From July to September 2021, I worked as a graphic design intern with the American Dental Association.
Working with a small team of about 4 people, I helped create covers for their monthly publications, news publication graphics, infographics, assisted with image requests, and created house ad concepts.
Below is some of my work with this company.
Journal of the American Dental Association cover
During my three months with the ADA, one of my draft designs was chosen for the September issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). Once it was chosen, I worked closely with members of my own department as well as others to come up with a satisfactory final cover. Many revisions were done before landing on the final design, which is pictured above and can also be viewed via the ADA website.
Pictured below are other drafts (some for other issues) that were ultimately not chosen. All covers were made using Photoshop and Illustrator.
ADA News Cover Illustration
I had the opportunity to work on another cover design; This time, not the entire page, but an illustration to be featured in the center of it for a different publication (ADA News). This piece was a mix between purchased assets and my own vector illustrations.
House Advertisement Drafts
Another big project during my internship was re-designing the company's house advertisements for their publications.
The goals for these ads were to show that these publications are science-focused and that there is a digital shift happening so that users could access these publications from anywhere. With these goals in mind, I worked alone with my supervisor to create a variety of drafts and revisions using InDesign and Photoshop. These were the final drafts, and once my internship was completed, these designs were handed off to them.
Infographics
Final Version
I was tasked with creating an infographic to be featured on the website. Pictured from left to right are some of the drafts for this piece, and the final deliverable is to the far right. Revisions included company-relevant colors, spelling and grammar fixes, and overall size compression of the infographic.
Conclusion
This internship was a very valuable experience for me. I was lucky to work with such a kind and efficient team of people, and it taught me a lot about how design works in a professional setting. Working in a team instead of on my own with higher stakes was nerve-wracking, but it was easy for me to fit right in so that I could begin doing the work that I needed to do.
Having a physical example of my work for the JADA cover feels amazing, and I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to design that. Doing the covers and illustrations challenged my imagination and visualization skills, as we were usually only given the title of the month's issue to work with. Seeing my other teammates' work was also a big inspiration for me and pushed me to be better with my own design.
Overall, I am glad that I was in some way able to leave a mark on the company, no matter how small, because they left a big mark on me. This being my second paid design job, I learned so much that I will be able to apply to future jobs.
Thank you!
Programs used: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator
