Internship at BORING? Here's what to expect

As a second-year CMD student, I was mainly looking for a cool agency with cool projects. A place where design is taken seriously, where I could express my creativity and where I could learn from people who know what they do. I wasn't sure what kind of internship I was looking for yet, but I did feel that I wanted more than just making beautiful things. I wanted to understand how design really works, from strategy to execution.

After some searching around, I found BORE, a digital experience agency in Amsterdam. Their work looked strong, but what attracted me most was the balance between visual design and strategic thinking. Helping brands build, improve conversion, shape digital experiences, it sounded like a place where I could discover many aspects of the profession. I decided to call BORING and sent in my portfolio.

When I was invited for an interview, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The energy, the people, the way of working, everything indicated that this was a place where I would not only be creatively challenged, but could actually grow. Not just watching, but an opportunity to help build, ask questions and be a full part of the team.

Learning by doing

The redesign of the BORING website was undoubtedly the heart of my internship and also my most important project. From the first moment, I was involved in the entire process, from the Discovery phase where we established brand identity, target group and positioning to designing high-fidelity pages in Figma. I worked on the visual sitemap, came up with wireframes and helped to set a new visual direction. This project challenged me not only to think creatively, but also to strategically substantiate why certain choices work and for whom.

The intensive collaboration with my internship supervisor (Dion) and other team members taught me how important it is to process feedback, work iteratively, and look critically at your own work. I also learned how to switch between different disciplines, from design to development, from strategy to concrete UI choices. In addition to this main project, I participated in smaller assignments for Atelier Eva (website coming live soon) and Jimmy Woo, among others, and created content for social media. But the website redesign process was the project where everything came together: discovering, conceptualizing, prototyping and developing.

Designer and thinker

What I've discovered at BORING is that I'm not only a maker but also a thinker. Someone who wants to contribute strategically, conceptually and visually to digital experiences that matter. This internship has helped to improve my skills, but especially to clarify my ambitions in the field as a designer.

My 4 tips

For students looking for their next internship:

1. Think ahead — Know where you want to go and work towards it consciously
2. Be bold — Sometimes you just have to call and take the chance
3. Take the initiative — Come not only to observe, but also to contribute
4. Be eager to learn — Dare to ask questions when you can't figure something out

I am so grateful to BORING for this opportunity. In a young, professional team, I was trusted from the start to help build real projects. The working atmosphere was relaxed, the content bar was high. Exactly what you would hope for as an intern.