A Summer of Design in the British Virgin Islands

An internship with Horizon Yacht Charters gave senior Ella Bailey ’27 the chance to gain real-world marketing and branding experience.

By Jessica Weiss ’05

Most summers, Ella Bailey ’27 returns to visit the turquoise waters of the British Virgin Islands, where her parents met and where she spent much of her early childhood.

But this year, the senior graphic design major experienced the islands in a new way.

As a graphic design intern with Horizon Yacht Charters, one of the British Virgin Islands’ leading yacht charter companies, Bailey spent the summer gaining hands-on design experience through a wide range of projects, including dock signage, marketing materials and merchandise, while helping refresh the company’s visual identity. It was an opportunity she described as both rewarding and eye-opening.

For Bailey, it was also personal. She lived in the British Virgin Islands from infancy until she was 8 years old. (Her mother, a Maryland native, ran a yacht charter brokerage, while her British father worked in hospitality.) The family built a close-knit community Bailey said still feels like family. 

“It has always felt like home to me,” she said. “So I feel so lucky I got to be there this summer.” 

Creativity has also been a constant in Bailey’s life. Inspired by her mother, who studied graphic design in college and who Bailey calls “the most creative person I know,” Bailey gravitated toward art from an early age. She later attended Anne Arundel County’s performing and visual arts magnet program before discovering that graphic design offered the perfect blend of creativity and problem-solving.

“You’re given a project, and you have to figure out what avenue you want to take,” she said. “I found that it was the most practical and most interesting field of design and art for me.”

After beginning her studies at Anne Arundel Community College, where she developed a foundation in design software, visual communication and client-based work, Bailey transferred to Maryland last fall. In that time, she has broadened her experience through coursework in branding, typography and user experience design. This past year, she collaborated with classmates on projects ranging from UI and UX design to a bicycle helmet safety campaign for the Maryland Department of Transportation.

When Bailey knew she would be spending several weeks in the British Virgin Islands this summer, she reached out to Horizon—a company she had known for years through her family’s ties to the local sailing community. Once there, she was encouraged to take ownership of projects, researching ideas, developing concepts and presenting solutions to the marketing team.

One of her favorite assignments involved creating ideas for new merchandise. Rather than designing a generic souvenir, Bailey focused on products visitors would actually use. For instance, inspired by the Soggy Dollar Bar, a popular destination where boaters swim ashore carrying their cash, she created a waterproof coin purse. She also developed concepts for keychains, sailing pennants, tee-shirts and other merchandise.

“I think the most successful merchandising is stuff that’s practical and going to be reused,” she said.

Before developing each concept, Bailey researched merchandise offered by other charter companies, talked with family and friends about what people actually wanted and looked for ways to avoid imagery that felt overly familiar or clichéd.

The internship also reinforced lessons she has learned at Maryland. Bailey credits Assistant Professors Alireza Vaziri and Antwon Key with helping students to approach projects from the perspective of clients and professional designers.

“Their critiques are always super helpful because they’re looking at it through the lens of, ‘This is what you’ll experience in the design world,’” she said. “It’s always helpful to have that real-world reminder.”

Bailey said the internship strengthened her interest in working at the intersection of graphic design, branding and marketing, where she enjoys thinking about how a company’s visual identity shapes the way people experience it.

As she prepares for her senior year, Bailey hopes to continue expanding her portfolio through client work while exploring freelance opportunities. Her long-term goal is to become a creative director, and the summer also helped her envision a future where those ambitions could bring her back to the British Virgin Islands at some point.

“I think the opportunity is definitely there,” she said.

Image: “Life on Charter” T-shirt design by Ella Bailey.