When my friends in Ad Society said that MAIP would be a lot of work, they weren’t kidding! I think I speak for everyone when I say we have all done a lot of learning in a short amount of time. However, similarly to The Backyardigans, I am tramping through the bush with enthusiasm.
MAIP has taught me so much about the industry
through labs, workshops and summer projects. I've worked on campaigns before with Rowdy Magazine merch launches and ADDY's submissions, but never in such a short amount of time with people from all over the country. Working remote is hard enough, but adding time zones and 15 schedules into the mix is a challenge. It definitely helped me understand what it's like to work in an actual agency on a tight deadline of only 2 weeks.
I believe that working under a time constraint is a great opportunity to go with my gut (within reason of course). As a designer, I trust the strategists' ideas and recommendations and come up with creative solutions. When I am not allowed the time to doubt my decisions, I am free to follow an idea to the end instead of creating a multitude of half-baked thoughts that can crowd my judgment. This is terrifying and liberating; however, it is easier when you place trust in your teammates. In an agency, teamwork is extremely important, and personally one of my favorite parts of advertising. I believe effective creative thrives on collaboration. In our first summer project, I worked closely with the strategists and copywriter to create effective creative solutions for our clients that were backed up with research and insights. Without the help of other people on my team, the designs would be pretty, but they would not be as meaningful.
The opportunities that my internship at Heartbeat and MAIP have given me to learn about agency life have made me excited to enter the workforce as a creative. I have learned that design is so much more than drawing in a consumer. It is solving a puzzle for the client that will activate whatever response that they want from their desired target audience. Who knew that I would still be playing games as an adult?