Waterloo International

Brief

I was hired (remotely) as the Multimedia Designer and Communications Coordinator intern for the University of Waterloo. My work primarily focused on creating more inclusive and user-friendly websites for their audience as well as filling in and fixing any gaps their website had. While the majority of my unpublished work is under NDA, I can share a few of my responsibilities and my growth with the company.

Learning and Growth

Often being tasked with multiple projects at once, I quickly learned that I needed to know all about the guidelines for designing with the university in order to limit my time going back and forth confirming branding details. These projects included learning new concepts and skills, getting guidance when needed, and going outside of my comfort zone in order to execute tasks properly. Working cross-functionally, communication was my first job above all in order to understand the scope and expectations for each project. Designing for the international team also meant understanding cultural differences in order to design for the wide range of people they collaborate with.

My time was divided between creating graphics for socials and the website, developing marketing plans for events, communicating with key stakeholders, and designing and implementing websites. I learned how to explain design decisions in layman's terms to key stakeholders in order to showcase and iterate website designs. By implementing their feedback and streamlining tasks, I was able to create webpage drafts for them to publish when the time is right. I also created resource guides for them to simplify future tasks while still keeping accessibility in mind. With those projects, I learned the importance of storytelling to engage users in presentations and on the website.

Takeaways

My internship with the international department taught me a lot about designing for stakeholders and their tasks. The university was strict on branding and so I had to learn how to streamline tasks while still adhering to their guidelines. The easier the website was to navigate, the higher potential the university had to collaborate with other universities. Overall, I learned how to practically tackle problems while still retaining users' attention as well as how to collaborate cross-functionally.