Do What You Love…Even If You Think You Suck

My name is Camryn Pisano and I am in my junior year in the Klein College of Media and Communication and  I am an advertising major with a track in art direction. This spring I was a graphic design at Youinkit in Camden, New Jersey.  Youinkit is a custom t-shirt and marketing company. During my time as an intern, I created multiple designs from scratch for different companies including City Fitness, the Philadelphia Zoo, and various bars and restaurants around the Philadelphia area. One of the most important things I’ve learned from this internship was being able to create a design and execute it on a digital platform within a few hours. When I first started, I really had no idea what I was doing and I low key could only create things I saw online. I used Photoshop when I should’ve been using Illustrator and took about a week to create a mockup to present to my boss. Eventually, after going home and looking at different formats and techniques, I began to improve which is evident through my design portfolio. These little things seem trivial but have truly given me the technical skill and confidence to be a better designer. My experience at Youinkit has also given me more insight on what direction I want to go towards once I graduate. I want to keep exploring what I can do with my degree and technical skills that I have acquired from internships. One of the things I love about this field is that you can never stop learning. Throughout the semester I was able to converse with the other graphic designers at the company where I didn’t just feel like an intern asking a dumb question. I felt included in problem-solving and both parties walked away having learned something new. This sounds dumb but it is something I have come to appreciate more and more as I listen to other peoples internship experience and its to find somewhere that is fun to work. I’ve mentioned this to other majors and have gotten laughed at but I am determined to find a job that I am genuinely happy at. Graphic Design has become such a huge part of my life and I refuse to work somewhere that doesn’t share that same passion for creativity and appreciation for fun in the workplace. Because that is when ideas come alive.