Lessons Learned as a Graphic Design Intern Part 1 [repost]

August 13, 2010

Note: this is a repost from my previous blog that mysteriously broke. This post was posted on July 14, 2010.

Original Note: This post was originally posted on the Intern Edition Summer 2009 blog, in a post called Lessons of a Graphic Designer #1: Detachment. Seeing as I was the sole writer, I don’t see the problem with reposting it here. I have edited the post for clarity and grammar. The original post can be found here. I thought it would be interesting too look back on some of the thoughts I had while I was interning at National Public Radio. I believe what I had written then still holds true now.

This is the first post in a series of posts I am going to be contributing to this blog over the summer.  As mentioned in my introductory post, being a graphic designer at National Public Radio gives me a very interesting perspective on both the day-to-day operations at NPR and graphic designing in general.

Interning at NPR is the first time I have really designed graphics for “real” clients.  Previously, my graphic design work consisted on projects for family and friends, or class assignments.  My family and friends always applauded whatever I gave them, even though looking back I know some of the work was not very good at all.  For my class assignments, I did receive feedback (as well as a grade), but I was never required to go back and change it, or to keep modifying it to satisfy the instructor.

At NPR, the first design is never the final design.  I have slowly (and a little painfully) learned that as a graphic designer working for a client, one cannot become attached to one’s work.  The design will be in flux until the deal is final, and even after that revisions or remakes may be required.  It doesn’t matter if several hard days of work were spent refining a rough design.  It does not matter if it looks PERFECT in your eye.  You are working for the client, and your end goal is to please them, even if it means you have to throw out many other versions before settling on a final design.

Now, this is not to say that you should allow the client to walk all over you and demand changes that clearly reflect poor design (”Change that font to Comic Sans!”).  But you do have to be willing to let go of designs that are just not what the client wants.  They probably are not bad designs, per say, but ultimately they do not fit the desires and needs of the client.  You can keep the rejected designs as personal inspiration, or even for your portfolio.

I think it is important to point out what I think is the primary difference between a graphic designer and an artist.  An artist works for themselves.  A graphic designer works for someone else.  Though many artists get commissions, they still ultimately get to decide what the want to create.  The people commission the artwork may not like it, but almost always artists can (generally) still get away with anything they please.  Graphic designers, on the other hand, are employed by a client, and therefore must answer to that client.  That is not to say “The client is always right” – far from it!  But it does mean the graphic designer has to be willing to listen to every comment and suggestion the client supplies, even if some of the suggestions are simply not good ones design-wise.  They also need to be willing to put their foot down and make their opinions clear on what is good design and what is bad design, and why some of the client’s suggestions are not in the best interests of either the client or the graphic designer.

As you will see in future posts, designing the Intern Edition Summer 2009 logo was not a simple process. There were many variations, many versions, and many modifications.  Some versions of the logo look NOTHING like the final design.  Believe it or not, one version of the logo featured an electrical plug shooting out radio waves from its prongs!

Stay tuned for future posts for pictures, and keep an eye out for the launch of the Intern Edition website [now online], where I will feature a detailed examination of the evolution of the current Intern Edition logo, as well as a reflection on the past Intern Edition logos.

Posted in Graphic Design, Internship