1. What is personal/professional experience?

- preparation for going into the workplace permanently
- a chance to work in many different places for a short period of time. Gaining a wide range of experience in a relatively short amount of time.
- a chance to make connections and contacts that could last a long time
- an opportunity to broaden skills and design techniques
- being able to see how different companies/people with different company ethics work


2.Why is professional / industrial experience important as part of PPD?

- interacting with a working team in a real work place, learning where I could apply my skills in a team in the future
- learning invaluable design skills and techniques from professional designers
- getting feedback on my work from professional designers
- learning the routines and ins and outs of how a professional design team work, which you would not find anywhere else.
- making contacts and networking
- could make me re-evaluate the areas of design I’d like to work in

3. How do you gain professional/industrial experience and what form does it take?

- by listening and watching people, talking to professionals you gain new skills and design techniques
-by networking and gaining contacts, boosting your profile
- you can gain experience by visiting studios, talking to people, helping out
- getting a job in design would count as personal professional experience
- keeping an eye out - everywhere has possibilities, magazines, notice boards, websites, newspapers. This could take any form.

4. What should you aim to gain from professional / industrial experience?

- a direction. Knowing what suits you and where you want to take it from there.
- contacts to build up your own network, which is invaluable
- confidence. Personally, I know the more I put myself out there the more my confidence will grow
- a better cv/portfolio
- knowledge of how a design studio works, the ins and outs and every day goings on.
- people around you to give fresh feedback on work


More to come