Big Smile Agency

During my internship at Big Smile Agency, I split my time between production work and a deeper UX/workflow improvement project. My two main missions were: - Supporting the production of animated digital banners for Volkswagen and Škoda campaigns, via D'Ieteren, shown at the Brussels Motor Show. - Improving the UX, visual consistency, SEO, and conversion of a small local service business website, while helping the team establish a more functional internal workflow. Because of NDAs, all visuals and internal tooling details are blurred or abstracted. Client and brand involvement (Volkswagen, Škoda, via D'Ieteren and Big Smile Agency) was publicly visible on the banners themselves and at the Brussels Motor Show, and is disclosed here accordingly — the focus remains on my process, decisions, and impact. Role: Front-End Intern (creative developer) Team: Business developer, web developers, designers, and production team Tech & Tools: PHP, JavaScript, GSAP, SCSS, Figma, Photoshop Constraints: NDA on internal tools, creative assets, and campaign specifics. Existing internal tools and processes I had to adapt to. Small team used to "just ship" production work without much structured UX process.

The agency faced two distinct problems: Problem 1 — High-volume banner production with tight constraints The agency had to deliver a large volume of animated banners for Volkswagen and Škoda, for campaigns displayed during the Brussels Motor Show. The main challenges were: - Multiple formats and devices: the same concept needed to work across various sizes and viewports. - Tight deadlines: high production tempo with little margin for error. - Pixel-perfect integration: creative assets were delivered by D'Ieteren's creative team; my job was to turn them into performant, consistent animations. Problem 2 — Fragmented workflow between teams For a local service business website (roof cleaning & maintenance services), the deeper problem wasn't just the interface — it was how the team worked: - No shared workflow: the business developer, web developers, and designers worked in silos, with no documented process for UX or content updates. - Communication bottlenecks: feedback passed through messages and emails, often getting lost or misunderstood. - UI/UX inconsistencies: inconsistent typography, spacing, components; unclear CTAs; pages that didn't guide users toward contacting the business. - SEO and conversion not prioritized: layout and content weren't aligned with how users search for the service or what would push them to request a quote.

For the banner production, my approach was process-driven: understand the internal tool, map the animation pipeline, identify where I could safely adjust or add animations without breaking the global system, then execute within the brand guidelines. The UX challenge here was less about the end user and more about fitting into an existing creative-technical pipeline without disrupting it. For the local business website, I defined three improvement axes: - Visual consistency first — define a consistent type scale, color usage, and spacing rules across pages to replace the fragmented existing UI. - Conversion-oriented structure — refocus above-the-fold sections around what the business does, for whom, and why it's trustworthy; make the primary CTA (request a quote / contact) more visible and consistent. - Collaborative workflow — design a lightweight, visual process in Figma that the small team could actually adopt without adding overhead.

Banner Production I learned the in-house banner tool built with PHP, JavaScript, SCSS, and GSAP. I understood how timelines, animation triggers, and layout variants were structured, identified where I could safely add or adjust animations, and integrated Photoshop assets provided by D'Ieteren's creative team. I used GSAP to create smooth, performance-friendly animations aligned with brand guidelines, carefully respecting timing, easing, and hierarchy. Banner QA I systematically tested banners on different devices, resolutions, and browsers, adjusted breakpoints, typography, and spacing in SCSS to avoid cropping or layout shifts, and flagged edge cases (long copy, unusual viewport ratios) to work with designers on better solutions. Local Business Redesign I recreated the key pages in Figma for a structured audit: marked inconsistent typography, colors, and spacing; highlighted unclear CTAs, weak sections, and content gaps; identified SEO basics (clearer H1/H2 structure, more descriptive headings, better alignment between page titles, content, and user intent). This became the single source of truth for the redesign.

For banner production, the loop was: receive creative assets from D'Ieteren, integrate them into the in-house tool, build GSAP animations aligned with brand specs, QA across devices and browsers, iterate on feedback from the production team. For the local business project, I designed a lightweight Figma workflow: - Page-based collaboration: all work for each page (homepage, services, contact) lived in dedicated Figma frames. - In-file commenting for feedback: the design team commented directly on layouts instead of sending separate messages — feedback became contextual and visible to everyone. - Real-time visibility: updates happened in Figma, so each team member saw iterations live, with far less confusion about which version was current. This workflow was presented to the business side with before/after visuals, structured summaries of problems identified, changes made, and expected impact on clarity, trust, SEO, and conversion.

Working within the existing tool, not reinventing it: the banner tool had its own conventions and constraints. Rather than fighting them, I learned the system and found the best places to add value without disrupting the pipeline. Figma as the collaboration hub: instead of proposing a new project management tool, I used what the team already had. Figma became the single source of truth for design, feedback, and iteration — lightweight enough for a small team, powerful enough to replace scattered messages. Prioritizing workflow over pixels: the most impactful change wasn't a visual redesign — it was fixing how the team communicated. Without that, any UI improvement would eventually drift back to inconsistency. NDA discipline: I kept all confidential assets, internal tooling details, and campaign specifics abstracted, focusing the case study on process and decisions rather than protected content.

Challenge: Fitting into an existing production pipeline The banner tool wasn't built by me, and the conventions weren't mine to change. I had to learn fast, respect the existing architecture, and add value without breaking things. It taught me that production environments reward humility and observation before intervention. Challenge: Diagnosing a workflow problem that wasn't asked for Nobody asked me to fix the team's collaboration process — I noticed it was broken and took the initiative. The hardest part wasn't the redesign itself, but getting the team to adopt a new way of working. It showed me that process improvements require buy-in, not just good ideas. Challenge: Balancing production deadlines with longer-term UX work Banner production was deadline-driven and couldn't slip. The UX project had no hard deadline but had higher long-term value. I learned to switch contexts quickly and protect time for both. Result: Helped ensure campaign banners displayed correctly across devices for a high-visibility event, while giving the local business team a shared Figma workflow, a more consistent UI, and a stronger foundation for SEO and conversion.

The banners were delivered and displayed at the Brussels Motor Show. The local business website redesign was in progress when my internship ended — the Figma workflow and audit document were handed off to the team. If I were to revisit this project, I would: - Follow up on whether the Figma workflow was adopted and how it affected team communication. - Push for measurable SEO and conversion benchmarks before and after the redesign. - Propose a component library in Figma to prevent future visual drift across pages.

For recruiters and hiring managers, this project shows I can operate in two modes: executing production work within tight constraints (banner animation), and diagnosing and fixing systemic problems that nobody asked me to solve (workflow redesign). It demonstrates initiative, NDA awareness, and the ability to communicate with different roles (business, dev, design) in a small agency environment. For developers and tech leads, it shows fluency with GSAP, PHP, JavaScript, SCSS, and Figma, but more importantly, it shows I care about how teams work — not just what they ship. The most valuable skill I developed here wasn't code; it was the ability to see a broken process, design a lightweight fix, and get a team to try it.