Graphic Designer Review

I found the insight to be very enjoyable, from the first day I was tasked to work on real client commissions, which I really enjoyed and felt like I was actually doing something valuable, the people (especially in the design department where I worked) were really nice, friendly and chatty and the overall atmosphere was relaxed and fun.

I did feel valued during the week I spent at RONIN Marketing because, as mentioned before, I was working on real client work with specific expectations and to a brief. The senior designer and other employees regularly check upon me and my work, which made me feel like I was actually providing some value to the company.

The guidance and support I got during the insight was sufficient enough for me to work independently but not too intruding and controlling, which I found really pleasant. I was regularly given feedback on my work and whenever I needed help I could just ask a member of the design team and they were eager to help all the time.

The skills I developed assist my studies greatly, as from doing hands on design work and observing the senior designer talk to clients I definitely developed a greater understanding of design, design thinking and communication. I both learned technical, theoretical and hands on, soft skills during my time. These include effectively finding information, working under pressure and working in a team, all of which are extremely important and useful for me.

Although there was not a planned structure for the insight I always had something to do as I was able to help with ongoing projects all the time. I received clear goals and instructions from the senior designer which meant that despite the rather spontaneous plans for working days I still always had a job to be working on.

The general atmosphere for the department I worked in was really good, most of the days were very relaxed and laid back even under stress. People were chatty, but most often very focused on work (understandably). What I found annoying was that people from completely different departments doing social media and marketing often came upstairs to us and gave random critiques of anything we were designing, even though they had zero experience in the field, which I found really annoying.

Although on occasion I was given some advice and training on specific tasks, overall I was not taught much and had to rely on my existing knowledge. I would have preferred to be taught a bit more intensely, however since I was only there for a week it is understandable they did not want to waste much time on me.

The insight was definitely really useful to understand what a full time role would be like at RONIN Marketing, as I worked directly with the graphic designers. This meant that I was able to see their everyday routines, from responding to emails and phone calls to meeting with clients and doing actual design work, both for junior and senior positions.

I got a much better understanding of what company culture is like in the creative industry, as I have only previously worked in corporate environments. At RONIN Marketing I saw how different the culture was to my past work experiences, and how much more relaxed and chilled people are in a creative agency.

Spending time at RONIN Marketing was immensely valuable for deciding on my future career. Since I want to be employed in the creative/design industry seeing how a real company operates helped me develop an understanding of the mixture of roles undertaken by a graphic designer: internal and external communications, organisation, management and actual design. This gave me a much more realistic view of the job and at the same time reassured me that I want to go into this field.

I was not paid for any of my travel expenses.

There were no opportunities for networking and meeting other employees from other departments.

While there were no networking opportunities I was invited to a lunch with the entire company, as one of the employees had their birthday during the week. We went out to a restaurant during lunchtime to celebrate, everyone had a full meal and even a cake at the end. I found this really refreshing as from my experience not many (especially corporate) companies do these kinds of events; it definitely made my stay more interesting and enjoyable!

Apart from the previously mentioned lunch there were no activities outside of work.

Overall I would definitely recommend the insight to a friend, working on actual client work, getting feedback, seeing what a real graphic design job involves, spending time with designers was really valuable. Apart from the occasional annoyances caused by the other (unqualified) staff members critiquing our work it was really enjoyable and I have learnt a lot.