# Small Tasks, Big Lessons ## How questions (and cat food) launched my design career Published [[2025-07-19]] on [Idea Waypoints](https://open.substack.com/pub/ideawaypoints/p/day-1-small-tasks-big-lessons) --- The first time my design option was selected by the client, I went to the bathroom and almost threw up. (Not hyperbolically.) I was an intern, and fresh out of first year university. With eight courses under my belt… I knew nothing. I *knew* I knew nothing. But what I did know was that I had an opportunity of a lifetime, as I had landed a summer in a branding and package design agency. Most students in my program didn’t intern until after third year. I had just finished my first year. What I did know was: - **Work hard.** I loved being given a design brief, and being a part of the team meetings where we'd make sure we were aligned on what we were delivering. Then we'd break to work on concepts, and come back together for design critiques and talk as a team. - **Ask questions.** I was there to work, but I was there to learn. And I was surrounded by professionals who were ever-so-gracious with their time. (Looking back now, it's probably because I took "work hard" to heart… and it showed.) I showed an interest in what they were working on, but my questions were about their experience and their work. And they were happy to share. - **Volunteer to help.** No task was too small, especially for an intern who had never done any of this before. I calibrated printers. I worked reception. I put together 600 mockups of Whiskas wet cat food new package design for a conference, and then asked "What's next?" (albeit with a probable contact high from all of the adhesive…) But the most important thing I knew was that learning is fun. I may not have had the confidence or skills *yet* as an intern, but an open mind and dedication to taking everything in goes a long way. That summer, and for the next three summers, I was exposed to all sorts of roles and opportunities because I dug in, and I made the most of every minute. (And bought Batman comics with my overtime pay, having sunk every other penny back into my education and living. You have to live a little…) And my third summer as an intern was part of the program's formal course. It meant that my Creative Director was required to fill out a review of how I had done that summer, as part of the curriculum's requirements. Instead of a simple checklist, he wrote me a letter that I kept pinned up on a bulletin board all through school and my first years as a professional designer. In it, he had the best advice I received as a student — and one that I continue to share with intern, juniors, and now my own students… **Be a sponge.** Soak in *everything*. Approaching life with a hunger to learn, and an eager curiosity has never steered me wrong, personally or professionally. I've built upon this porous curiosity over time, and in large way, it has fuelled my interest in both design and personal knowledge management. There's so much in this world that is interesting — the next step is always how to take what we learn and act upon it. --- **Today's question:** What's something that you've learned recently that has made you go "huh! that's interesting!"?