Take it ALL in.

Going into your first internship you have an idea of what to expect, but you’re never fully prepared. There are always things to be learned, and tips from those who have been through it can help. My biggest piece of advice to new interns is be ready for a lot of criticism. You think you know a critique until you’re tossed into a real life art department. The people who do what you want to do for a living have a lot of experience, and as a college student you simply aren’t there yet. My first assignment was redesigning an ad to give it a new look. I was so proud of what I had come up with, until I showed it to my supervisor and peers. They had a big list of things I should change, and gave me a lot of suggestions. I was bummed that what I created wasn’t that good as far as their standards go. But I took what they said and implemented a lot of improvements, and about 6 drafts later, I had an amazing ad. Looking at the first and final ads side-by-side really showed me how much better it got with the critiques. I couldn’t believe I thought the first one was good. Throughout the rest of my internship I was given a ton of feedback and criticism; some I liked and some I didn’t. However, I knew that these people knew a lot more than I did so I was never upset about their critiques. When you take what they say and use it wisely, you can only improve. I’m thankful for every piece of criticism I received because I learned so much and I became a much better designer as a result.