Design Summer Intern

Iris North America; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 20,457 - 29,136; Part time

Job summary

Iris North America is looking for a Design Intern for their Summer 2026 Internship Program. Located in New York City, this role involves collaborating with a team of creatives to develop sharp visuals for client projects.

Candidates should be pursuing a degree in art or graphic design, with a portfolio that showcases their craft, and an eagerness to learn. The internship offers a hands-on experience, focusing on real client work with a flexible schedule and compensation set at $18/hour.

Qualifications

• Interest in pursuing a career at an advertising/marketing agency.
• Portfolio should demonstrate design skills and creativity.
• Self-motivated and proactive work attitude.

Responsibilities

• Work alongside designers to develop visuals for client work.
• Collaborate with the team on day-to-day tasks.
• Present work to leaders at the end of the internship.

Skills

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite

Proficiency in Figma

Illustration

Identity/branding

Digital design

Motion design

Education

Pursuing or graduated with a degree in art or graphic design

Job description

Design Intern – Summer 2026 Internship

Reporting To: Senior Designer/Head of Design

Location: New York City

Is your bookmarks folder essentially a digital museum of inspiration? Does the sight of poor kerning or a cliché font render you incapable of reading the English language?

If you answered yes to all of the above, you have found your people.

Hi, we’re Iris, and we’re looking for a Design Intern for our Summer 2026 Internship Program. But not just any old pixel pusher - You’ll be working alongside our team of designers, motion designers and creatives to crack tough briefs with sharp visuals. You will get to experience the day-to-day of agency life, helping to craft a look for some really great client work. You bring your weirdest thinking cap, a strong design point-of-view and inspiration across all creative disciplines. We’ll bring opportunities for you to collaborate with our team to produce work for some world-class clients across multimedia campaigns.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Pursuing or graduated with a degree in art, graphic design or other relevant field.
• Pursuing a career at an advertising/marketing agency, design studio, internal marketing department, or other relevant business.
• Your portfolio demonstrates you know what craft looks like, and you are excited to keep learning how to execute ideas and elevate craft across traditional and digital platforms.
• Experience or basic knowledge that includes some or all of the following: illustration, identity/branding, digital design, motion is a plus, print, OOH
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma is a plus, we work on Mac
• Self-motivated, decisive and doesn’t mind diving into the deep end

About Our Internship Program

This is NOT a coffee-run and making copies internship! Interns will work alongside the rest of our team, attend meetings, and will be fully immersed in day-to-day agency life.

• Interns will work closely with their manager and colleagues and will contribute to the work the team is doing for clients.
• Interns will have the opportunity to present to leaders at the end of their internship
• Dates: June 15 – August 14
  • Flexible start and end dates
  • 9 weeks (including 1 week off 6/29-7/3)
• 3 days/week (Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday) required in NYC office
• Compensation: $18/hour

About Iris

Participate or perish. It’s not just our rallying cry – it’s a creative imperative. Iris is the global creative micro-network built for brands that refuse to blend in. With 650 people across 11 offices, we help clients like Samsung, adidas, Bentley, California Pizza Kitchen, Beiersdorf and Samsonite show up in culture with work that stands apart. Powered by Participation, and brought to life across paid, earned and owned media, our agency model is big enough to be dangerous, small enough to stay agile. Founded outside the ad establishment in 1999, Iris has always been defined by its outsider mindset – one that still drives our mission today.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and recruit on talent alone, regardless of age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, education, class, sexual orientation or disability. We champion diversity and believe it not only benefits, but enhances our creativity, our company and the wider society at large.

Right to Work in the US

You must be authorized to work in the US for any employer. At this time, we are not sponsoring or providing assistance with obtaining work authorization.

We are in the office Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on a hybrid schedule. We look forward to meeting you!