to make sure that they create compelling work that fulfils The Syndicates' and clients' criteria.

My responsibilities were to work with the design and marketing teams to create assets for their clients. we would make videos, posters, social media content, and more for multiple people. I am most proud of the video I made to promote the Guns N’ Roses Mexico tour, I was also very proud of the posters that I made for the Laugh Button Live. 

My biggest takeaway was that this would be an ideal kind of job based on my skillset and interests, but it could be potentially difficult to balance personal creative projects. The most important thing that I learned was how things work in a professional environment because I do similar work with independent labels and musicians. I learned more about how the music industry and music marketing work on a professional level. I also learned new motion techniques, such as kaleidoscope effects and lyric videos. This internship helped me to clarify my career goals by showing me how my work could be applied in a professional setting. 

Imagine This Women's Film Festival (ITWIFF)

 

Imagine This Women's International Film Festival aims to empower women and non-binary filmmakers worldwide. They promote these great filmmakers so that more people can see women's power and provide them with educational and professional opportunities. I found this opportunity through LinkedIn. It's the first time I have tried social networking with unfamiliar people. For this internship, I did a virtual interview with my supervisor, and she told me I got the Graphic Designer position after one week.

We had a total of 4 Graphic Design interns working together. We all work through a platform called Asana. Every week we have a virtual meeting for 30 mins. Sometimes it's 1 hour. We also share our progress on different projects so we can easily get suggestions from others.

For this position, my major duties included:

● Opening Credits(Typography Animation) for the 7th Annual Imagine This Women's International Film Festival
● Sales for tickets Motion Graphics
● Design Posters for the 8th Annual ITWIFF
● Gifs that people can share in Instagram Stories
● Supporting the design and creation of social share graphics

This Internship experience broadened my horizon and provided me with valuable experience in the head start of my career. And I developed many skills, not only technical skills but also communication, multi-tasks, and time management skills, which are so essential to complete your tasks on time. It's super beneficial to share ideas and thoughts with the most innovative thinkers in this organization. I was still determining my career goal, but after this experience, I found my career interest in motion graphics, so I have continued working on it. In the future, I'll keep working on the things I like, hoping to have more valuable and professional work.

The Compound

This semester I spent one day per week helping out at the Compound, a small non-profit institution based in Baltimore that provides affordable live/work spaces to artists, holds cultural programming events, and supports small local businesses. I have a friend who worked there in the past and got me an internship position through word of mouth.

The Compound has been around for over 20 years and has maintained an active presence within the art scene in Baltimore.For years it was mostly underground, providing warehouse spaces for artists to live and develop their practices. Over time it has developed into a legitimate 501(c)(3) non-profit that actively engages with the community on a more widespread level. There are regular music events held at their venue which fairly compensate musicians, community gardening events, 2 local businesses that use the space and employ residents of the Midway neighborhood, and 8 artists-in-residence that benefit from the below market rate housing.

The Compound itself had a few projects in motion that we worked on together—a website redesign, grant proposal design, general branding, event promotion and email newsletters. That said, I also did work for Phrame, which is an art handling business which operates out of the Compound. I worked on their pricing sheet design, some label designs, and a proposal packet for a major DCPL job.

I am most proud of the work where I got the most individual liberty and artistic freedom. I designed a flier and event signage for the first official concert at the Compound post-pandemic, where I was allowed to be as experimental as I pleased. For this, I modified some code I wrote which auto generated flier layouts and used the same visual language across the board for all of the signage. Because the institution is non-profit and within the arts, they were supportive of my more experimental tactics and overall loved the work I produced.

My biggest takeaway from this experience was the illuminating experience of working in the non-profit design sector. Seeing the mechanics of how non-profit organizations can actively participate and function within communities—and how design can be used to elevate their goals. I learned how to work in a professional environment and communicate with board members to meet the needs of the organization. This experience reiterated my desire to work in an industry that functions not for excessive profits but to work for the greater good.