Short summary: As a graphic design intern with the Digital Media Engagement (DME) team, Grace has learned valuable tips on how to work efficiently and produce quality work for various departments of the internship.
As a graphic designer and motion graphics artist at the Digital Media Engagement (DME) team, I have had the opportunity to spend more time working with Photoshop and After Effects. Through my experience, I have enhanced not only my graphics and editing skills but also important soft skills, such as communication and time management.
Here are three tips I use as a graphic designer that have helped greatly with internship work.
- Stay Organized
With the myriad of projects I work on in this internship, staying organized is vital to making sure I stay on track. For me, that means having folders for each different project and staying consistent with the way I sort things. It also means staying organized within my projects. For Photoshop, that means properly labeling my layers and having folders for those layers. For After Effects, it means working with compositions and having everything clearly labeled.
- Keep an Original Copy of Everything
Whenever I create a graphic, I make sure to keep a copy of all versions, including the original one. This way, I can easily return to a previous version and compare between the different graphics.
- Remember to take a break!
As someone working with design, I realized that, sometimes, I need to take a break from designing in order to see something with fresh eyes. There are times when I come back to a design and am able to think of a new approach to it. Whether it is with graphic design or motion graphics, sometimes new ideas and insights arise after I take a break from working on a project.
The opportunity to work on new projects and getting feedback from the division officers, other DME staff and interns has helped me improve my graphic design and motion graphics skills. I am really grateful for the connections I have made at the internship and for the tips that interns share through Slack. The whole experience has been amazing, and I look forward to continuing to learn new skills.
Writer: Sarah Concepcion
Editors: Julia Pack, Christine Myers
Graphics: Grace Yang
