Visual Design and Interaction Design Internship Program
Fjord New York and San Francisco
Fjord is a design company with a growing footprint; today we have offices in London, Berlin, Helsinki, New York, San Francisco and Madrid. At Fjord, we create transformational digital services. At the heart of our work are passionate people and one guiding principle: Elegant simplicity. Our work environment appeals to selfGdirected, flexible team players that have great interpersonal skills and lots of curiosity. We believe in peer relationships rather than hierarchies; on teams rather than lone thinkers. Fjord is all about an open collaborative approach and thinks it is the key enabler for us to deliver innovative, groundbreaking work.
The Fjord internship program is designed for students with an interest in digital and/or service design; specifically in visual and interaction design or human factors concentrations. Fjord’s small project team approach allows interns to obtain hand on experience led by our Service Design Leads (SDL). The SDL role is unique to Fjord in that an SDL is responsible for not only the creative and strategic direction of a project, but also for dayGtoGday client interaction, management of the internal team and, along with project management, the successful completion of a project on time and on budget. In working with an SDL, interns will be exposed to a wide variety of tasks over the lifetime of a project that are not just related to their design field.
Design and interaction interns will also support the larger design team by being involved on projects in tangible ways. This may include providing strategic and creative input to inGprogress projects, participating in brainstorming and concepting sessions and fulfilling specific projectGrelated design deliverables.
About Fjord:
Headquartered in London, Fjord is a leading international digital design consultancy, structured around innovation and pushing the boundaries of service and experience design. Our offering is Service Design, and we aim to create breakthrough digital services, products and brands. Over our 10+ year history, we have designed categoryGdefining experiences such as Nokia’s LifeBlog, Yahoo Go, the BBC iPlayer, and most recently, the much lauded iPad application for Citi. We currently work with leading companies such as Citibank, PayPal, NFL, Verizon, Foursquare, Intuit, the BBC, Intel and several others.
Comprising locations in New York and San Francisco, Fjord USA is the newest and fastest growing part of the company, with continued plans for aggressive growth in this market. We are looking for self motivated team members who are passionate about interactive media and want to learn new skills, work in multidisciplinary teams, and deliver excellent quality solutions to leading companies in the following sectors: Media, Telecom, Internet Information Providers, Banking, and others. The work Fjord delivers ranges from mobile services to Web, Interactive TV, and digital interfaces embedded in physical environments.
Internship requirements:
• A demonstrated passion for digital or service design;
• Undergraduate or Graduate level students or those who have less then 9 months of professional experience in the design field;
• Intermediate to Advanced knowledge of design programs (Illustrator, Photoshop,) and/or interaction design programs (Omnigraffle, Visio);
• Working knowledge of Flash, After Effects or other motion programs;
• US residents or those students with current student visa’s only
More specifics:
• Location: Fjord New York and Fjord San Francisco
• Start Date: Flexible, starting in May, June or July
• 40 hours a week;
• Duration: 6G8 Weeks; Minimum 6 week consecutive commitment required;
• Travel and Meal Stipend: $200/week
• Housing not provided
• Credit available if educational institution accepts and our program meets requirements.To Apply:
Send the following to nyc.recruitment@fjordnet.com:
1) CoverGletter indicating
• your specific area of interest;
• the location to which you are applying (New York or San Francisco);
• if you will be gaining college credit;
• and the date on which you are able to start and for how many weeks Please consider the consecutive 6G8 week requirement when planning.
2) Resume;
3) Portfolio (online or as PDF).
Structure:
Over the eightGweek program, Fjord interns will have two primary goals
• Support on our client projects as directed by their Service Design Lead (SDL)
• Develop their own Service Design related project with support and feedback from the Fjord design team.
Week 1:
During the first week, interns will be paired with a Fjord Service Design Lead and given short non project related tasks in order to assess their capability and skills such as their technical capabilities, level of design knowGhow and the design field will focus on, which may or may not be the area they came in expecting to find .
They will also begin to define their own project that should focus on solving a service design related challenge or interest that enriches their creative and professional development. In addition, at the end of week one, the intern will be placed as a support role on a client project.
Week 2:
During the second week, interns will continue as guided on project related work while also refining their own projects. At the end of week two, they will be asked to “pitch” their project to members of the design team, who will give feedback on both the presentation and the project.
Week 3:
In week three, interns will finalize their project goals with their SDL and work with project management to develop a project plan, defining what, if any additional resources are required in order for them to execute their project. Concurrently, they’ll work on specific client tasks under the leadership of senior designers or the SDL.
Week 4-7:
Interns will continue to iterate on their personal projects while supporting client work as directed. Weekly checkGins will be held with their SDL and the Service Design Director.
Week 8:
At the end of week 8, interns will give a final presentation of their project for the group as well as finishing and handing off any remaining client related tasks. They’ll also participate in an exit interview, conducted by HR, for feedback on their experience in the program, what they feel was successful and any suggestions for the future. In some cases interns who have completed their education may be offered permanent positions with Fjord.
Throughout the program, interns will be able to participate in weekly company meetings, company field trips and general employee enrichment, as would full time Fjord employees.
