Wrapping up 6 Months at idealworks
There are always mixed feelings at the conclusion of significant periods of your life (or so I’ve been told). Finishing up at idealworks, in any case, proved that to be true – a classic mix of sad to leave, but so grateful to have had the experience, and incredibly excited for what the future might hold. In many ways it is a testament to the culture that idealworks cultivated – to be accepted into the team almost immediately and empowered to learn and grow, and then be farewelled with nothing but positive and supportive attitudes.
Most of my time in the team was spent with a furrowed brow, sheets of A3 paper covering my desk and maybe a coffee too many – to me, at least, the signs of engaging and compelling work. The other portion of my time was spent laughing, chatting or philosophizing with various team members (for, you know, work-life balance?). Having arrived to quite an open project brief, my responsibilities and project direction certainly changed throughout, especially as we began to push the boundaries of our project outside of solely the design team. This, in turn, allowed me to explore and develop new skillsets and areas of knowledge – stakeholder engagement, project management, user research, communication and distillation of nebulous concepts and ideas into tangible and (hopefully) understandable outcomes. Looking back at it now, those skills and experiences have highlighted just how powerful design can be across industries and businesses.
Naturally, life overseas didn’t revolve exclusively around work. Being directly in the centre of Europe, with one of the most well-connected train systems and airports on the continent, I was able to take full advantage of our many (fortunately timed) public holidays, and travel to some very inspiring locations. Prague, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and the coast of France all found their way on to my agenda. 2 lessons: 1. Plan an extra day of travel whenever using the German train system and 2. Seat bookings are less than 5 Euros, and worth infinitely more.
There isn’t much advice I would feel qualified to give anyone looking to dive into an experience like this – all the clichés exist for a reason: Be open, be interested, be optimistic and say yes as much as you can. People are at the core of everything, and you can learn something from everyone. Oh, and don’t trust the Ochsensemmel.
Kilian Frunz
BMW Group Intern 2024
