My name is Mengxi Wei and I am a Graphic Design MFA student. During the 2017 Summer, I
was very excited to have a chance to take the Graphic Design Editorial Intern for O, the Oprah
Magazine. Before I started this intern, I was always paying attention to social issues and women
health. At the social design course, we used to collect female magazines, including O, for a collage activity among women living with HIV in Baltimore. Then this opportunity was recommended by my friend. I was very excited about this opportunity so I directly replied to Gillian, our deputy art director, with my resume and portfolio. Then everything went very well. We had a very good time during the interview and they loved my work. I got this intern right after that interview.
The magazine has two parts generally, editorial and advertising. Our art team is a part of the whole editorial team, including Copy team, Photo team, Fashion team, Health team, Food team and so on. The main work for art team is to participate in the coming up with a new concept for new issues, work on layout, and most importantly, communicate with other teams. The whole function of the editorial team is more complicated than I could image. Meanwhile, we need to start three months in advance. For example, from July 2017, we would start to work on the ideas for January 2018.
My work is relatively easy because all I could help is to work on the start for a new layout and update the photos and texts. Sometimes, I need to communicate with editors to balance the space between text and photo. Besides, printing content sheet, printing wall pages, sending published issues to our contributors and illustrators, managing files are also parts of my work here.
I learn a lot about office life and publication industry and so proud of my progress on InD and typesetting. The most important thing I have realized from my intern is the importance of communication. To communicate with different teams is essential for art work, let alone to express your idea and concept to your boss and team members.
All of the above helps me to learn how to be a good designer and it is my honor to have this opportunity to work here with those good people, who really take care of me a lot. I enjoy the free hot chocolate and the cookies on the take-away desk. I enjoy the casual talk during the lunch time after the wall meeting. I enjoy the wine and ice cream meeting. So happy to work in O, the Oprah Magazine at Hearst building.
