My Internship Journey as a UI/UX Designer at IKHLAS

In September 2024, I began my internship journey as a UI/UX Designer at IKHLAS, under the Web & Mobile App team (EPD Department). As someone deeply passionate about user experience and product design, this opportunity meant a lot to me. Over the next six months, I was immersed in real projects, collaborative workflows, and continuous learning — all of which contributed greatly to my growth as a designer.

🛠 Getting Hands-On with Real Projects

One of the most exciting parts of my internship was getting to work on real, production-level projects. I had the opportunity to contribute directly to the IKHLAS mobile app, an Islamic lifestyle platform that serves thousands of users. Unlike mock projects or assignments in school, this came with real challenges, expectations, and impact.

I was trusted to handle actual design tasks — from wireframing and prototyping to polishing high-fidelity screens. I learned how to balance user needs with business goals, and how every small decision in design can affect the bigger picture. Seeing my work evolve from ideas into functional screens was incredibly fulfilling.

🧩 Exploring Design Systems and Components

Before this internship, I understood the concept of components and design systems — but working on a live product helped me fully grasp their importance.

I learned how to:

Design with consistency, using pre-defined components across different screens.
Maintain scalability, especially when multiple designers are collaborating.
Follow proper naming conventions and documentation to ensure everyone (designers and developers) could understand and reuse assets easily.

This experience helped me think more like a product designer rather than just a visual designer. I started to value structure, documentation, and the "why" behind every design decision.

📌 My First Experience Using Jira

This was also my first time using Jira for project management. At first, it was a bit overwhelming — there were tasks, tickets, sprints, and tags I had never encountered before. But soon, I started appreciating how everything was structured.

Through daily stand-ups and weekly sprint planning, I learned how the team stays on track, shares updates, and pushes features to production. Jira helped me understand how design fits into the bigger product development cycle, and how important it is to communicate clearly with developers and project managers.

🤝 Engaging with Stakeholders

Another eye-opening part of this internship was being involved in discussions with stakeholders. I learned how to:

Present my designs clearly and confidently.
Explain the reasoning behind my decisions.
Collect constructive feedback from non-designers.
Consider business, technical, and user perspectives all at once.

These sessions taught me that design is not just about visuals — it’s about understanding people, goals, and context. I saw how feedback loops play a crucial role in shaping better experiences.

🎨 Sharpening My Design Skills

Throughout the internship, I saw massive improvement in my design skills — both technically and creatively. I became more confident in using tools like Figma to create clean, intuitive interfaces. I also learned how to:

Conduct proper UI audits and spot inconsistencies.
Organize files and flows for developer handoff.
Design for different screen sizes and states (including empty, error, and loading states).
Work within brand guidelines while still exploring new ideas.

The feedback I received from my mentor and teammates helped me level up week by week. I even took initiative to try things outside my comfort zone — from UI animation ideas to accessibility improvements.

💬 What This Internship Taught Me

This internship was more than just a chance to gain experience — it was a true learning journey. I learned:

How to design for real users.
How to collaborate with professionals across departments.
How to manage tasks, present ideas, and improve from feedback.
And most importantly, how to grow as a designer — not just in skill, but in mindset.

It gave me a glimpse into what it's like to be part of a real product team and reassured me that this is the path I want to pursue full-time.

🙏 Gratitude and Looking Ahead

I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with the amazing team at IKHLAS — especially my mentor Syahmi, who guided me with honest feedback and encouragement. I also want to thank the developers, product managers, and fellow designers who made this journey collaborative, insightful, and fun.

As I move forward, I carry with me the lessons, skills, and confidence that I gained here. This internship helped me take a big step closer to my dream of becoming a full-time UI/UX designer — and I can't wait to keep learning, building, and designing meaningful experiences.