Which university are you studying at and what appealed to you about the undergraduate programme in Industrial Design at Mirus?

I’m currently studying Industrial Design at Loughborough University, and will be going into my final year in September. The Industrial Design programme at Mirus appealed to me due to the opportunity of being part of a team designing new innovative economy seats, while learning from leading engineers and designers to help support my career development. Due to my interest in the automotive sector, what excites me most about Mirus is its history of drawing inspiration from automotive design and applying those principles into their aircraft seating products. Overall, the chance to work within an excellent engineering team, and to showcase and apply my creative thinking into working environment. I believe this has significantly contributed to my growth as an industrial designer and help make me more industry-ready before returning back to university.

During your time as an undergraduate, what new practical experiences have you learnt or developed?

One of the biggest practical experiences I have developed throughout the year has been presentation skills, creating visually dynamic slides that communicate the reason behind my design efficiently and effectively. Through this better communication, it has allowed the team to be more confident with me presenting my work.

I’ve also learned the value of teamwork in the design process. Understanding that feedback is essential to help develop and improve designs. Actively seeking feedback has helped me refine designs and see problems from multiple perspectives. It’s taught me the best outcomes of design often come from iterations of shared inputs.

Lastly, I’ve come to really appreciate the principle that ‘less is more’. Early on, even at the start of second year, it was tempting to over-design or complicate ideas. But my experience gained at Mirus has taught me that simplicity can lead to more effective and elegant solutions.

In an evolving world of technology, are there any new software and technology learnings from your university that you have brought to the team? 

A key area I have brought to the team from my university learnings, has been able to help create and produce more photorealistic renders. My experience in Blender has helped the Industrial Design team improve both the quality and efficiency of our visual renders. During my time here, I worked on developing a new rendering workflow that allows us to turn around high-quality visuals much faster. This is invaluable when sharing concepts with potential customers.

What was your biggest challenge and what have you enjoyed most during your time at Mirus? 

Reflecting back on my time at Mirus, one of the biggest challenges I faced was time management. With being part of such a small Industrial Design team, we were  pulled into wide range different projects throughout the year. Over the past year, I have improved significantly in this area, learning how to prioritize tasks and manage competing deadlines. It’s been challenging but an incredibly valuable learning experience which I take forward with me when returning back to university.

There have been many enjoyable moments. One highlight has been being able to contribute to designs to help create a balance between form and function across various areas of an aircraft seat. The opportunity to work alongside engineers has allowed me to learn beyond the design aesthetics and understand technical constraints, being able to problem solve and think outside the box. All of this has given me great exposure to working in the industry and I have learnt a lot from this.

Of all the projects that you worked on at Mirus, which was the most rewarding?

It would have to be the Osprey, Mirus’ concept premium economy seat. This has been the most rewarding by far. Being involved in the preparation for its showcase at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg was a real highlight. It was a great experience to design a premium economy seat within the Industrial Design team, working in close collaboration with my manager and evolving the design throughout the year. I feel very privileged to be entrusted in contributing throughout the concept design process of Osprey.

As part of the Osprey development, another rewarding moment for me was the opportunity to present and showcase Osprey using VR to the Mirus team. Bringing the seat to life in an immersive, interactive way really elevated how we communicated the design, and it was great to see the team engage with the product beyond visuals.

What was your standout moment during your time here at Mirus?

It’s hard to choose just one because overall I’ve genuinely valued the opportunity given. I feel very privileged that I was not here to just observe, but to have been entrusted to work on such a wide range of projects. From early-stage concepts to more refined stages of design, each project has offered something new for me to learn and has challenged me to grow as a designer. My experience has made me feel like a valued member of the team.

However, if I had to pick a non-work-related highlight, it would definitely be the friendships I’ve made during my time at Mirus. A standout for me would be learning how to play golf, something I’ve never done before and it becoming a regular weekend activity with friends from work.