Although I’ve only been at Whitespace for six months, this has been my longest design position and therefore by far the most rewarding. As a designer, I had the opportunity to work on a breadth of projects, fine-tuning my design abilities while developing new communication and organizational skills. I felt like I was constantly learning from the way the senior designers worked, and I saw my own work become more sophisticated too. The amazing thing about being a part of a small studio is the chance to work on so many things, sometimes not strictly design work. The more you’re exposed to and the more you have to do, the steeper the learning curve, which can only be a good thing if you’re up for the challenge. I’d recommend working at a boutique studio to any fresh graduate, because the chance to take responsibility and build relationships in a close knit team definitely lends more satisfaction than working in-house or being a small part of a multinational agency.

I am not exaggerating when I say that everyone here is an expert at what they do. Just from talking with them and seeing their work every day, I’ve learned so many valuable things. My coworkers have excellent knowledge of design and typography, an eagerness to share their design process, great project management and an open mind to understanding different businesses and mediums. Above all, they know how to have a good time together–initiating group movie nights, poker nights, a boat party, snooker, watching World Cup matches, bowling, discovering different restaurants in Sheung Wan/Soho, attending cultural events/openings/festivals and having countless happy hour drinks until we barely remember.

To show my appreciation, I put my amateur leather craft skills to use and made everyone a tiny gift. A heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people I met at Whitespace: Danielle, Rosalie, Angie, Kenny, Michell, Andrew, Nick, Ping, Emily, Veronique and Dan.

I’m excited for the next chapter: New York in 15 days!