My work experience in creativity at PDMS

Written by Zoe Durcan, about her time working alongside our Marketing and Design teams for work experience 

About me 

I am a student from Castle Rushen High school. I’m currently in sixth form studying A-levels in Criminology, Design Technology, and Fine Art.  

Why I chose to do work experience at PDMS 

PDMS contacted me to offer a few days of work experience for a few days over the summer and I decided that this would be an opportunity that I couldn’t refuse. It promised to be a great learning opportunity, particularly as I’m interested in the design aspect of PDMS’s services, but I didn’t have much knowledge of the industry.  

I thought it would be useful to explore potential options for careers after school and work experience would help me to decide if this was a path I might want to take. Additionally, I hadn’t worked in an office environment yet and wanted to see what it was like. 

My work experience at PDMS

At first, I felt a little nervous going into the building, but the nerves quickly vanished once I met the team who were very welcoming. Hannah, the Senior Marketing Executive, was my mentor over the course of three days. Once the team found out I was a very creatively minded person, I was given the task to update the style icons across the PDMS website. I gladly went to work.  

I produced some potential designs for the website, making sure to include multiple variations of the initial concept so that the team could choose what they liked best. I created design ideas for five style icons during the time I was there.  

I also had the opportunity to meet with Jim Rawson, the Head of UX and Design. He showed me what he was currently working on and explained what his role is in the company. I was particularly interested in UX (user experience) design though I initially had no knowledge of what it was. However, after talking with Jim, he explained clearly so I quickly grasped the concept and wanted to know more.  

In addition, I shadowed Georgia, a UX Designer, while she was working on some design updates for an app. It was very fascinating to observe her work and learn about the software she uses to create apps and websites. Georgia joined PDMS straight from school, so I also took the chance to talk to her about her experiences with the company and why she joined PDMS, which provided me with valuable insights. 

Jim then set me the task of coming up with new design ideas for the PDMS lightbox which is currently displayed in the Isle of Man airport. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this task, sketching out various ideas before refining a few of them.  

Lastly, I helped Nick Collins with updating a logo for a partner organisation and I enjoyed working on this a lot. While Nick provided good guidance, I could still express my creativity. Like with the style icons, I created multiple variations of the logos to ensure a diverse range of options rather than focusing on a single idea. Nick then made time to discuss the designs with me, and it was great to get feedback to further refine them. 

Summary 

Overall, I’ve had a wonderful experience at PDMS. The tasks I was given were very engaging and the team I worked with were lovely and made me feel as if I were a part of the team. I would highly recommend PDMS for work experience as the company offers a wide range of services, meaning there is a diverse range of jobs to experience. There are opportunities for those that are creative, like me, as well as for those who are more technically minded and everything in between.  

To find out more about working at PDMS, visit our Careers section!