INTERNSHIP STORIES

Polygraph Creative is an award winning design studio based in Washington,D.C. that specializes in branding, product, editorial and environmental design. They have a reputation for finding truth and authenticity in their work by fusing creativity, passion and craft into their creative decisions. Due to the lengthy and competitive nature of finding a summer internship position, I sought advice from my department chair. She recommended several local design studios and agencies, one of which was Polygraph Creative. Their website did not list any open positions, so I did not expect to receive a response to my cold email. However, one of the principal designers  happened to stumble upon my recent packaging project on MICA's Instagram account and recognized my name upon reviewing my email. He replied a day later, and I went in for my interview soon after with my physical portfolio in hand. The next afternoon, I received the official offer and was welcomed to become part o...

I first met Cinema Chef Productions at the MICA Internship and Career Fair, where the creative director first interviewed me. There, I presented a portfolio of my work and gave out my business card. After that, I received many follow up emails and a phone interview before I secured my position as an environmental concept artist and illustrator. Cinema Chef Productions is a small production company looking to make a name for themselves through their new animated show, Cypher Drive. My responsibilities were to create environmental concepts and then illustrate backgrounds for an animated short. I was also occasionally given the task of illustrating key frame concepts or splash art for characters. I’m most proud of the environments I’ve textured and colored throughout the internship, I feel as if my concept of color theory and texturing has grown a great deal. Throughout my internship I learned  the 3D program Sketch Up,  how to texture and paint over 3D models, and how...

I found out about this internship as I was scrolling through the website for my school work. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) holds a strong place in my heart, but I never thought about interning there as it doesn’t have a connection to my major. It was a stroke of luck that I manage to secure it as I found it three days from the application deadline date.  My amazing professors were extremely kind and helped me write a letter of recommendation (I found out later it was my letters of recommendation that pushed me ahead of everyone else). Otherwise, using the 3 days, I asked as many people as I could to read through all my materials, including Career Development and my Academic Advisor.   NMWA in Washington, DC champions and supports women artists. It is the only museum in the world solely dedicated to women artists. They feature a variety of art forms, mostly focusing on contemporary art. The department I worked in was Digital Engagement, this applied...

I found this internship when they did a pop-up show at Stackt market  in Toronto. Stackt has taken unused land and transformed it into an experience  of curated discovery. It’s designed entirely out of shipping containers. I  really loved this space and the concept but was very interested in the  interactive work FILMARTIST had done. FILMARTIST is a creative agency dedicated to crafting innovative and artistic  contents for brands and businesses. By harnessing the talent of commercial  artists, brand specialists and digital content creators, they produce  memorable visual experiences and design. My direct supervisor was the co-founder of the agency.  I was involved in the design process of many of their projects, including  design the 3D/4D graphics of an augmented reality business card. I also  designed a lot of things for proposals like an interactive, immersive  experience gallery space for two artists in China. I de...

I learned about this Creative Capital Shanghai (CC) from a MICA alum.  CC is a brand advertising company and now it is collaborating with Altavia, a  French advertising firm. My direct supervisor was the creative department manager. I participated in design idea generating, presentation designing and even designed a project  independently. I learned how to present my work more professionally. When I was in school, I only  needed to think about my own feelings about the design, but when I work, I have to think about how  everyone feels about the design, not just from the designer's point of view. I am most proud of my time management and multi-stream working schedule. I learned  about managing my time with various projects going on, and I think designing culturally is the most  important thing I have learned. I am also more familiar with Adobe Suites. This internship experience has given me a better understanding of what people at a b...