Please, Read the Brand Guidelines!

My name is Kelsea Schaffer and I’m a senior Advertising major with a concentration in Art Direction. I’m currently a graphic design intern for Slice Communications, a remote marketing agency located in Philadelphia. 

As a graphic design intern, I was tasked with working on social posts, infographics, and print advertisements for three of Slice’s clients, as well as creating some content for Slice itself. Working on content for four different brands meant I was also tasked with understanding four different brands inside and out, from their fonts and colors used to common photo styles used to understanding what the company actually is and who their business is truly for. 

Being in class and reading one brand guideline for a project seems very simple. You are able to take the time to understand a brand inside and out, but working with more than one brand brings a little more difficulty. Throughout my time reading these guidelines and starting projects, I had to make sure that the messaging stayed consistent from their previous posts or advertisements. Nothing feels worse than realizing your wording, or image choice, or overall tone in the design you’re working on does not match previous designs. One recommendation I can give is to immerse yourself into the brands you work on as soon as you receive an assignment, and this process becomes much easier overtime and you will find yourself understanding them much faster the more you go through. 

Throughout my experience working for Slice Communications I’ve been able to expand my skill set in terms of not only understanding brand guidelines, but in design, communication, organization, and teamwork. I’ve had so much fun being able to learn these skills and use them in my daily life, and I can see the improvement in my work. I’ve had such a great time in this position and I’m so grateful to everyone in Slice who has helped me throughout my journey.