Not Your Average Graphic Design Internship
By Lauren Maksymiuk, Graphic Design Intern
Before I had even heard of Tekna, the last month of my semester was spent researching and applying for internships at graphic design studios. Up until that point, my experience was limited to branding, marketing, and some web design. When I came across Tekna’s internship opportunity, I was intrigued. Coming in for the interview and taking a quick tour of the space left me knowing this was where I wanted to be for the summer.
During my first week, I jumped into different projects and got familiar with Tekna’s brand. I met the team, heard about the variety of backgrounds they have, and was blown away by the different skills and creativity. I immediately knew I was going to learn so much here. Looking back, I never thought I would’ve been able to learn how to use tools in the workshop, do research on a new type of fitness, build a brand’s social media from the ground up, and so much more.
My favorite project I got to work on was made specifically for the interns. We were given the task to build a birdhouse, with a couple rules–it had to be from materials found around Tekna and it had to incorporate the idea of transformation. This month-long project gave me so much insight on the branding process, and even the industrial design and engineering fields.
Although we all helped with the overall design and building of the birdhouse, my biggest role was creating the name, logo, and color palette of the birdhouse. Being able to collaborate with people outside of my field was a unique learning experience and taught me to problem solve and design in a different way.
Besides the projects I worked on, being at Tekna and working side by side with innovative thinkers was the most rewarding part. Being a graphic designer, I expected to mostly be doing branding projects and working on the computer all day. Instead, I had the opportunity to build in the workshop, sit it on meetings for different projects, and take photos of things going on during the day. Coming into the office was always exciting; there were some days where I went from illustrating banners with rescue dogs to learning about environmental cleaning supplies to planning out Instagram posts–all in one day. There was never a shortage of projects for me to get involved in and I was always learning something new.
Being able to work with engineers, industrial designers, and many more people gave me a new perspective on graphic design. I had to face new challenges and solve problems in a different way. This is something I’ll value and take with me as I finish my last year of school. Thanks for going beyond my expectations, Tekna!
