My name is Josh, and I’ve come to Fifteen for 5 days of work experience. As my school doesn’t sort out work experience, I got in contact myself and went for an interview where I was greeted by Ollie and Michelle. Luckily, they took me on.
Interview
On the 23rd January, I arrived for the interview. With a newly bought black blazer and a folder of work I had done on some free software, I entered the office. From here, I sat nervously in reception, remembering tips from Ollie’s blog about interviews. Once I was called in, I sat down with two of the most important people in Fifteen’s company. Despite being scared, I gradually felt comfortable through talking fluently and presenting my work. After finishing this, I was told that I would be taken on for work experience.
Monday (Day One)
My day began at about 8:50 am, where I met Lucy, one of the designers. We introduced ourselves, before walking into the office. I was shown to my desk and a Mac was set up with the help of Mikey, a developer. After I went to Michelle (lead creative) and she gave me a tour of the office. With the wall of different Macs and the fully-stocked trophy cabinet in the waiting area, I instantly knew it was an awesome place to work.
When we were finished, we sat down with the rest of the design team for a meeting regarding the week’s work. I was asked to create a website design for a company along with Ben, another designer. He sat down with me and gave me a brief of who the company was, what they did and things they would like on the homepage (my project for the week). I began by finding features of websites I liked and researching the services business management companies had to offer. In between this, I went into a meeting where a brainstorm session was in full swing. There were plenty of ideas being produced and they were all very creative- I would love to develop this skill. The rest of my day was spent wireframing and having a quick play around with PhotoShop.
Tuesday (Day Two)
This day began at 8:45 am, where I continued to get to grips with PhotoShop until Lofty (the senior UX designer) came and taught me the beginner’s guide to PhotoShop. She explained it very well and I learned a lot from her. From there, I turned my drawn wireframes into digital mockups. This was challenging at first, but I continued to progress. Once done, I started to annotate my mockup in InDesign, where, again, I was taught how to use. I was told by Michelle that I had a meeting with Ollie, to show him my work so far. In this meeting, I found out what was good and what needed improving, so I took Ollie’s advice and began changing and adding things for the rest of the day.
Wednesday (Day Three)
I arrived at the office at 8:45 am and I continued to improve my mockup, which took up a good chunk of my morning. Following this was annotating the improved version, with what I had changed. Then came the part I was most excited about- designing the site. Here, Lofty taught me even more there is to know about PhotoShop, which I think I picked up quickly. It was so cool seeing my ideas come to life. Once I had finished, I was given feedback on my design. Like the meeting with Ollie, I took on positives and negatives which I went to work on. This was my days work.
Thursday (Day Four)
I arrived even earlier today about 8:40 am. I carried on from where I left off with tweaking my site. When I had finished, I showed Lofty who said she would sort the little things out (such as centralising my text and sorting any imperfections). After this conversation, I was set the task of writing this blog and creating my portfolio. This included my research, brief, drawn wireframes, mockups, final design and blog. I did this in InDesign. When Lofty began fixing my design, it was interesting to see how fast she worked. After this, I spent the rest of the afternoon checking this blog and looked at some more to see what they are like (since this is my first one).
Friday (Day Five)
I turned up at work at 8:45 am feeling a bit sad today, since it was my last day. I came in equipped with beer and some cakes for a little thank you for what they have done for me. This was closely followed by a chat about apprenticeships and college with Jade, which will really help me with my choices after my GCSEs. After this I continued to make my portfolio. I was later told that I could make a brand for my name, which I did in InDesign. I spent the rest of my time putting together my portfolio and looking at the the creation I had made.
Summary
Aside from being temporarily confused at the Adobe Software and making some dodgy cups of tea (sorry Kate and probably Jade) I have found this experience very valuable. I’ve learned the process of web design and how to use the Adobe Software. I am certain that my time here has informed me of my decision to be a web designer in the future, as it has been fun and I haven’t really found it like boring old work. Thanks to the design team, the people that sat around me, Ollie for allowing me to join the team, and the whole Fifteen team. I am grateful for everyone making me feel comfortable and for the skills they have taught me. I wish to see them again in the future.
Thanks Fifteen,
Josh.