Lucy's Internship Insights

This week at Intermode, I continued pushing forward our effort to elevate the visual appeal of our robots both on-screen and in the real world. I’ve been in continued communication with potential designers who might help us rethink how our robots look, especially in the context of media and marketing. With guidance from my Digital Summer Clinic mentors, I also reached out to a local vehicle wrap agency in Ann Arbor to explore real-world options for redesigning our robots’ exteriors. On the video side, I drafted two shot lists: one for an introductory video that will live on Intermode’s homepage and social platforms, and another that repurposes footage from that same video to loop seamlessly as a background visual on the website. These videos will highlight key features like our robots’ durability, delivery capabilities, speed, and real-world testing, while also communicating our commitment to equity and accessibility. I also continued developing our social presence. I created and po...

This week at my internship with Intermode through the Digital Summer Clinic, I focused on improving how we collaborate with outside creatives, especially for projects that fall outside our team’s direct skill set. One major task I’ve been working on is designing a custom wrap for our delivery robots. The goal is to give them a more polished, eye-catching look, especially when we feature them in content. I’ve been reaching out to freelance designers on Fiverr to find the right partner for the job. The first designer I connected with didn’t end up working out, which pushed me to refine my communication approach. I realized that the initial project outline I shared (a text-heavy PDF) wasn’t as effective as I hoped. So this week, I transformed that document into a more visual slide presentation, using images and references (some AI-generated!) to better communicate our creative vision. It’s a small shift, but one that’s already making a big difference in how clearly the project comes acr...

  Week 5 at Intermode: From Robot Wraps to Cultural Intelligence This week at Intermode was a fun mix of creative trends, technical learning, and professional growth. One of my favorite projects was turning the popular “choose your character” sound into a “ choose your robot ” video, featuring Intermode’s diverse lineup of robots and the unique problems each one solves. I also jumped on a few other trends, including “ propaganda we’re not falling for ” and “holy airball,” adapting them to align with Intermode’s messaging and voice. These trend-inspired posts helped keep our content relevant and engaging across platforms.       This week also marked a milestone for me: I published my first carousel-style post on Intermode’s LinkedIn page! The post, titled “One foundation. Infinite robots.” showcased how Intermode’s modular robot platform supports a wide range of applications. It was exciting to see the format resonate with our audience! The post received 303 impre...

✍️  Week 4: Visual Storytelling, Trend-Hopping, & Robot Design 🗓 This week at Intermode has been all about elevating our visual content  and making sure it lands well across platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and X. 🎠 I kicked things off by researching carousel-style posts on LinkedIn and studying how brands use them to tell compelling, scroll-stopping stories. Inspired by what I learned, I designed a carousel in Adobe Photoshop highlighting Intermode’s different robots over the years - a visual timeline that reflects how far the tech has come. Building on last week’s work, I adapted our food desert blog post into another carousel, this time using Canva to break the information down into a digestible, eye-catching format. Both carousels are scheduled to go live soon and will serve as a strong visual complement to our written content. 🎥 In addition to still graphics, I dove into video content creation using Adobe Premiere Pro . I followed current short...

Week 3 at Intermode: Graphics, Groceries & Great Advice This week was a dynamic mix of creativity, strategy, and learning—both in my work with Intermode and through the Digital Summer Clinic. 🎨 At Intermode A big focus this week was preparing visual and written content for our ongoing project about food deserts. I created original graphics using Canva and AI design tools like Whisk and ChatGPT's image capabilities to bring the message to life. I also made final revisions to our food desert blog post, which is going live this week—stay tuned! One of my favorite projects was putting an Intermode spin on a popular Strava running trend. I highlighted how our delivery robot can “run” groceries to people in need, tying it into our mission and showcasing the robot’s capabilities in a relatable, fun way. From there, I adapted the concept for different platforms—LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts—tailoring the messaging and visuals to match each one’s unique audience. I al...

Two Weeks In: My Internship Journey with Intermode Begins As part of the Digital Summer Clinic, I recently began my internship with Intermode , a Michigan-based robotics startup working to revolutionize delivery and logistics through autonomous mobile robots. Now that I'm two weeks in, I wanted to reflect on the experience so far and share what I’ve learned. Getting Started From day one, it was clear that Intermode is a fast-paced, innovative environment. I hit the ground running - meeting the team, getting familiar with the Modal delivery robot platform, and diving into how the company is positioning itself for growth in the mobility and automation space. One of the highlights of my first week was attending the Michigan Manufacturing Angel Group Demo Day at Lawrence Technological University. I captured video content throughout the event and put together a recap video that I later shared to Intermode’s channels. This was my first real taste of how storytelling and content cre...