What does a design internship do?
As the name entails, graphic design interns learn about the career in graphic design in a hands-on setting. They have varied tasks and duties, including taking part in every meeting of the design team, conducting client research, assisting with social media and design projects, and working closely with experienced designers. They are often paid little or nothing at all for their service, but the experience that they acquire from their field can be dispensable.
Design internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real design internship resumes:
- Design promotional materials, annual reports, newsletters and HTML emails, manage the website presence and functions
- Manage the website and twitter page, write the blog posts and attend numerous fashion shows and sample sale rooms.
- Assemble front-end implementation using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Develop knowledge of designing websites and learned languages such as HTML and CSS.
- Improve and simplify the user interface by using interaction design and data visualization.
- Leverage project management principals to improve process and program effectiveness, drive down costs and improve efficiency.
- Review senior students spring and fall designs.
- Design intern at NYC base fashion house.
- Defect tracking and retesting also perform using QC.
- Design studies, space diagrams and construction documentation on REVIT.
- Implement design using HTML, JavaScript, JSP and Java.
- Include new math links for extra help for students with problems/questions.
- Assist in designing interior and exterior of buildings using REVIT and AutoCAD.
- Design and size equipment and components for HVAC and mechanical piping systems.
- Develop social media content to support the brand vision for the spring line.
Design internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Design Interns are proficient in Design Intern, Sketch, and Graphic Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Time-management skills, Communication skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Design Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Design Intern, 12%
Summer Design Intern for a New York-based marketing and communications agency specializing in non-traditional advertising, public relations, and branding.
- Sketch, 11%
Formulated and expressed design ideas through sketch iterations.
- Graphic Design, 5%
Utilized elements of graphic design and patient free responses to redevelop and re-launch previously discontinued reporting system.
- User Experience, 4%
Created designs and interactive components with a deliberate focus on usability, user experience, typography, and strong visual communication
- Visualization, 3%
Based on the outline provided constructed a 3D visualization of the assembly involving pumps, motors, racking systems etc.
- UI, 3%
Collaborated with web design team and management to develop new UI enhancements and design through WordPress CMS and plugins.
"design intern," "sketch," and "graphic design" are among the most common skills that design interns use at work. You can find even more design internship responsibilities below, including:
Time-management skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a design internship to have is time-management skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "graphic designers often work simultaneously on multiple projects, each with a different deadline." Design interns often use time-management skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "manage deadlines and budgets for projects during the schematic, design development, and construction administration phases of each project. "
Communication skills. Many design internship duties rely on communication skills. "graphic designers must communicate with clients, customers, and other designers to ensure that their designs accurately and effectively convey information.," so a design internship will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways design internship responsibilities rely on communication skills: "assisted in communications between design team, tech team, and product development team. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of design interns is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday design internship duties, as "graphic designers must be able to perceive their work from their consumers’ point of view to ensure that the designs convey the client’s message." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "improved and simplified the user interface by using interaction design and data visualization. "
Computer skills. A big part of what design interns do relies on "computer skills." You can see how essential it is to design internship responsibilities because "most graphic designers use specialized graphic design software to prepare their designs." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical design internship tasks: "worked with sketches, conducted trend research, inspiration boards, fittings, computer package updates, and attended board meetings. "
The three companies that hire the most design internships are:
- G2 Partners49 design interns jobs
- Change Healthcare48 design interns jobs
- Intel32 design interns jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable design internship resume templates
Build a professional design internship resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your design internship resume.
Compare different design interns
Design internship vs. Graphic artist
A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project. A graphic artist may work with a graphic designer in order to convey the overall message of a project. The portfolio of a graphic artist includes cartoons, illustrations, and graphic novels.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, design internship responsibilities require skills like "design intern," "sketch," "user experience," and "visualization." Meanwhile a typical graphic artist has skills in areas such as "art direction," "brochures," "posters," and "mac." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Graphic artists really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $68,382. Comparatively, design interns tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $54,174.graphic artists tend to reach similar levels of education than design interns. In fact, graphic artists are 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Design internship vs. Visual merchandiser
A visual merchandiser is responsible for arranging product displays at retail outlets, attracting customers to purchase the items. Visual merchandisers should be updated with the latest trends in the market to prioritize retail displays and floor plans. They must also be knowledgeable on product information to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns. Visual merchandisers should be creative in setting up the uniformity of the store's visuals within the budget goals. The designs must be appealing enough to drive the customers around the premises, potentially generating revenues and increasing profitability.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real design internship resumes. While design internship responsibilities can utilize skills like "design intern," "sketch," "graphic design," and "user experience," visual merchandisers use skills like "customer service," "ladders," "sales floor," and "store management."
Visual merchandisers earn a lower average salary than design interns. But visual merchandisers earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $37,869. Additionally, design interns earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $54,174 annually.In general, visual merchandisers achieve lower levels of education than design interns. They're 5.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for design internships in the next 3-5 years?
Michelle Lockwood
Associate Professor, Graphic Design Art, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Design internship vs. Interior design assistant
Interior design assistants are professionals who are responsible for providing direct administrative support while assisting interior designers with various tasks. These assistants are required to run errands and contact clients through phones to obtain important information. They are required to visit stores or shop online to obtain a multitude of materials when working on a project. They must assist interior designers in moving furniture and taking photographs of spaces while measuring rooms and items. Interior design assistants must also manage important projects and ensure they are completed on time.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from design internship resumes include skills like "design intern," "graphic design," "user experience," and "visualization," whereas an interior design assistant is more likely to list skills in "in-home," "administrative tasks," "design services," and "purchase orders. "
Most interior design assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to design interns. For example, they're 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Design internship vs. Interactive designer
An Interactive Designer takes the business product and transforms it into a product that the user interacts with perfectly. They support engineering efforts to develop designs and get the details right.
Types of design internship
Updated January 8, 2025
