Henry Zyda - Studio Placement

As a soon to be graduate, going on placements is a great way to gain valuable knowledge, and experience. You learn how a studio works and all the extra bits that go with that, that you would not otherwise see as an outsider.

Over a 2 week period, I came to Shape alongside my busy schedule at University where I was undertaking my Final Major Project, which in itself is a huge workload.

Throughout my time at Shape, I was tasked to undertake lots of different types of Design work, From logos and signage, to Designing a website from scratch which I really enjoyed.

While at Shape one of the days I went on a visit to see a client with Andy, I found this experience invaluable, it was a real eye-opener to see how Andy deals with Clients. I learned a lot from seeing how he would interact and speak to clients which has helped me with my confidence, which will help me in future pitches for freelance jobs.

From the start to the end of my placement I saw an improvement in my work. Being around other designers in that environment helps as you begin to soak in valuable knowledge. I found that the speed I began to produce work at increased rapidly as well. Don’t get me wrong, I am still slower than the rest of the studio but I understand that speed comes with time and the more experience you gain.

Overall I have a really enjoyable time at Shape, I have taken away a lot from the experience there and it has made me a better designer for it.