Design Intern Review

I work as part of the in-house creative and design team as part of Walt Disney's Media Networks department, where I help create graphic and motion design assets for their on-air and social media promotional material. This includes creating and delivering design assets for the UK and markets across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Additionally, I also collaborate with the creative producers for campaign idea generation, designing bespoke brand packaging, and effectively communicate design ideas through storyboards, style frames or mock-ups.

As I use a lot of the Adobe software on a daily basis, I've realised that my technical skills have improved significantly, which is something I wouldn't be able to do solely though university. I have also gained skills in working to a deadline. The working environment in a company is so different compared to university, where the turnaround in the workplace is often much tighter quicker. In most cases, I have to deliver items in only a few days time. Because of this I've learned how organise and prioritise my time to make sure that all deadlines are met and I can still make all my meetings without worry.

Definitely! Given that J was the first ever intern in my team, I was given a similar amount of responsibility to a junior creative. While my tasks in the first few months of my placement were admittedly quite repetitive and small, after talking to my manager I was then given bigger projects in the coming months. By the end of my placement, I was leading my own creative project and pitching my own ideas to the creative director, which I think is a really cool experience for an intern.

I was given a lot of support from my manager and the wider team. Since we were all in lockdown for the majority of my placement, I had weekly check-ins with my team to make sure that we were all doing okay as we stayed at home. It was also really nice to have a very approachable and friendly manager; in most cases, I would be able to either hop on Zoom or have a chat on the phone whenever I had any creative issues or any technical difficulty with the Adobe software.

The overall work environment was really encouraging and friendly. Even though I haven't been able to meet the team, everyone gets along really well and we always have a laugh in our many zoom calls. They’re always willing to lend a hand and constantly reassure me that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. While the whole working from home situation has made it difficult for the whole team, they have done a good job in making me feel welcomed and part of the team even though we're not in the office.

It has been a really amazing year overall! Despite the current circumstances, I have loved my time working at Walt Disney so far and I’m extremely grateful to experience something like this so early in my career. My team and the projects I get to work on are really fun and I have learned so much about the television industry and what it takes to be a creative person as a full time job.

Yes

Ironically, I was skeptical about working in a large company. I had always liked the idea of working with smaller companies, where I would be more connected to the essential day-to-day practices. The job at Disney perked my interest because it seemed like an opportunity where I get to work on projects that I like and I made sure to emphasise how passionate I was for the job in my application for it to stand out.