One month at We Are Empire and now I have a new job. I have learnt so much in such a short space of time. As the team works on various different projects I have been able to soak up new skills and ideas for my future as a designer.

Finding My Feet

I’ll start from day one, walking into the open plan office to find myself in front of a 27″ Mac #buzzin with all the software I could ever imagine. Everyone in the office was friendly and approachable, especially the office pup Alfie. I was excited to say the least.

I worked closely with Louise and Stuart (Photoshop gurus) constantly learning new techniques, quick workarounds, wireframing and even alternative ways of creating an initial design.

Little things like knowing to check my leading and kerning along with leaving space around text goes a long way to achieving balance in design. I’ve learnt the importance of consistency, “making sure everything is flush” and the body text isn’t “too boisterous” as Louise would say. Not only this I now know some great websites to check out to keep me up-to-date with web, design, fonts and colours.

Opening My Mind

Seeing the different projects in action has also opened my mind to how you would first begin a design. As We Are Empire have many different clients with very different looks it’s important to know what the client is looking for, while still being able to add interesting touches that keep you excited.

Things like page layout, where I found Stuart to be a big help as he thinks outside the box. There is no reason why you need to be constricted to borders x and y just because the previous designer thought that looked good. Starting fresh is an important lesson I’ve learnt here.

A Collaborative Workplace

The best part about being at We Are Empire is everyone brings something different to the table. If I was ever stuck on an idea or wasn’t sure how to achieve what I wanted I could just ask - then everyone in the office teamed up to show me how or give another perspective. This isn’t just restricted to the designers either. The development guys (whose work I now know is so important to keep in mind) bring their ideas too, with the end result being that I now have knowledge and experience from the whole office. For example:

“The Clipping Mask” - Thanks to the team I now know three different ways to create a clipping mask - yes three! But this was good for me because everybody has a different technique on how they work, so knowing the alternatives gives me choice on which I’ll adopt. It also shows there is no right or wrong way; it’s just a preference thing.

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at We Are Empire. It’s a friendly learning environment, everyone is easy to get on with and happy to help you out. I feel I have brought a lot away from this experience and will definitely be applying the skills I’ve learned here to my new job.