These last few weeks at Burkhart have been an amazing learning experience! I came into this summer internship ready to take on whatever Burkhart had to throw at me, but I wasn’t sure of what all I would be doing. However, I was ready to learn and grow as a designer and I’m happy to say I did. 

Burkhart has taught me so much in a short amount of time since I’ve been here. I’ve learned not only about how to design for marketing campaigns but also about marketing itself. That was something I wasn’t expecting coming into this, and I’ve become a better designer because of it. Not all internships give you the opportunity to learn from all departments of the company. I’m grateful I got that chance here at Burkhart. Working here has given me the chance to be fully immersed in the world of marketing design, and I would like to share some of what I have learned along the way. As well as thank Burkhart for this amazing opportunity to be their creative intern.

Stepping Into A New Role

As soon as I stepped foot into Burkhart, I was given a new role. I was no longer just a college student, but I was a working professional and was treated as such with respect and felt valued. I know a lot of interns out there can’t always say that. So for that, I’m grateful, and I hope that they believe I treated them with the same respect back.

My new role definitely had a learning curve, but once I was able to get the hang of how things worked here – thanks to my mentor, Hope – I was able to really show Burkhart my passion for what I do. Before I came here, I was well-educated in design and it’s process. But, I was not with how the marketing world operated and how I fit into it as a designer. Marketing design was something we talked about some in school, but it was not in-depth to the point where I felt confident going into it. I still had a lot to learn and still do, but my time here at Burkhart has taught me a lot.

What Is Marketing Design

Marketing design is all about communicating and promoting a brand. The marketing department and the design department need to work together to make their marketing successful. There is no good marketing without good design, and there is no good design without good marketing. Marketers and designers can learn so much from each other! They are equally important and must work together to make something impactful, or else it won’t appeal to an audience. 

I truly learned how important marketing design is through this experience. I learned that marketing design is the bridge between a brand and it’s customers. It creates interest in the brand and visually communicates to its customers – two very important things to a business when it comes to generating sales. 

What I’ve Learned

I’ve learned a lot here at Burkhart. So much that it would be crazy to write it all down. I’ve learned the basics of how to work in an office and how to collaborate with a team of marketers, as well as how designers and marketers work together. I’ve learned about marketing in general and got to dabble in it some myself. Because of this experience, I believe I have grown as a designer and make more thoughtful decisions with my designs. 

I’ve learned more about different programs that Burkhart uses to create and organize their marketing content. I had never really worked in WordPress until I came here, so I had no idea what I was doing when I first started working in it. Now look at me! You are reading this post right now, so that must mean I’m doing something right! But all jokes aside, I have improved in WordPress a lot, and I believe my writing has even gotten better as well!

I’ve learned a lot of new marketing lingo that I had never heard of before coming here. Some of my favorites are; copy, SEO, inbound and outbound marketing, a bunch of analytics terminology and geofencing. That last one blew my mind when I learned about it, but that’s only a few out of the many I’ve learned.

Thank You

Knowing all these new things has helped me grow as a designer. It has also helped put context behind my design decisions. All these new skills give me a better understanding of why and how to design for marketing. These are things I will forever carry with me as I continue my career. So thank you to all of the Burkhart team for this amazing opportunity and for treating me with so much kindness along the way. And to anyone thinking of applying for an internship during one of their college semesters, I highly suggest applying to Burkhart. I truly believe you’ll love it here because I do.

– Summer Creative Intern – Karli P.

Thanks For Reading!