Douglas recently completed his work experience placement at TDL-London.
Here, he reviews his time with us and shares his thoughts on information design.

A bit about Douglas

I live in Epsom, and I am currently a year into my GCSEs at Sutton Grammar School. Fitting what my choice of work experience would suggest, I took computer science, drama and history as my GCSE options. I also do drama outside of school, as well as playing guitar, singing, sailing, playing basketball and rock climbing at different clubs in my area. I actually have not, however, considered information design or any other sort of design much of an interest for me before completing my work experience at TDL.

Douglas with his cupcake gifts to TDL-London

How did you hear about TDL-London?

My Dad has been part of groups working with TDL before, and I think is also a friend of a few people within the company. When we were first told at school that we had the opportunity to do work experience, I asked him if he had any ideas about where I could go, and he suggested TDL to me. After hearing about what information design actually is, and looking at the TDL website and social pages, I decided it looked pretty cool, and so my Dad set up my chance to do work experience here.

 

What did you do at TDL-London?

On the first day of my work experience, I was given the on-going task of completing an organisation chart and newsletter, the same task given to university students wanting a position in TDL. I did, however take over double the time normally given for the task. While this was going on, I also went around the office, listening to each member explaining what they do in TDL, from managing blogs and sites, to editorials, to creating sharp designs and award-winning maps for client bids. I was even set several tasks by Tomoko Furukawa to sketch out solutions to several problems she had been faced with, before being shown how she herself had solved the problem.

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Getting ideas down on paper

What are the tools you have used at TDL-London?

While at TDL I mostly used Adobe programs as tools to complete the tasks given to me, which was somewhat of a new experience, as I had not had much experience of InDesign or Illustrator before this week, and I was actually pleasantly surprised that my two larger projects did not look like the work of a 12 year old. While talking about what other people in the office were doing I also saw other tools beings used, such as browser based programs used to create and regulate the TDL website, and the advanced use of Microsoft PowerPoint to create a pretty awesome presentation.

 

What have you learnt about clients while at TDL-London?

Through going around and talking to different people I have gathered how varied client projects and requests can be, with a bid entry requiring two complex infographic diagrams to be completed each day for two weeks, and a seemingly simple design project requiring the use of an extreme baseline grid to get the rhythm of the viewing just right. However, I have also seen and heard through phone conversations how useful discussing the design with the client can be, even if that results in a complete redo of the initial design.

 

What have you learnt about information designers while at TDL-London?

I have learnt how adaptable an information designer has to be to complete the tasks given to him or her, as often these tasks will change dramatically, or they will be set something different entirely. I have also learnt how interdependent each designer is, as often each person in the office will ask for an opinion on a problem from another person in the office, in the end getting a design produced from the input of several designers, instead of just one.

 

What are the three key things you have learnt about design while at TDL-London?

I have learnt how important the relationship between the designer and the client is, as without the frequent questions between the two, a useful design could never be reached. Another key aspect is structuring the design and project as a whole, with themes and typefaces being so important in making a comprehensive design, and creating a proper folder system makes it actually possible to find things when designing. Finally, the importance of taking in other peoples opinions- in my case, the advice the people in the office gave me to make my projects into something presentable.

 

Would you consider being a designer after your experience?

I would not consider my self a fully-fledged designer after just a week at TDL, but I have definitely learnt so much more about the tools used and the whole world of design than what I knew just a few days ago, and after my week my interest in these areas has been kindled, and I hope to keep using many of the skills I learnt throughout school and even later.

 

Thanks Douglas, we really enjoyed working with you!