Design Intern - Accessories & Apparel Off Campus Work Study Positions

Talanto; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 18,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

UW–Madison is seeking a Design Intern for an Accessories & Apparel off-campus work-study position. The role focuses on translating direction into finished design work, including patterning, material selection, and collection assembly.

This is a hands-on internship with production-ready outputs that reflect in the final product. The intern will develop sling bag concepts, produce flats, and collaborate across materials sourcing and color cohesion.

Qualifications

• Experience in design; portfolio required with at least one project showing process from concept to technical drawing or specification, not just finished renders.
• Working proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop or equivalent design tools.
• Coursework or demonstrated ability in pattern making for accessories, softgoods, or apparel.

Responsibilities

• Refine sling bag concepts into production-ready designs.
• Produce technical flats and construction drawings for handoff to production partners.
• Develop concepts from direction or briefs and iterate designs based on feedback.
• Develop paper patterns for bags and small leather goods; document construction sequences for handoff.

Skills

Design experience

Portfolio evidences

Pattern making knowledge

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

Job description

Design Intern - Accessories & Apparel Off Campus Work Study Positions

2,773 $

Department Overview:

School of Human Ecology / Department of Art

Anticipated Start Date:

9/9/2026

All Remote

Minimum: 5

Schedule:

M-F 8:30am-5pm - remote

Salary/Wage Range/Lump Sum:

Minimum: 16

Number of Positions:

1

Qualifications:

• Experience in design,
• Portfolio required. Must include at least one project showing process from initial concept through to technical drawing or specification — not finished renders alone.
• Working proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, or an equivalent combination of digital design tools
• Coursework, training, or demonstrated self-taught ability in pattern making. Accessories, softgoods, or apparel patterning all considered.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Design and drawing

• Ability to sketch by hand and render digitally, moving fluidly between the two.
• Ability to produce clean, dimensioned technical flats and construction drawings that a workshop or sample maker can build from without further clarification.
• Ability to generate original concepts from written direction, reference imagery, or verbal brief.

Pattern and construction

• Working knowledge of pattern making fundamentals, including seam allowance, material thickness allowance, and edge finishing.
• Ability to adjust and troubleshoot patterns based on prototype feedback and manufacturing constraints.
• Ability to document construction sequences clearly enough to be handed off.

Materials

• Demonstrated ability to evaluate materials on performance characteristics — drape, weight, structure, hand, and finish — rather than appearance alone.
• Ability to identify and source appropriate materials, hardware, and trims for a given design.
• Ability to anticipate where a material selection will create a construction problem and raise it proactively.
• Knowledge of, or capacity to quickly learn, leather terminology including grades, tannages, substance, and finishing methods.

Color and cohesion

• Ability to build a coherent color palette from physical swatches and inspiration references, and to articulate the reasoning behind each selection.
• Ability to assign colorways across multiple products so that a collection reads as a unified family.
• Strong visual editing judgment — the ability to review a broad set of loose concepts and identify which belong together and which do not.

Communication and work style

• Ability to work independently with direction and constraints rather than step-by-step instruction.

Position Summary/Job Duties:

The Design Intern supports the development of a materials-led accessories line. The line is in early development: direction has been established, but silhouettes, patterns, materials, and colorways require resolution. The intern will translate that direction into finished design work, taking concepts through refinement, patterning, material selection, and collection assembly. This is a hands-on design position; the intern's work will be reflected in the finished product.

Job Duties

Design Development

• Refine existing sling bag and strap concepts into resolved, production-ready designs.
• Produce technical flats and construction drawings suitable for handoff to a workshop.
• Develop new concepts from written direction, reference imagery, or brief.
• Iterate designs in response to prototype feedback and manufacturing constraints.

Pattern and Construction

• Develop and refine paper patterns for bags, straps, and small leather goods.
• Adjust patterns to account for material thickness, seam allowance, and edge finishing.
• Document construction sequences for clean handoff to production partners.

Materials Sourcing and Evaluation

• Research, source, and evaluate material options, including leathers, woven fibers, hardware, and linings.
• Build and maintain a physical material and color swatch library.
• Match materials to designs based on performance and aesthetic requirements.

Color and Collection Cohesion

• Develop seasonal color palettes from swatch work and inspiration references.
• Assign colorways across the product line to ensure visual cohesion.
• Produce mood boards, line sheets, and collection overview documents.
• Collate the complete line into a single organized, presentable set of documents.

Physical Demands:

none

Institutional Statements:

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

UW-Madison is an Equal Employment, Equal Access Employer committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background-people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit:

Accommodation Statement:

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website:

Salary: $16