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My Summer Internship as a Graphic Designer

Author Julia Shiels '24 is a Graphic Design major and works as a student assistant at JWU, contributing to JWU News.

This summer, I had the privilege of interning at Ginkgo Bioworks as a graphic design intern on the creative marketing team. Ginkgo is a biotech company based in Boston that focuses on creating sustainable bioproducts for clients. During my time there, I assisted with various design projects ranging from digital posters to beverage can design. Through this opportunity, I learned many skills, both design and professional.

I discovered this internship on Handshake, a job search site that JWU helps students utilize. The listing caught my eye because I have always been interested in science, and the company has a focus on sustainability, which is a topic I am very passionate about. I applied in September and went through three rounds of interviews before receiving an offer in December.

I started at the end of May and worked until the middle of August. During these three months, I worked closely with a group of extremely talented designers and marketers. Although I was the only intern and worked remotely, I immediately felt welcomed by my new team. My experience in my junior year Brand Identity class helped me pick up using Ginkgo’s brand standards quickly, and I was so excited to use a real company’s standards to create designs.

Poster and mockup of Ginkgo poster

ABOVE: POSTER ADVERTISING GINKGO'S IN HOUSE MAGAZINE, GROW BY GINKGO.

During my time at Ginkgo, I was able to gain experience in editorial, package, and social media design. I created posters that were hung around the offices, LinkedIn posts, and my favorite project, the beer can design for Ginkgo’s 15th birthday happy hour. The knowledge I gained from my classes at JWU helped me succeed with these projects. For example, because of what I learned in my package design class, I was able to create a beer can design that successfully combined Ginkgo’s brand standards with the celebratory nature of the occasion while still visually making sense with the package.

Front and back of Ginkgo's 15th anniversary beer can

ABOVE: BEER CAN I DESIGNED FOR GINKGO'S 15TH ANNIVERSARY HAPPY HOUR.

This internship gave me a glimpse into what my future career could look like. I made strong connections with my team and further developed professional skills such as working on a team and presenting ideas to a group. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to intern with Ginkgo, and I can’t wait to see what the next step in my career will be.

Poster advertising third-party hotline provider, EthicsPoint

ABOVE: POSTER ADVERTISING GINKGO'S THIRD-PARTY HOTLINE PROVIDER, ETHICSPOINT.

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