2 min read
Kirstie Gilleade Studio Placement
"My time spent at the MadeByShape studio had been a great experience for myself. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on their Shape Christmas project this year, with it being such a well received project by everyone and that it was revolved around the theme of Christmas (and I must admit I absolutely love Christmas, but then again who doesn’t).
Each day I came into the studio I was debriefed every time, so I knew each day what I was doing and when each of the tasks needed to be completed by. These debriefs were very helpful, with not working or having any experience in a design studio before, it gave me a better idea on how to approach a project, plan ahead to get what needs to be done for the project and constantly share ideas even if they might not be great, but they might lead to a great idea.
Whilst working on the project each day I learnt new skills along the way both in Illustrator and in Indesign from the Shape team. One of them was how to setup several artboards in the same document, so I was able to work on the same task and place in different artworks. Learning this saved so much time for myself and for the project, which I have been able to still continue using since my time at Shape, which has been a great skill to use.
I think the best part of coming into the Shape studio was not only working on a great project, which has been coming back every year better than ever, but the people who make Made by Shape. The team were such a friendly bunch to work with and interesting people to talk too on their own experiences. Yet I think the lunch breaks were the funniest parts of the day and how competitive a game of Monopoly became (and I didn’t even win a game the time I was there).
Coming away from this work experience at Shape I have been able to see what it is like to work and be part of a design studio, and from just observing the environment itself how much work is going on in a daily basis."
You can follow Kirsties on Twitter or Facebook
I'd like to thank Kirstie for all her efforts whilst in the studio, she blended in well with the lads and hopefully enjoyed the opportunity. Here at Shape we like to offer a few work placements each year to help students / graduates engage in real life briefs for the real life clients, and work within realistic time frames rather than extended periods of times like they do at university. Working in a studio is far different than being at university, having to manage multiple projects and tasks with much shorter deadlines. Even though our studio is laid back, the amount of work that we get through is quite staggering so adjusting to this may be difficult for some web design students.
We like to open the opportunity up so that both parties gain from the experience. In this case, Kirstie was able to provide social media strategies and her illustration skills, and we were able to offer her creative direction, project management and the opportunity to work in a busy manchester web design studio.
Go visit the Shape Christmas website to see the project live.
