Episode Details

Design Muse Podcast: Intern Series Part 2 with Annika Tervo

In this episode, the Design Muse Podcast welcomes Annika Tervo, a recent interior design graduate who turned a two-year internship at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business into a full-time associate interior designer role. Annika joins Mel and Bridget to discuss what school can’t fully prepare you for, including project coordination, shifting priorities, real-world budgets, and the business side of design.

The conversation also explores how to embrace failure as part of growth, use AI tools thoughtfully, advocate for learning opportunities, and stay organized in a fast-changing design workplace.

Key topics

• How an early fascination with colors, materials, and interiors led Annika to design
• Annika’s transition from intern to associate interior designer at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business
• Why project management and coordination are major parts of professional interior design
• The differences between school projects and real-world budgets, schedules, and materials
• Letting go of perfectionism and treating failure as an opportunity to learn
• How AI-assisted rendering can make design visualization faster
• Annika’s experience with AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Revit
• Why interns and young professionals should ask for opportunities to learn
• The adaptability and technology fluency younger designers bring to the workplace
• The mentor who encouraged Annika to advocate for herself
• Annika’s list-based approach to organizing daily tasks

Timestamps

• 00:35 — Introducing Annika and her internship at the Ross School of Business
• 01:53 — Where Annika’s interest in interior design began
• 03:40 — From intern to full-time associate interior designer
• 04:31 — The importance of coordination and project management
• 06:36 — Why failure can help designers grow
• 08:19 — Interior design as a business, not just a creative practice
• 10:07 — School projects versus real-world constraints
• 12:20 — Learning to adapt when projects change
• 13:13 — Technology and AI in interior design
• 14:09 — How AI rendering can speed up visualization
• 16:24 — Using AI without losing creativity and storytelling
• 17:56 — Annika’s experience with AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Revit
• 20:09 — Making the most of an internship and asking to learn
• 22:04 — What the next generation brings to the workplace
• 25:02 — Collaboration and new ways of working
• 30:32 — The mentor who has shaped Annika’s career
• 32:33 — Advice for interns entering the field
• 33:45 — Annika’s approach to organizing her work
• 37:55 — Closing reflections on mentorship and passing knowledge forward

Support the show

Follow us on instagram at @designmusepodcast and Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/design-muse-podcast)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Track: Zero — Declan DP [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch:    • Zero — Declan DP | Free Background Mu...
Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/zero
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––