For my internship, my supervisor organized a consultation with the client, a professor from the Computer Systems Technology department at City Tech. She was nice and enthusiastic about working with us, and I feel like that helped us have a more open discussion about the project. Since we’re working remotely, the meeting was held on zoom. We shared the information we had researched and outlined in a google doc about the degree program with her. For the most part, she was content with what we had already. It felt good to know that in the client’s eyes I had done a good job with the initial research.
The client gave us beneficial feedback. She asked us to add in some more specific details and change the wording of some phrases. She also specifically asked that any images we introduced into the project be more inclusive and diverse of women and people of color because they are least represented in the Computer Systems industry. We plan to meet with her again in a few weeks when we finalize our first rough drafts for the project, so that she can give us more feedback to refine it further.
These consultations are great to ensure that everyone is on the same page about what the project goals are and what the timeline is. I had never met with a client before, and this first time was an interesting and positive experience. For my own projects for previous classes, I spend a lot of time critiquing my own work, getting feedback from a professor. But for this internship, I just have to worry about doing what the client wants, putting my skills to the test. It’s intriguing to have someone else be the main critic instead of myself. Although I do still have opinions on the work being done, and I could make suggestions as an intern from a designer point of view if I felt inclined to, but in the end the client will be making all the decisions.
