How Client Work Experience Impacts the Growth of the Design Student

As a design major finishing my last semester of college, it's sort of hard to know exactly what to expect when my formal design training meets real-world design needs. I've always believed that the real learning begins when the design theory I've studied in school meets the actual design needs I'll experience with my first client. That's why internships are so important for students, and I'm really grateful to have had the chance to work on several projects that pushed me creatively and helped me understand what it actually means to design for clients and not just for class assignments. Working at Kanyon has been one of the most meaningful parts of that experience.

In school, there's a lot of talk about problem-solving and user experience, but applying those skills to real business goals has been where the real challenge lies. I've had projects that have pushed me to think about graphic design and branding in a holistic way: beyond just making something look good, a good brand or design should have a purpose. It should also retain its consistency across multiple channels of communication. That's where it gets really tricky: maintaining a brand's image as it begins a "life" on its own!

I really loved working on full branding packages, and creating brand style guides for our clients. We deliver these to the client after several rounds of iterations, and they feature all of the colors, logo variations, and typographic styles that we've presented and the client has approved. I had the opportunity to create logo concepts for several real clients, and was really appreciative of the ability to work freely and be trusted to do my own work without feeling boxed into one single direction. I've been encouraged to explore ideas and iterate freely, which has not only revealed the proficiency of my skillset but also my own limitations and where I have room to grow.

As someone who is still learning, it really means a lot to have mentorship from someone why truly understands the design field and cares about supporting students. The project work not only strengthened my technical skills but also helped me so much in improving my confidence in them. I'm really thankful for the experience and I'm excited to bring what I've learned into the world!