Hello :) I’m Alika, a 4th year Computer Arts student at Abertay University. Last year my goal was to gain experience in the creative industry, so I applied for the Saltire Scholars programme because I was curious about the opportunities they could provide. Creative roles were hard to come by, and although I was initially disheartened, I told myself that any work experience was experience that could potentially lead me to a creative role in the future, so I applied to all sorts of internships.
As the summer holidays approached, I was notified about a graphic designer internship at Hyble, a marketing technology company. Applying there was one of the best decisions I’d made, because there I began exploring a career path I had never even considered. Hyble specialised in producing marketing materials for the alcoholic beverage industry, and these materials included posters, menus, and banners. The team I was part of was the Custom Design team. We worked closely with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, America’s largest alcohol distributer, to provide them custom made marketing materials. Their sales representatives would come to us with a design request, for example a cocktail menu, and we would use Adobe software like InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop to create it. A digital file would be sent over for them to proof check, and once approved it gets sent off to be printed in the US.
The process was all very overwhelming at first, but throughout the internship I felt like I had a lot of support, and I wasn’t afraid to ask for help from my co-workers. The work I did at Hyble was very different to what I worked on during college and university. Before my internship, I was more of an illustrator rather than a graphic designer, but as I delved more into graphic design, I felt an overlap between the two areas. When making decisions on how to arrange text and images on a page, I felt like my art skills had a big role in making those decisions.
By developing my graphic design skills, I feel like my career path has been broadened. Having my skills limited to just illustration made me feel anxious about future job prospects. But having multiple skills outside of illustration, such as graphic design, Photoshop knowledge, and experience in an office environment, hopefully allows me to fit into more roles.
It was satisfying to feel myself progressing as the weeks went by. The number of orders I was assigned to grew over the course of my internship, and seeing that change made me feel reassured that I was improving. A big reason for that improvement was thanks to the team I was in. Everyone was approachable and friendly, and I aspire to be like them in my future job.
If you’re looking for new experiences, the Saltire Scholars Programme is a great place to start. Throughout the application process, you are practising the skills needed in a workplace, like written and verbal communication, and reflective thinking. During the candidate pool stage, apply for anything that interest you! Although it may not tie into your degree, you may develop skills there that you can showcase on your CV when applying for roles at a later stage. There are so many opportunities out there, ones that might even lead you down a new career path :)
