This summer I was very lucky to have received an internship with Elastic creative, a branding and digital marketing agency, in Edinburgh. For me this was a great opportunity to see what it would be like working within the creative industry and what it was like behind the scenes in their Edinburgh studio.
My name is Ross, I am 22 and I am currently about to enter my final year of Graphic Design at Duncan of Jordanstone at Dundee University. Within communication design I have an interest in mobile app design, branding and motion graphics, which is something that Elastic are well known for and brilliant at doing. I knew of Elastic before my internship as for the past few years they have given the fourth years a brief, so for me it was very cool to get to know the team and see how they worked.
When I arrived on the Monday morning everyone was very friendly and welcoming. I was shown around the studio and set up on one of the Macs. To start the week everyone was briefed on all the different work that was needing completed and it was exciting seeing my name on the list. As an intern I wasn’t sure if I’d be given a live brief during the short time I was there. However it was awesome getting to see the development and thinking behind the quirky designs and getting to say I had a tiny part of a project.
Throughout the week the team were all very helpful, and I had no hesitation asking them any questions for a bit of help and advice. The studio environment was motivated and hard working but felt very chilled, probably with help from some of the eclectic playlists that had been created on Spotify. As I was given a client brief I really wanted to impress and work to the high standard that was already set. I found the design process between a university project and a client project similar, although with a client project you have a lot less time to develop, design and impress and there is no time for cat videos on youtube and umpteen coffee breaks.
Throughout the week I felt like I was settling in, I had been given a good mix of jobs to do and I welcomed and enjoyed hearing feedback from the team on the work I had produced. It was really rewarding to me to have some of my work be used online. When Friday arrived I was treated to a meal and show at the Fringe which was a great night out with everyone.
Overall I left Elastic feeling inspired and very grateful, the week went very quickly and felt short but was very sweet. I am looking forward to September and working on their forth year project.
