This internship was where I learned what it actually means to be a working designer. Not a student turning in projects on a deadline — a designer embedded in a real program, producing real work, for real audiences, at real volume. Game day graphics, season schedules, promotional campaigns, event posters, credentials, locker plates — across every sport in the CWU Athletics department, and across an entire academic year.
The work demanded everything. Quick turnarounds that had entire homecoming sets built Wednesday to Saturday. Problem-solving on the fly when the photography didn't exist and a 3D model on my phone was the only way forward. Learning tools and techniques I'd never touched before — Blender, data-driven scripts, parametric filters — because the project called for it and figuring it out wasn't optional. Every piece had to be bold enough to stop a scroll, clear enough to communicate instantly, and built well enough that someone else could run it if I wasn't around.
But more than the output, this internship shaped how I think. Early on I had a conversation with my boss that set the tone for everything — I told him I was there to learn, to take weight off his plate, and to be coached up whether the feedback was easy to hear or not. That honesty opened a door. The trust we built, the creative freedom I was given as the year went on, the growth I felt from the first project to the last — none of it happens without that foundation. This is the work I'm most proud of, and the experience that made me the designer I am today.