Take a look at David Waldow, a web designer intern at Nintendo

David Waldow is 21 years old from Frankfurt, Germany. He's currently studying audiovisual media at the Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart. He undertook the intern position for Web Design at Nintendo of Europe for a mandatory internship as a part of his program.

How did you find out about this position that you had?

I had to do a mandatory internship in the media sector, I started searching for companies that fit the bill online. I stumbled upon Nintendo's offering quite quickly on Indeed job postings. It was pretty much perfect. I really didn't have any preference in which city I would need to complete my internship but being able to do it in my hometown was a huge plus. Also, the offering sounded very nice and I thought that I pretty much had everything they were looking for.

What was your main tasks at the job?

My main task was called “general maintenance”. I was assigned to adapt artworks for Nintendo games and intellectual properties into the standard formats Nintendo uses on their website and different digital channels and social media.

In addition to the general maintenance, there were other tasks per request by other departments in the company that I got assigned to occasionally.

Did you have any surprise on the first few weeks coming to the job?

About the job itself then I would say not really to be honest. However, as I have seen during my time working there, there were lots of other interns in other departments working throughout the company which was kind of surprising.

Did you enjoy your time working there?

In general: Yes. Although I was happy, relieved when I finished my internship. Because mostly, I liked working, but I hated working in an office.

What was your favorite thing about the company?

The reputation that I got to from working there. Nintendo has such a great image and influence and everyone you mention about the company can instantly connect to something good with the company whether they heard about it on the news or it's something they're connected with when they were young.

How was the workload?

Most of the time I coped just fine, but there were sometimes when there was lots of work to do. It got especially hard when there were many small tasks to be done, since I had to multitask a lot, which could get kind of tiresome.

What was the most difficult thing to learn/work during your time there?

Communication that for sure. During my time there, I had to communicate with a lot of people on a daily basis, which is something I didn't expect working in the web designer position. However, Nintendo is a large international corporate so I understand why they would require the need for such communication.

How was your working space?

I worked in an open office work space shared with other teams. As for graphic design tools, the company provided me with the necessary equipment for the job, I had a 27-inch iMac with an additional 24-inch monitor. I quite liked my desk.

How was your team dynamic?

I think it's alright but it could have also been better. The team leader is a really great person and I also liked the other 2 team members. But each one of them really has their own perspectives, opinions when it comes to working with the artworks, it was always kind of interesting to see them discuss all over the details and determined in regards of their views all the time. All in all, I had no problem working with my team, but from my point of view, that there could be some improvement in regards of the team-management.

Also, I could see how interns would have a really hard time like an student help intern at Nintendo, since he can be very strict. He only is on a professional level though and you don't necessary have to take everything he says personal. However, he is very skilled, so I liked getting feedback from him.

How did you feel about the works and responsible you have to take care of?

I was always have a sense of pride to see images I created by myself appearing on Nintendo digital platforms such as the website, Instagram, Facebook and others. That really made me like my work a lot more and have the feeling that my work actually contribute to the company as a whole.

What’s your best memory of the job?

The best memory that I had while working there was when I had to watch over another intern for a week. We had a school intern over at Nintendo for 2 weeks and I got to be her “boss” for a week. I really enjoyed the moment I got to spent this time and it made my future long-term decision to become a teacher even clearer.

Would you recommend this job?

I would say go for it, you just got to get comfortable with communicating with lots of people and also get used with working in an office. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who likes more informal working environment for example.

#intern #internship #audiovisualmedia #germany #webdesign