Summer Intern 2026 - Art Director

WorkInProgress • Boulder, CO

7d • $50 - $50 • Hybrid

About The Position

Hi there future intern art director coworker.

I’m what people in the slack hallways refer to as “fresh meat” or “Doug” , a CD/AD who’s been here about two years. A weird writer here asked me to talk about WIP and the internship opportunity and took notes.

Weird Writer: That’s true I did.

Here are some of the highlights of that conversation.

We talked about how this is a real job but we’re calling it an internship at $50/hour, which is absurd. And you’ll be doing real work for real clients right out of the gate, so you’ll start your advertising career strong, and at the end of it - either say, “Look at all this cool stuff I made, you all want me FT here,” or knock on the door somewhere else and say, “Look at this stuff I made; I know what I’m doing. Let me make more cool stuff here.” And you’ll be at the place that won Ad Age: Small Agency of the Year in 2025 (not regional, the whole shebang). And if they win it again in 2026 you can say “I did that.”

He said the best part of being an intern is that you’re not, like, real yet. Then he said wait wait wait, don’t tell them I said that. And I said, promise. But he’s an art director so he probably won’t read this.

"What else?" we said as the conversation lulled a bit. And then bam, another point, it’s ego-free here. That’s a big mark in the pro column. You won’t work with assholes. And you can’t be one.

It’s the right size where you’ll have to do the work and be responsible for stuff. You won’t be put in the corner making banners or never seeing a production and your ideas all have an equal shot of being produced as anyone else. So that’s rad.

You’ll be art directing. Concepting, ideating, weighing in on design, rolling up your design sleeves up, sharpening your vision to bring it to life, more concepting and more ideating. You’ll concept campaigns, contribute to WIP’s creative signature, and take on real work for real clients that need a real creative solution. You’ll report to the Partner/CCO, and the Creative Directors.

We believe every brand, and person, should be a work in progress.

It’s why the founding partners opened the agency in 2016, and why WorkInProgress helps brands boldly take action, innovate, and create to prove why they exist. Then we use those actions to create the most memorable advertising.

As an independent agency, we strive to prove that an agency can care as much about a client’s business as they do. And that advertising can play a fundamental role in building and growing a company.

We’re always looking for smart, creative, and passionate people that care more about changing a company than winning awards.

Inventors more than ad people. Problem solvers more than portfolio puffery pushers. No assholes. No egos. No hiding because you can’t do the job. No selfishness. No disrespecting people or their time. Insanely talented, yet incredibly humble. In other words, one in a million. Lucky for us, we want to stay small and independent.

Our office is located in Boulder, CO, and we require employees to work from the office Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Responsibilities

• Concepting
• Ideating
• Weighing in on design
• Rolling up your design sleeves up
• Sharpening your vision to bring it to life
• Concept campaigns
• Contribute to WIP’s creative signature
• Take on real work for real clients that need a real creative solution

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, short-term disability (STD), voluntary long-term disability (LTD), and voluntary life/AD&D.
• 3% 401k contribution.
• “Unlimited” paid time off (PTO) for vacation days.
• 27 paid days off, which includes 16 holidays, a 1-week agency closure in July, and a 2-week agency closure in December.
• 2 weeks fully remote per year.
• Discretionary annual bonus.
• Each employee receives a $1,500 personal training credit annually, known as the WIP Fund, to allow for personal or professional growth in specific interest or passion areas.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees