My time at Creative Coop

Wow, what an 8 weeks it has been. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! The past 8 weeks at Creative Coop have been an experience that I am eternally grateful for and it has opened my mind up to a whole new world of design. It’s a big jump going from being a design student to designer, there are a lot of things that they don’t prepare you for at university. One of those being something which I believe every design student going into work should know, don’t be precious about your work. That isn’t to say don’t care, of course you should. In everything you do you should put your whole heart and soul into and create something which you are proud of and that brings you joy but be prepared to be criticised and to not agree on creative decisions – this is what makes us grow. Not everything you do everyone is going to love, be prepared for the client to chose your least favourite design or for them to prefer things a way which you don’t like. It isn’t about your taste and what you like, it’s about what works and what the client wants. As a designer you have the responsibility to the client to value their views and opinions and create something which reflects who they are and what they want to achieve. Put your ego aside and work with the client, not for them.

My expectations about the internship were few are far between, I had been told very little about what to expect and my impression was that I would be at the bottom of the pecking order and would get jobs which reflected that. I was prepared for this because I knew I would still be grateful for the opportunity of work but coming to creative coop was more than I could have expected. Within my first week i was creating branding and given what I would consider a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of respect. It was something which helped me gain a lot of confidence in myself as a professional because i was being trusted with a project and had recognition that I was more than the bottom of the pecking order. I did not expect this from an internship, I honestly expected to be on tea duty for the entire 8 weeks – however being able to work on projects, and have the chance to work on admiral projects from start to finish, has been transformative experience for my career and I am eternally grateful for that.

I have had the opportunity to work on various projects for different clients during the course of this internship, all from a variety of different organisations and requiring a different skill set and thought process. Working on a project from start to finish has been incredibly gratifying upon completion, one of the most rewarding projects being the practitioners forum in which the client chose my branding concept. This is the first time any of my design work will be used commercially. This time last year I was writing my dissertation on my laptop in my bedroom, now I’m sitting writing this at a desk in a creative studio – and getting paid to do it.

I would like to thank Ben, John and Alan for being incredibly welcoming, supportive and a joy to work with over the past 8 weeks. Overall it has been an experience which has taught me a lot about myself, both in the sense of my career and in my prospects for the future. I look forward to what the future holds for me as a designer.