My Experience as a Graphic Design Intern At Push10

With my senior year of college approaching, I wanted to secure a summer internship that would not only strengthen my skills as a designer but also challenge me to learn more about this competitive profession.

I was thrilled when Push10 offered a structured internship program that focused on teaching me fundamental skills that would help me grow and thrive as a designer. Here is what I learned this summer and what I will be taking with me to not only my senior year, but years to come.

My First week
On my first day at Push10, I was welcomed by the whole team into their stunning office located in Old City. Eager to absorb as much as I could, I was excited to find my orientation schedule was filled with meetings, job shadows, and even a design team lunch. Bonus moment: meeting and cuddling Kody, the friendliest office dog in all of Philly!

First up, the weekly staff meeting. With the whole team there, it wasn’t long before I noticed that everyone here thoroughly enjoys their job. Everyone was organized and on the same page as they effectively moved through the projections for the week, highlighted staff accomplishments, and showcased different stages of client projects. I was able to hear updates from the partners, web developers, and the design team.

Next up, the design team meeting. During this meeting I was privy to the progress on client and internal design projects. These meetings quickly grew to be my favorite part of every week. It was a valuable chance to get perspective on other designers’ projects and tasks. All of the designers are incredibly talented and I learned a lot from their processes and styles. To cap it off, the design team took me out to lunch at a local restaurant where we all shared our stories over some awesome sushi.

After lunch I shadowed a few designers, web developers and project managers to get an understanding of project scopes and how each individual role relies on others to smoothly accomplish a project. I learned that Push10 has integrated systems in place to assure that projects run efficiently from the design stage to the launch. Needless to say, I was excited for the rest of summer!

My Own “Client” Project
Coming into this internship I knew that I wanted a realistic experience of what a graphic designer is typically tasked with on a daily basis at an agency like this one. Push10 gave me exactly that. Not only was I assigned a good amount of client projects and educational exercises, I was also given my own branding and web design project for a hypothetical client. This assignment gave me a holistic understanding of how a designer tackles a large scale project from start to finish. I completed this project over the duration of my internship using Push10’s unique design process. Knowing that I’m a dog person, the hypothetical business that they created for me was a dog walking app; so I was in all of my dog-loving glory over the summer! I mean c’mon, dogs and design, what more can a girl ask for? I learned some major lessons from this project, including how to approach design professionally and logically but still leave room for fun and creativity, that organization and teamwork are key to a successful project, and that any idea is possible as long as it is executed well!

My Daily Duties
My daily duties gave me an insider’s perspective on how a design agency runs. For instance, I was fortunate enough to participate in a number of client-focused meetings where I was given a glimpse into the creative strategies behind the designs. To ensure I was on track and to guide my experience, a designer met with me daily to review my tasks and to provide design feedback. Some of my duties involved photoshopping website photos, sketching/vectorizing logo concepts, creating illustrations and moodboards, and designing blog post/social media graphics. I was taught how to navigate internal programs that assigned, organized, and tracked all of my design project-related tasks. I even assigned myself the daily task of giving Kody extra belly rubs, because you know – dogs!

Push Possible
My journey at Push10 was an invaluable experience. As a student, It was a great way to gain insight into the industry and afforded me a new perspective on what to expect when I graduate. I am immensely thankful to have been given this opportunity and can’t wait to start applying the skills I’ve learned during my time here. Thanks Push10!