The collective knowledge I have learned working for The Calm, Cool and Collected

To those who are looking for an internship I recommend applying for startup companies.

I started working as a graphic design intern for The Calm, Cool and Collected company in the beginning of this semester. This internship has really opened my eyes to what it is like to start a company and all the important moving pieces that continually change in the process of trying to launch an official store and education courses to a company’s profile.  My favorite thing to do for my internship is create products, including clothing apparel, accessories, mugs, planers, stickers, tapestries, and many more.

The Calm, Cool and Collect focus on educating people on the importance and resources about mental health and cannabis use. I think the mission and goal of the company is truly amazing and creative while still providing a service to help people who are struggling or know someone who is struggling. The owner of the company, Laura Geftman, is an inspiration. While she is trying to run a startup company, she still manages to connect with her employees and interns and be there for them whenever they need to talk or hear some inspiring words. She has personally helped me develop my skill in graphic design just by letting me run wild with my ideas and designs.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I first got the internship, I assumed I would be helping redesign her website and create different hero images to use on her site and social media. I have been able to do so much more – I create products for her company, I helped set up an online store, I designed new images for blog posts, and I have designed the layout for customer journals. These journals allow people to track their moods and the cannabis use for their mental health struggles.

To those who are looking for an internship I recommend applying for startup companies. Working for a startup has really taught me so much more than just graphic design and has challenged me to really dive into my creative ability. I think throughout this whole experience I really got to experience what it will be like in the art direction world – you will create tons of designs and not all of them will be used, the most important thing I have taken away from this is to always keep those designs that were not used. This allows you to recreate aspects of those designs and use them for other tasks, products, or creations.

6 Comments

  1. As someone who also worked at a start up this summer, I had a similar experience. I loved being able to work directly with the founders and everything is so fast-paced. I also learned a lot about the creative process and learned to create a ton of designs even though only a few will get picked, which is how the real world will be.

  2. Hey Emily!

    I found this blog post to be super helpful. I’ve always been curious about what it’s like to work for a start up, and if it’d be more stressful or fun. It’s really cool to hear you were able to accomplish that much at your internship and take on all of that responsibility — it sounds fun!

  3. This seems like an amazing company! All for mental health and cannabis knowledge, and I just looked on their site and it looks like you did an amazing job! I also worked at a start up this semester and can relate to you in the aspect of letting yourself run loose with creativity. I am also glad I got to work at a start up! Will for sure look into The Calm, Cool & Collected for future internships.

  4. I automatically was captured the cover image you have here, love it! I never heard of them before but after checking out what they are about and what they do I’m all about it. It’s really great reading about your experience and just how much you got to do in your position. The fact that you did so much more than just designing elements is something every design student needs for sure. After reading this I’m gong to keep my eyes out for Cool, Calm and Collected!

  5. This sounds like a great company to work for! I follow a lot of “cannabis for mental health” companies and am excited to add this one to my feed. Reading about your experience as a creative for a startup was really helpful for me. It’s really great to hear that there are startups out there that encourage this much creative freedom and independence. It seems like you were able to add a lot of new work to your portfolio!

  6. This sounds like such a rewarding experience in so many ways! Not only is the company really cool and offers such unique products, but the fact that you were able to help develop some of the products is really telling of how rewarding it can be working with a startup. The way you were able to contribute more than just art and graphic designs really shows how eager and excited the company was to have you as an intern and clearly valued your opinion. As interns looking to gain experience in the field, working for a company that respects you and the things you have to say is so important! Super encouraging to hear how great your experience was and I will be looking out for The Calm, Cool & Collected in the future!

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