Emma Peterson

Responsibilities

The main responsibility I had during my internship was to create new designs for merchandise. I created new designs using Procreate and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. After creating the designs, I made mockups and technical sketches of the designs to send to different vendors to get the merchandise made. I communicated with different vendors throughout the course of my internship to determine where to order from. I have also been in charge of creating new merchandise displays as well as different ways to market the new products I created.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during my internship at Peace Tree was seeing the designs I created go through all of the steps of production. I started off my internship by researching Peace Tree’s consumer market as well as their mission and brand. I also began researching different vendors to see what products were being offered and if I would be able to get my designs made. Based on this research, I created a mood board of what I wanted to make to accommodate the wants and needs of the company and market. I started to begin making different designs using the apps Procreate, Canva, and Adobe Illustrator. I also used Adobe Photoshop to create different mockups of my designs to present to my supervisors. I got a lot of practice using Adobe software during my internship and my skills as a designer have definitely strengthened. After getting my designs approved by my supervisors, I then began to reach out to different vendors to figure out where to get the designs made. I was able to follow my designs through each step of being produced and it was a great learning experience. I feel very accomplished by all of the work I did and being able to see my designs come to life.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned from my internship is even though it can be difficult, it is important to accommodate the wants and needs of your consumer when designing. You will have to encounter certain situations where you might not necessarily connect with the designs you are working with, but it is important to remember that you are designing for someone else and that should be the primary focus.

What advice would you give?

My advice to future students in Apparel Merchandising, and Design is to be open minded when you are searching for an internship. This is one of the only times during college where you can encounter real world experiences outside of the classroom. It is important to take these opportunities to further your knowledge about your field and also yourself.