My work experience in design at Rawnet
After seeing Rawnet’s website, I knew this was the right place for me.
Rawnet was introduced to me by my tutor in Farnborough College of Technology after telling her my interests in UX\UI design. Their projects stood out to me and each felt unique. I knew that I wanted to create similar things and so I emailed them.
What was your first impression of Rawnet?
For my first day I was quite nervous as I had never experienced work in an office, and I thought I would be your typical 1970’s office where each space was divided into a lonely, dull and claustrophobic area. What waited for me instead was a modern, lively and decorative office with a pool table, a ps4 and filled with amazing illustrations made by Cat who is the Senior Designer and personal illustrator for Rawnet. To be honest I was not expecting this and immediately became even more excited about starting work.
Toby Clarke introduced me to everyone and showed me around. The staff was pleasant and eager to see me, which was a great feeling. After meeting the whole team, Toby showed me where I would sit and made me log in to a state of the art macbook pro which showed they really cared about me.
What projects did you work on?
Lead designer Matt Johnson walked me through an exciting project he had undertaken for a client’s complete website redesign. He showed me the ins and outs of the project talking about the design, the interactions, the branding, the colour palette, the challenges, the user experience and so much more. It was a lot to take in at first but he explained in such a way that was easy to understand and digest.
After this, designer Callum Barnett showed me specialist software like Sketch and Figma and talked about the ups and downs of each. He explained to me what I would be doing - I was to either create my own portfolio, or find a website to redesign in a way that is better and more efficient. I chose to create my own portfolio as it was something I always wanted to do and it would be great to get professional advice directly. To add, I believe it's necessary to create a portfolio as a designer in order to show potential employers in the future.
I soon began creating it under the guidance of Callum who answered my questions if I had any problems. My portfolio ended up taking the whole week but I can happily say that I have successfully created something in which I am more than proud of, especially as it was my first time doing it.
Other than that, I did other activities such as joining the monthly Culture Labs check in, where the team discussed their updates for improving the company’s wellness, employee satisfaction, recruitment and environmental impact. I also had a meeting with designers to review projects and check up on what they have been up to. These meetings allowed me to further develop my speaking skills by participating in them.
Final Thoughts
Overall my experience at Rawnet was awesome. I got to develop my skills as a designer by creating a fully functional portfolio, I got to explore how an agency works and most importantly I had the opportunity to get an expectation of what my future career path would look like. I couldn't recommend this agency enough if someone was looking to get into it either as a full time job or a work experience like me. To add, there's unlimited coffee and not one but two microwaves - what more could you ask for? Thank you Rawnet for giving me this unforgettable opportunity, I had a wonderful time.
