Interning at Mitchell Press

Arsena Vikan / Mitchell Press / Graphic Design Intern

This summer, I have had a unique experience completing a condensed practicum through May and June of 2026 at Mitchell Press in Burnaby, a premier name in commercial printing. I also had the privilege to be the first person from UFV that Mitchell has hosted as a practicum student.

My tasks were centered around internal communication and some external marketing pieces, the most notable being the opportunity to design collateral for the 2026 RGD conference DesignThinkers. This was such a full circle moment, as my first year at DesignThinkers I was made aware of Mitchell and print design, my second year it was my goal to speak to Mitchell at their booth about internship opportunities– and this year I got to design the collateral that was handed out at their booth.

I was given agency over what I was going to produce during the seven weeks I was working with them, and while largely self-directed, check-ins and editing meetings were frequent, and helped to develop my ideas, and meet Mitchell’s goals.

For the remainder of my time, I spearheaded the next edition of the internal newsletter, designing the layouts, planning content, collecting content from different departments, taking photos. My favorite addition, however, was the development of an employee survey to show what was popular in the office, like favorite sports and desserts, movies, and ways to unwind. The survey results were then made into graphs and added to the newsletter.

The Mitchell work environment was overwhelmingly friendly, and goal oriented. I learned so much not only in designing for a real-life situation, but from the very skilled people at Mitchell. Conversations with those working in sales, estimation, and print coordination, all offered very insightful and important information around everything to do with printing. This was also an incredible opportunity to form relationships and connections and expand my professional network.

My final weeks at Mitchell were well cherished, and despite my short time with them, each goodbye was meaningful and well-wished. Mitchell is an incredible place to work and my experience there is one that I will take with me for the rest of my career; and now, onto the next opportunity!