Goodbye Interns!
Our studio houses two companies: print design (M.C.Pressure) and Graphic Design (Spacecamp Co.). From each round of interns, students are selected to work with one company or both. Out of several applicants this semester, we selected three talented and promising students.
Emily interned for us for two semesters due to her unique and defined illustration style. She presented a portfolio with interesting concepts and doodles. Her work stood out because it included both student and professional work. She is set to graduate from UNF this coming semester with a Graphic Design degree. Check out her personal blog post for her take on the internship.
Michelle worked with us for the first half of the internship, then switched to work with Spacecamp Co. for the last bit. She presented a portfolio with fun illustrations. Her sense of humor shined throughout her work and made for unique pieces. She is set to graduate with a degree in Graphic Design from Flagler.
Sarah joined us at the end of the semester after interning for Spacecamp at the beginning. She presented a portfolio with a willingness to learn and a passion for typography. She also had completed her Art History degree at Flagler. This following semester, she is to graduate with a degree in Graphic Design as well. Her strong work ethic, knowledge of vine references and conspiracy theories made Sarah a valuable member of the team.
At the end of their time here, we asked each intern to write a goodbye piece on their experiences. We are thankful for the chance to work with each of the girls, and look forward to seeing (and critiquing) their portfolios.
Michelle:
I waited to apply to any design internship or job until I felt I had the right classes and skills under my belt where I could confidently sell myself and do good, valuable work. Spacecamp/MC Pressure was THE DREAM internship for me and I feel everything I’ve ever learned in school and also in life helped me to not look like a total buffoon (do people still use that word?). It was well worth the wait.
Examples of unexpected things I used from my daily life:
painstaking attention to detail/craft, concern for everything and everyone
PAINFUL SELF CONSCIOUSNESS that actually made being an intern less painful because I thought through every possible detail before presenting the task I had been asked to do
self-deprecating and irreverent humor
knowledge/interest in literature, art history, painting, measuring, stickers, animal facts, essential oils
strength with sketching / ideation / planning.
Using power tools/working with wood with dad when younger
Spacecamp/MC Pressure as resources for design help and inspiration to do better/be better. Just by existing in such a creative and encouraging (but also intimidating) environment makes me feel like I made the most important step towards graduating with a legitimate design degree. I don’t feel like a fraud that much anymore! And I hope that by putting my absolute best into this internship I have at least that much more of a support system that fully understands the plight of a scared, intimidated yet wildly ambitious undergrad student.
Not Handy:
crippling self-doubt
debilitating indecision
sense of competition (team dynamic and support = necessity for survival) A healthy sense of competition with yourself and what you think you’re capable of is healthy and good to push you and projects, but rabid competition with another intern sounds more like a handicap than something helpful. I am so lucky that the other intern, Sarah, and the whole crew at Spacecamp/MC Pressure were willing to work with me as an equal, and part of their team rather than shoot down everything or falsely build me up just to get my designs/work shat on.
Big things learned:
to love Pinterest and Instagram (and finally make one because I was creeping on it for brand insight too often to not)
to successfully design forms
Frogger-dodging cars across W. King St.
gold-leafing, painting the space the size of a millimeter with a big fat paint marker
The biggest thing this summer internship has affirmed is who I am – I am a concept person! An idea person, with odd, thoroughly thought-through ideas that might be possible in a universe where I don’t just wildly gesture with my hands to (poorly) describe what I’m thinking.
10/10, would intern again.
Sarah:
Every day this summer, I have been terrified. I was nervous and excited and anxious and hopeful for the past three months because of my internship with Spacecamp Co. and M.C. Pressure. And every one of those days started off scary and ended up pretty fucking cool.
Applying and interviewing for this internship were two of the hardest things I’ve done so far as a student designer, and a lot of that is rooted in my own self doubt. I put off applying for a while because I didn’t think I had enough good work to show. I thought someone else who interviewed was better suited, so I avoided it. But then, with some much needed encouragement from my mom, I thought why the fuck not, and went for it. And that’s what has happened for most of my time here.
While here, I have had to do some weird stuff. I’ve reorganized a gift shop. Painted signs. Helped launch a blog. Torn apart oil paintings (and then put them back together). Drawn a mural. Assembled hundreds of matchboxes. You name it, and it has shown up at some point during my time at 201 W King. While maybe it’s not what students think of when they imagine their lives in a Big Time Design AgencyTM, this is part of it. Hours of labor and research and packaging go into the end results that come out of this space. And I feel so lucky that I have been able to understand that firsthand and even contribute to it where I can. Because this is real life.
For anyone considering applying to the internships with Spacecamp and M.C. Pressure, do it. If you are ready to learn and make friends and have critiques and do whatever has to be done that day, apply. This internship, like any, is what you make of it. I now know how to line envelopes and research wholesale costs of pens and pencils, both of which could come in handy for portfolio in the spring. I also know how to conduct myself when dealing with clients, a skill that can never be quite duplicated in the classroom. I know how to work as a team and also stand on my own, both of which are qualities that I always had but have been amplified and refined in this setting.
If there is one thing I have learned the most during this internship, it’s to not doubt myself so much. I started off during my application process second guessing myself, and that theme carried throughout the summer. I wish I would have stood by my work more, instead of making disclaimers in emails or during meetings. The brand name ideas or holiday puns that I thought were the most ridiculous were always the ones that got a laugh or were the most well-received. If you can find the line between being proud of your work and being wide open to critique (which can be hard for us student designers), apply for your next semester.
I feel that I have a better sense of myself as a designer after my summer here. I am more willing to take chances and bounce ideas off of other people, instead of keeping my work to myself and hoping for the best. And to be that person I consulted constantly, I could not have asked for a better panicker-in-crime as the other Flagler intern, Michelle. There totally could have been a sense of competition with us as we switched between working for both companies. But there never was. And if there had been, I know neither of us would have been as successful as we were. So, if you show up as the intern sometime soon, be nice to the other one. You’re in this together.
Being given this opportunity to learn with Spacecamp Co. and M.C. Pressure is something I am so thankful for. Whether I got lucky and landed it or actually deserved it, who knows, but I was here and it was amazing. Danielle and Ryan and Katie and Luke and Dani and Mackenzie and Dodd and Vada were all so welcoming and inviting and open to our ideas, and I can’t say enough good things without this sounding dumb and cheesy. So thanks. Look out for my emails in the spring asking for opinions on my portfolio. I already miss the pretzels and pizza and Indian buffet.