Internship Experience

Reflection on the Internship Experience

For my very first internship, I believe this internship was a success. I really enjoyed my time here and it’s a shame that it is coming to an end. I believe that it did prepare me for the real world and helped me produce work at a professional level. There are definitely some design works that I am proud of.

One thing that I can take away from this internship is the new skills I acquired in After Effects. After Effects is always a program that I always felt kind of weird about. I took Motion Design in Fall of 2020, where I was able to learn the basics of After Effects. I was able to get the hang of it and was even featured in COMD’s The Motion Showcase. But once the class finished, I haven’t ever really used After Effects ever since.

But that changed with the internship. With the internship, not only was I able to refresh my mind on After Effects but also learn new skills. I was able to learn about masking, effects, and 3D layers, which is all something that I never used before. All of these definitely helped with my understanding of After Effects and made my animations look better.

I am forever grateful to my supervisor for taking me in and letting me work at the company.  This has been a really fun and interesting opportunity and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me.

Role Model

At my internship, one of the people that I worked with that I would consider to be a role model is actually an employee there. She works there now and isn’t that much older than me. I am close to her age and she told me about her design experiences and even some advice. She told me that we as designers need to branch out because that’s one of the ways you’ll grow. She told me to trust the process and to believe in yourself. Design is all about self creativity and self-expression. She encouraged me to take risks because sometimes the most unexpected ideas can turn out to be the most useful.

We just have to go for it, if it comes to mind. I find this to be so inspirational because it kind of makes me feel like I can make it if I work hard enough. I’m really happy that I got a chance to meet her and I’ll treasure her advice for the future.

Self-Check

As of now, I believe that I am doing a pretty good job. I have been keeping up with my projects and are meeting my deadlines. I am, however, falling a bit behind on my classes outside my internship, since I have very little time to work on them. But after spending some time on them, I was able to finish them on time and get the work out. If this was a class, I would evaluate myself at around 80-90%. 

The Importance of Teamwork

At my internship, since mostly everyone is working remotely, it is a bit difficult to work with others, when they aren’t there. However, even though we haven’t done a collective project together, we have worked on some things collectively. One example of this was when I needed a specific picture for one of my designs. I tried looking for one but couldn’t find one that best fit.

So my supervisor thought of the idea of capturing the pose himself. He set up a date and brought in some people that he knows. When the model came in, my supervisor and I told them about the campaign. I brought my computer and showed them the design I was designing and what I was going for. The image that I needed was of someone holding their phone in a specific angle, but couldn’t find any.

After that, the model got her phone and started posing to represent the image I was going for. We were taking pictures in 1 pose, but then started to expand beyond that. Different angles and different positions. It was fun to see my design coming alive, in a way. In the end, we came up with around 20+ different pictures.

Typical Day

For the days, I do have to come into the office, my day is quite simple. I enter at 10:30 and work on new tasks or continue making process on my current projects. Sometimes when I come in, we usually have a meeting on what the company is doing. We talked about process of projects and what new projects we will be given next. We talk about the time release for these projects and try to get each project a good amount of time to be worked on. 

After a while of working, this is usually the time where I go on a lunch break. I go out and get something to eat. Depending if the weather is nice, sometimes I buy some food and eat out in the local park, which is located near the internship site.

For me I think it’s nice to eat outside and just relax for a while before I go back to work. This is a good opportunity to relax and let my brain recharge before I go back and start working again.  After I finish eating, I head back to my workspace and continue to work until my shift is over. 

Working Hybrid

In a world, where everything is now remote, being in-person is almost something rare. For this particular internship, I am working in a hybrid workstyle, meaning that sometimes I come to the office, in person, while other times I work remotely. On the days that I do have to come into the office, I bring my computer and sketchbook. I bring my computer to do my work on and alongside my sketchbook, to write down my ideas.

As for the culture of my workplace, it is quite similar to an office cubicle. My workspace has walls over my head, and a small area for me to do my work. It is small but there is enough space for me to work. Since a lot of people are still working remotely, there aren’t that many people in the office itself.

My Role as an Intern

The company that I am working at is an educational organization. This company works under a school department that covers all departments at that school. They design all the promotional materials. The company’s primary business is to show what this school has to offer. Within each design, they want to convey what school stands for. The company wants to show the inner cores, values, and standards of the institution and portray them in a visual matter. And these don’t only apply to the students, but to the facility as well, since the school is not only students. The company is a bit small and has a small office location. It is located in NYC and is close to the institution itself.

As an intern, my role as an intern is to help create advertisements for the company’s campaigns. These advertisements are meant to inform a specific group of people on information they need to know. These advertisements come in many different formats. Some can be in print form, while others can be in social media, or even in video format. It depends on the type of project I am given.

First Meeting

The company that I am working at is an educational organization. This company works under a school department that covers all departments at that school. They design all the promotional materials. The company’s primary business is to show what this school has to offer. Within each design, they want to convey what school stands for.

The company wants to show the inner cores, values, and standards of the institution and portray them in a visual matter. And these don’t only apply to the students, but to the facility as well, since the school is not only students. The company is a bit small and has a small office location. It is located in NYC and is close to the institution itself.

Ethics Assignment: 2B

2B) After reading the Shepard Fairey lawsuit, it makes me feel more aware of the type of images I use as a designer. It does remind me of the dangers and consequences that designers can face, for something as simple as using an image. During Obama’s presidential campaign, he used an image from Barack Obama and transformed it. It was a good poster design and he made some money out of it.

However, once he found the original photographer, he tried to hide it. I believe that he failed as a designer in one key important rule within the industry. Not only was this the wrong thing to do, but it was very unethical as a designer and and as person. He should have given credit to the photographer of the Obama photo that he used, nor did he attain the rights of the image. He didn’t buy the image for it to become an exclusive image for the company to use. If he did buy the image, making it an exclusive image, he could have done as he wishes to the image since it is now under his ownership, which means others wouldn’t be able to use it. However this was not the case and caused legal damages.

Additionally to not giving credit, he made things worse by filing a lawsuit to The Associated Press. As Randy Kennedy says, “In his suit Mr. Fairey claimed he had used a different photograph, but later admitted that he had been mistaken and had tried to cover up his mistake” (Kennedy). Shepard Fairey was already in pretty hot water before, but now him trying to cover up his mistake is making things worse for him.

In the end, Shepard Fairey said he was ashamed of his actions. This definitely made an impact back then and is still being talked about in today’s world, as a reminder for future designers. As The Associated Press said in a statement, “We hope this case will serve as a clear reminder to all of the importance of fair compensation for those who gather and produce original news content” (Kennedy).

The Associated Press and many more hope it helps more designers be aware of this issue. Designers should know that they should always credit the artist’s work. Finding the right images for your design is always a good relief, but it can also be scary if one isn’t careful and doesn’t follow the guidelines. 

Ethics Assignment: 2A

2A) In my past classes, I have used images and work from people. I got these images from free online websites, such as Pixabay and Freepik. However, even though they are free, that doesn’t mean they are mine. Every time I use one of their images, I always give credit where credit is due. These images are not my own nor do I claim they are my own. This can be done a number of ways.

As stated by AIGA’s Use of Photography, they say that, “The photo credit and copyright notice would ideally be placed adjacent to the image, whether horizontal or vertical, but can also be placed elsewhere as long as the reader will be able to relate them to the image” (Grefé). I did this very exact thing in my classes. A big example of this is when I took Publication Design. In that class, we were working on our very own magazines, so we were using images to help our magazines.

In my case, my magazine was about video games, so I had to credit where I got the images from. I would either credit them by usually leaving a small caption. The caption would be the artist’s name and the location where I got it from. In my case, I would credit the images if they came from the video game company themselves, or from an online article.

However, this does not only involve work in the creative field. This can be applied to anywhere. One example of this are students. When students are writing a paper, they do research to support their thesis, and usually quote the original source. When they do this, they have to give credit. Students usually do this by leaving a MLA citation at the end of their paper.

These rules also apply to some professions like journalists, where they have to show where they got their information from. If someone is using work from another source, they have to give credit to the original source. It is not only the right thing to do but also the ethical way to do it.

Grefé, Richard. “USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY.” AIGA, 2001. https://www.aiga.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/Design-Business-and-Ethics.pdf

Kennedy, Randy. “Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in ‘Hope’ Poster Case.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2012, https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/?mtrref=undefined&assetType=PAYWALL

Ethics Assignment: 1B

1B) In the graphic design field, there are many rules in place that people need to follow. For my internship, I didn’t have to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement. A non-disclosure agreement is a legal contract that is signed by a designer that makes sure that all information about the company they are working at, is to be kept private. They cannot share this information and cant let this information be available to anyone else.

Companies will ask a designer to sign a non-disclosure agreement as a way of protection. The reason for this is to help protect their company. There is information within the company that a designer cannot talk about outside of work. The company may not want their information to be out in the public.

However even though, I didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be ethical about certain things. There are still some things that a designer is never supposed to talk about within a company, in terms of ethics. Some examples can be upcoming projects, clients, sales, etc. Anything that is not published in the public, has to stay within the company. Whether you sign an agreement or not, it should be kept private. It is the ethical thing to do.

At a company, there has to be a set of ethics that the company and employees can stand by. When good ethics are followed, this can leave employees and supervisors on good terms. It can make the workplace better, not only for employees but for supervisors too, which can improve trust, work relationships, and overall boost morale of all employees among the company. A good workplace can also make the company look better from the public’s point of view.

However, a non-disclosure agreement doesn’t only apply in the graphic design field. It can be used between companies in future partnerships. A famous example of this is the incident between Apple and Hyundai. In early 2021, it was rumored that both companies would be working together to produce an “Apple car”. Hyundai released a statement saying that they had been talking with Apple.

However, almost immediately the company released another statement without mentioning Apple’s name. They realized immediately that they messed up and tried to undo their mistake by not mentioning Apple’s name. As Kif Leswing states, “Companies who deal with Apple are held to strict nondisclosure agreements, even if they are public companies and Apple is a major customer. Apple tells partners they can’t mention Apple in public or to the media.” (Leswing).

In terms of ethics, this is something that Hyundai should have never done. They revealed company information outside of work, and even worse is that it was information between 2 huge companies. They were unaware at the time and soon realized their mistake. But the damage was already done, and people were already aware of the potential partnership.

Additionally, Apple doesn’t like it when their non-agreements are broken or violated. Apple takes their non-disclosure agreements so seriously that they even threaten those who leak information. In fact as Kif Leswing says, “Apple has threatened to penalize suppliers $50 million for each individual leak” (Leswing). Non-disclosure agreements happen everywhere and there are consequences if they are broken. Companies want to keep their information private and to remain a secret. 

Ethics Assignment: 1A

1A) At my internship site, we have a small studio for any type of camera work. We have tripods, microphones, and even a green screen area. In past designs work, my internship would bring in students and actually use real life students in the final version of the design work.

It’s a great way to get the students involved and make it feel like it is for the students. Since most of the images we use are our own photos, we don’t really give credit. They are original photos that the company takes for their campaigns.

As for the company branding, we mostly use the City Tech branding guidelines. We use the City Tech logo, the City Tech tagline, and the CUNY logo. We don’t change them or distort them in any way on any of our design work. We stay true to the original source.

Leswing, Kif. “Doing Business with Apple Means You Probably Can’t Tell Anyone about It, as Hyundai Learned.” CNBC, CNBC, 14 Jan. 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/14/apple-insistence-on-secrecy-bites-hyundai.html, March 3, 2022