Researching companies who inspire me…

My task for the week was to find three examples of ‘local’ companies (Belfast, Dublin, UK) that you admire, represent great design/work and that I would like to work for. I also had to find three examples of international design firms that I believe are world-leading and produce exceptional work.

‘Local’ companies…

Reflex Studios Belfast…

What do they do?

Reflex Studios plan, develop, write and develop every project from the Belfast based hub. Their staff are all educated in Interactive design with a depth of industry experience. The offer a wide range of services, including Web Design (UX), Content management, branding and graphic design, bespoke development and digital marketing. Here are some of the projects they have worked on recently…

• TIME bar and venue
• Titanic Suites
• Teen Clubland
• The Tailor’s House

Kaizen Brand Evolution

Kaizen Brand are a Belfast based graphic design company, who specialise in brand identity, graphic design, digital packaging, websites and animation. They provide many deliverables including, Graphic design, brand language, creative direction and digital marketing.

“Our aim is to tell your truth well. We design work that resonates with clients and importantly, customers. We work across a diverse range of industries, from hospitality to finance, IT and science to effectively help the bottom line of each business and communicate their story and message truthfully.”

Some of their most familiar work includes…

• Ulster GAA
• Charles Hurst
• Limelight Belfast

 

Armour Interactive Ltd.

A highly skilled agency, established in Galway in 2o10, specialising in creating digital products that have a great user experience and focus on driving business goals. Seems to be a small company with 12 workers who work within many deliverables including Website and website development, app design and development, web application design and development and booking engines.

Examples of work include…

• Galway Races
• Diva
• Supermacs
• Kylemore Abbey

 

International/Global Companies…

Disney

The Walt Disney Company, commonly just Disney, is an American multinational entertainment and media conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California.

During an internship at Disney, you will get the chance to work side by side with industry leaders in your field of study. You will gain valuable skills working within one of the strongest family of brands on a global scale while building lasting connections. The Walt Disney Company Ltd. is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, colour, religion or belief, sex, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, disability or pregnancy or maternity. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.

As a Digital Media Intern, you will assist in furthering the digital media engagement of our platforms and content. You will plan, analyse and report on our content while tracking its distribution and impact as well as having exposure to a broad range of tasks from planning and organising web content updates, managing content uploads via bespoke CMS systems within key web pages, sub-editing and proof-reading. This internship will enhance your digital strategic thinking and development skills while you gain experience in the fast paced world of digital media.

 

Amazon

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer and a prominent cloud services provider. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company has individual websites, software development centres, customer service centres and fulfilment centres in many locations around the world.

Amazon also have so many job opportunities available globally, no matter what stage of your career you are at. Amazon say that their internships are a great way to immerse yourself in their culture and see if they’re a good fit for you and your career goals. They offer summer internships which last 6-12 weeks.

Amazons culture is inspired by the fact that they play an important role in helping their customers build a future for themselves. It seems like an inspiring company to work for, somewhere where you will constantly be driven to strive to achieve your goals and generate your ideas and initiatives.

At amazon, you would be working with a variety of projects that accelerate your career growth. Their interns are constantly involved in projects like writing customer-facing content on the echo devices, launching Prime pricing, creating real-time feedback systems for hourly employees, identifying and implementing ways to improve their fulfilment process, and building new features on amazon.com. Intern projects can range from working on products for customers to creating behind the scenes unreleased features and span roles in software development, retail, product management and finance. They also explained how they provide mentorship, which would be really helpful and reassuring. Overall, I think Amazon would be an amazing opportunity as an internship, one which I really want to find out more about.

Google 

Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specialises in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware.

“Intuitive, beautiful, user-centered design is key to the success of Google’s products. Our passionate, interdisciplinary UX specialists and designers work across platforms to create powerful visuals that highlight each of our product’s unique personalities. The team’s work touches billions while exemplifying one of Google’s core principles: “Focus on the user and all else will follow.””

Above is a quotation taken from the google careers website. I think because they have such a good attitude towards design, this would be a very positive environment to work in. I also read a really encouraging blog post by Catherine Courage, VP, User Experience. She spoke about how at first she felt a little concerned about working for google, as she felt that their approach to design would be too tactical. However when she did join and end up leading their design team, she said that it was a very innovative environment to work in.

https://careers.google.com/stories/a-year-of-learning-and-leading-ux-at-google/

 

Summary…

I have a lot to think about when it comes to knowing what I want out of a placement. The main thing I want is to be challenged out of my comfort zone in order to learn and grow my confidence. It excites me that there are so many opportunities out there and I can’t wait to contact as many companies as I can in order to find the best opportunity suited to me at the minute.