Kirsty Meredith : New Project Manager at MadeByShape

Hiya! I’m Kirsty and I’m the newest addition to the Shape team. I started my new role as Project Manager three short weeks ago and each day here at Shape since then has been a learning curve for me. It has definitely been a big change going from studying at University to working on projects in the design studio just outside of Manchester, but I feel like I am developing my skills everyday here.

What is my background?

I have always known that I wanted to do a placement year once I began studying for my Illustration degree; so much so that this influenced my choice of University to study at. The University of Huddersfield seemed to offer everything I wanted in a undergraduate course including the option of undertaking a placement year with a company in my chosen field, and with having an industry network database of around 450 companies around the world which is constantly growing, it seemed like a no brainer to me which course I was going to choose!

I wanted a placement that would put me in a position to stand out and show people what I could really do, not just making tea and answering phone calls. When I came across MadeByShape I was immediately impressed by their website and client base, but it wasn’t until I began reading some of their blog posts that I thought this was potentially somewhere that could give me this opportunity.

I sent Shape a brief email explaining my situation and enquiring about any potential opportunities Andy and his team may be able to offer me within Illustration. I was shocked when he got back to me almost immediately asking me a few questions about myself, one of them being; ‘What are your three favourite songs right now?’. After that I was intrigued and knew I had come across something quite unique in comparison to the other agencies I had spoken to and that MadeByShape were a team that I would be lucky to be a part of.

I then spent a few days in the studio to see if this was the kind of environment I could see myself working in. After spending that short amount of time here getting to know the fantastic team at Shape, I just knew this was the right place for me.

What will my roles consist of?

Since starting at Shape and taking on my new position of Project Manager within the team, the thoughts I had of being extremely fortunate to be here have just been reinforced. I will be working on projects that are based around illustration as this is the background I originate from, but more importantly I will be communicating with our lovely clients; whether this be via email or over a coffee to answer any queries that they may have.

"Client relationships are very important to us and by adding an extra friendly face to the team, our clients will feel at ease as we grow and win awards. My diary includes a lot of travelling, so having Kirsty on board means that our clients will be well looked after on a regular basis." - Andy Golpys, Co-Founder

Other roles for me will include making creative content for Shape and also finding ways to develop the business further. These skills are all essential for success in my future career and therefore I think I am definitely at an advantage to many other students undertaking a placement year as Shape is the perfect place to be constantly learning and developing. I won't just be making tea and being a runner. I'll be getting my hands dirty on live projects and working with real clients on a day to day basis.

I am extremely grateful to Andy, Jason and the rest of the MadeByShape team for giving me this opportunity and I am so excited to see what the future holds for me at Shape!

If you'd like to arrange a chat over a coffee, or email, let me know. My email is: kirsty@madebyshape.co.uk