Personal Profile

I am a graduate urban designer working in the Birmingham office.

Background

My Undergraduate degree is in BA Geography from the University of Liverpool and I studied Planning as a Masters from the same university. Throughout the Masters course I aimed to study Urban Design as much as possible and completed a few design projects. My postgraduate dissertation looked at young people and the design of urban spaces.

During my Masters I began working experience at multi-disciplinary design firm in Liverpool. Working with people from a number of different design backgrounds inspired me to pursue a more creative career in the built environment.

For a while now, I have been an ambassador for Placed, a group who operate in and around the North West region. Placed is made up of architects, urban designers, planners and designers who aim to teach people about their cities. We also conduct consultancy work and put on activity workshops for families and city residents. This has not only been great fun, but I have learnt a lot from the people who are part of the team. It has also been a great opportunity to learn more about the places we have interacted with in Liverpool and Manchester, and the place making and community projects that are happening in these cultural cities.

TYPICAL DAY

Every day is different. Some days I am doing a lot of graphic work, this may be creating constraints plans on AutoCAD or creating images on Illustrator or Photoshop. Most recently, I have been creating street sections for a masterplan we have been developing. This involves developing my sketches on AutoCAD and then putting them into a separate format to create a more professional final image.

Other days I am sketching parking ideas or aerial views of a street to understand how one may move through a space. This is getting into the finer details of masterplanning and looking at the design and layout of individual streets.

I have also had the opportunity to conduct research. Most recently, I have been conducting a character analysis of the spaces surrounding the area we have been assigned to develop. Undertaking this research is important to the creation of a masterplan which is respectful to its surrounding areas.

BEST THING ABOUT your role 

The best thing about my job is the people I work with. I have found it very inspiring to be taught by such passionate people, who make me smile and have turned my brain into a giant sponge. I have also made close connections with many others in different departments which has made my time here very enjoyable.

I also really enjoy the graphic side of the job. Learning programmes like AutoCAD, Illustrator and InDesign have been great. I am learning to understand what makes a successful graphic, something that is pleasing to the eye whilst being readable and legible.

Lastly, I have found that urban design has been a fantastic opportunity to get to know different places and how they operate. One of the reasons I chose the subject was to learn this, so it is very pleasing to know that I am gaining more knowledge every day.

wHAT DO YOU THINK OF SAVILLS AS A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

For myself, Savills has been a perfect learning environment. I have been lucky enough to work with talented people who have already taught me so much about working in the built environment and urban design. When the workload is large, my team is exceptional at seeing the positive side and creating a calm space to work in.

Working in a large office, I have also had the opportunity to meet and work with those from a number of backgrounds. This has given me great insight into the built environment and property industry.

On a larger scale, Savills has been incredibly helpful with regards to the graduate scheme. There are regular networking events and graduate days to keep you up to date on your specific pathway. I have also really enjoyed some of the separate training and talks that the company offer. Recently, I attended a workshop in London on wellbeing, which I found very useful! It’s nice to know that I am working for a company with a great support system.