Our latest Student Designer, Megan Jones from Loughborough University, shares her experience of what it’s like to do a placement year in industry with Design Reality.
I am studying Industrial Design and Technology at Loughborough University. I started at Loughborough University knowingly wanting to do a year in industry and oh boy am I lucky to find an awesome placement at Design Reality! What an incredible place to work as a student in a humble and welcoming working environment. At Design Reality I will be working on broad range of projects and gaining a substantial amount of experience to take to my final year and my future as a professional designer. I want to make a difference and a positive impact when I design, and I can do this by solving problems, generating ideas, bringing them to life and having fun!
I joined the team three months ago and it has been an incredible experience so far. I have been actively involved in a variety of diverse projects and completing design tasks for clients. I began my first few weeks at Design Reality with a design task to get me started. I had the opportunity to 3D print my design using their advanced 3D printing technology. This was an excellent way to introduce me and train me on the facilities on site.
Aside from this I have been involved in an assembly production line for an initial batch production. I have been assembling sub-assemblies and working with electronic components to create complete assemblies. Being a part of this has been very valuable towards my knowledge of production parts and creating assemblies, I have gained knowledge and an understanding of what it takes to bring a concept to life and taking it into production.
I am currently working on an exciting project alongside a great design team to a generate and sketch up a wide range of concepts. Working alongside the team, bouncing ideas off one another, creating interesting and detailed concepts has been very refreshing. I have already noticed a significant improvement in my sketching style and techniques and my confidence presenting my concepts.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first few months here at Design Reality, surrounded by an incredible and friendly team, solving problems and working on interesting design projects together. I am looking forward to the upcoming 9 months, gaining knowledge, experience and developing many skills for my final year and my future in design. There is no better place to work as a student in design.
