London, UK
Mid-senior designer
at Map Project Office
Map Project Office is seeking a mid-senior designer to join its team in London.
As a mid-senior designer, you are an integral, client-facing member of the studio. You are responsible for all day-to-day design activities to help deliver projects to the highest level, engaging in every stage of the process from inception to completion. you will be managing the rest of the project team to ensure projects are delivered on time and to the highest quality, supporting the project lead on a daily basis.
You approach each project independently, with confidence, focus and belief in yourself and your team. You have a high level of conceptual thinking, clarity of thought and have the ability to stop, reflect and disrupt if needed. You explore and develop ideas iteratively, clearly communicating your thought process to the team and client.
Open-minded and inquisitive, you engage passionately with every aspect of studio life, influencing studio culture, motivating others and guiding junior design team members to develop their creative and leadership capabilities, whilst sharing your skills and experience with the wider design team.
This role reports to project leads and CDs.
To excel in this role, you need:
- a positive and proactive attitude
- the ability to work independently and as part of a team
- excellent attention to detail
- experience working with and leading creative teams
- willingness to learn and be open to feedback
- the ability to inspire and motivate those around you
Key responsibilities
Autonomy: take responsibility for your work; self-checking and editing your work before presenting to project leads/CDs is essential.
Business development: build a positive relationship and dialogue with clients.
Collaboration: a more client-facing member of the team, you represent Map – attending and organising client meetings; actively contribute to internal project teams meetings, kick-offs, wash- ups and design reviews as relevant.
Culture: bring individuality, commitment and positivity to the team.
Design excellence: day-to-day lead for small to medium projects, bringing your own ideas and supporting the development of others; craft beautiful and compelling solutions that have reason and meaning; assist and implement creative direction, alongside lead designers and CDs; ensure deliverables are met to the highest standard, where issues arise within projects, make recommendations without compromising the design intent.
Learning and development: stay up to date on current design trends and influences; always be open to learning whilst sharing your technical skills, software knowledge and experience with colleagues; further development of your area of expertise, finding ways to share your knowledge and passion; provide creative and technical guidance to junior members of the team, passing on knowledge and developing the skills in the team to elevate studio output.
Process: proactive creative exploration to support project leads in 2D CAD, 3D CAD, sketching, model making and visualisation.
Project management: prepare and take ownership of presentations and be confident in presenting work; be prepared to run meetings, with all material ready and accessible to key team members beforehand; be on top of project timings, deliverables and deadlines/key milestones.
Studio support: day-to-day support on studio tasks and organisation of project folders, tools and workshop and CMF library materials and samples.
Team: participate in junior level recruitment activities, including interviewing and education outreach involvement.
Studio wide values
At Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office we design for people first, at all scales.
In a world of generalists, we specialise. Universal and Map have their own distinctive service offerings, which at times are brought together and at others, work apart. The studios are collectively authored and are intended to be a place for a coalescence of disciplines to be championed and celebrated.
Everything we do begins with our team, our culture is central to the way we work and play. We are diverse in our skills and also in our interests. Our individual passions and points of difference are fostered in parallel with our collaborations, both in and out of the studio.
Our team is driven by a deeply held belief in the transformative power of design, engaging the power of creativity to enrich human experience of the world.
We are open minded, always learning
In every encounter there exists an opportunity to learn. Our studios are built on learning through doing. We embrace setbacks as an opportunity to develop and grow.
We engage passionately with the world
We shape the world and the world shapes us. Design is the only thing that sits between us and the world. Only by engaging passionately with the world can we begin to understand how to create experiences that elevate the human spirit and turn passions into actions.
Always inquisitive, curious
In order to thrive we must embrace change and the ability to adapt to it. This requires us to seek out the unknown, trust the journey and be prepared to go to unexpected places.
We are brave but we act with humility and respect
We have the strength of conviction in our experience and knowledge of the world but are equally fascinated by, and respectful of, the experiences and feelings of others. We thrive on difference, dialogue and discourse. We view design as an opportunity to encourage interaction between people, ideas and objects, and to facilitate debate.
We thrive on collaboration
The global challenges we face are becoming increasingly complex and cannot be solved in silos or by any single discipline alone. We need collaboration to succeed. Our differences distinguish us – we are more than architects, interior or industrial designers. We are producers and makers, wordsmiths and filmmakers, visualisers and visionaries. Our best results are achieved through many voices, disciplines and teamwork.
Benefits and other information
Competitive salary and attractive benefits package offered: generous holiday allowance, flexible start/finish times, regular learning events and socials, enhanced pension contribution, access to Bupa dental plan, Babylon Dr app, Lifeworks well-being platform, retail discounts, CycleScheme and train season ticket loan.
Hybrid working: following the safe reopening of our studio, employees have the flexibility to work a mix of in the studio and at home, working a minimum of three days in the studio and up to two days from home; Monday and Wednesday being anchor days, where everyone comes in to the studio.
Application process: we want you to have every opportunity to shine and show us your talents – please let us know if there is anything we can do to make sure the assessment process works for you.
Diversity and inclusion: Universal and Map are committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, nationality, disability or age.
About Universal and Map
Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office are award-winning design studios based in London and New York with a global client list. Founded by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the studios were conceived in 2001 and 2012 respectively to facilitate a growing call for creative solutions that involved the intersection of industrial design and the digital world, and the creation of spaces that could shape and support the evolving way we live, work and play. Both studios are part of The New Standard, a creative collective formed with Made Thought that redefines the contemporary design agency, uniting specialists from across disciplines to deliver simple solutions for a complex world.