At this internship I’m learning a lot about the designing for others in a vacuum. Being that this internship is remote it means that I don’t get actionable feedback in real time. Often I am guessing at what is desired by not only my supervisor, but their supervisor. I imagine that working on-site at a place like Brooklyn College would allow me to turn my monitor to my supervisor when I’m stuck on something, and ask for feedback helping me deliver faster. Instead I sit for hours moving type around waiting for it to click when being on site could potentially help get me out of my head in some instances. I’m learning about the value of having a direct mentor who is a designer who can notice from afar if a staffer is struggling with something and not just guide them but shake them of their doubt, fostering new healthier habits. That’s not to say that my internship supervisor isn’t great. She’s extremely accommodating and usually knows what she wants and gives us plenty of freedom to try and fail. She often has actionable feedback and is a master of the compliment sandwich.
I understand that more often than not real world design situations will probably mimic what I am going through in some form or fashion. The client is not always present to give you an affirming head nod and we must rely on ourselves to push through to the end. In recent weeks I’ve gotten stricter with myself in regard to designing things in a shorter time span. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so as I said before I will sit with a project for 10 or 12 hours instead of maybe the 4 that I probably should’ve given it. This goes for all aspects of design from my internship projects to my homework I always try to give the best effort, but I’m learning that sometimes you just have to ship it and let chips fall where they may.
