McMullan Arts Leadership Internship, Visual Design (Spring 2021)
The Art Institute of Chicago is looking for an innovative and experienced intern to join Visual Design within the Experience Design team. As one of the world’s great art museums, the Art Institute of Chicago welcomes over 1.5 million visitors onsite annually, over 4 million online and holds more than 300,000 works in the collection. The Experience Design studio is responsible for ensuring continuity in the museum experience as visitors move along the many touchpoints in a journey—from mobile to web to gallery experiences. The McMullan Arts Leadership Intern in Visual Design will be responsible for supporting design projects across an array of media. The ideal candidate will have a diverse design portfolio, covering digital, environmental, and identity design, while demonstrating flexibility to address and execute a wide range of creative challenges. This is an ideal position for a curious, inspired designer looking to take on a stream of new creative challenges in a museum environment.
INTERNSHIP OUTCOMES:
- Hands-on contributions to the visual design process in different capacities. In some instances, this may be just design production, in other instances it could be taking a project or component of a project from concept to completion.
- At least one independent project for the intern to own from start to finish. This project will be defined with the intern that should align with their interests, their existing strengths, and the current needs of the department.
- Feedback and critique related to their creative work and creative process, both from design colleagues and stakeholders on projects throughout the museum.
- Peer-to-peer relationships with other creative interns.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Support creative concepts and participate in the design process for relevant projects. Projects will be assigned based on the creative strengths of the intern but could include any of the following: brand design, environmental design, digital design, print and publication design, or design strategy and/or research.
- Design production tasks that are relevant to the intern’s abilities. This may include image editing, flowing content into templates, web and digital marketing production, or preparing graphics for physical fabrication.
- Communicate and collaborate in a helpful manner, supporting immediate teammates on the Visual Design team and other partners including video, audio, web, and exhibition design teams.
About the McMullan Arts Leadership Internship:
The McMullan Arts Leadership Internship program is part of a museum-wide effort to provide students from diverse backgrounds, including those underrepresented in the museum field, the opportunity to gain experience, career awareness, networks, and skills that will together position them to succeed as future art museum leaders. Those selected join an intern cohort and have access to a range of programs to support their development in addition to their specific departmental placement. Mentorship is provided throughout the intern experience. Interns are also encouraged to remain connected to the museum and to other interns as part of an alumni network.
Qualifications
- Undergraduate or graduate student in the Chicago metropolitan area; recent graduates (within one year of graduation) will also be considered
- A digital portfolio that includes some or all of the following examples of the applicant’s original work: digital design, environmental design, print and/or publication design, motion, illustration, and/or brand design.
- Ability to deliver authentic and original creative work using iterative design processes. This includes proven ability to:Interpret a creative brief
- Generate several iterations of a design idea when necessary
- Speak to the creative concept of the work
- Share progress work with stakeholders and creative teams to provide feedback
- Constructively apply feedback to design work
- See creative concepts through to production and, when relevant, installation
- Competency in creative design software, including:Adobe Creative Suite: specifically InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop
- Google Suite: specifically Google Docs and Slides
- Familiarity with Google SketchUp, Adobe Premiere, or AfterEffects a plus.
Application:
- Digital portfolio of work, either a PDF, website URL, or accessible Dropbox or Google Drive link
- A cover letter and resume are required for the application. Cover letter should include
- What you hope to gain from this internship experience
- What you will contribute to this internship
- What challenge(s) or barrier(s) you face (personal, cultural, socioeconomic, educational, etc.) as you consider pursuing a career in the arts, and how this internship might play a role in helping to surmount those obstacles
To apply: ***Apply directly on our website: www.artic.edu/careers ***
Upload all materials into one pdf document. If including an external hyperlink, please indicate in your resume. The application will close on January 1, 2021 at 10:00 PM CDT. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early application is suggested. Selected applicants will be asked to interview via video call.
The Art Institute of Chicago is an equal opportunity, equal access employer fully committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Apply at:
http://www.artic.edu/careers