Envisioning a future in design talent

Aspiring designers hail from a variety of backgrounds. Some are recent graduates, while others have chosen a career switch to follow their passion for design. Our approach to giving aspiring designers the best start is through the Design Apprenticeship Programme. It’s a 6-month programme designed to equip apprentices with the necessary skills required to thrive as designers.

We are really excited about every apprenticeship batch, and our 4th and current cohort, Delta, is no exception. The diverse thoughts and experiences they bring from other disciplines enhance our ability to craft design solutions.

The boot camp

While we hope everyone can become apprentices, the reality is that we need to select the most promising candidates through a series of attritions. We start by evaluating their case studies, and based on this assessment, invite several candidates to our two-day boot camp. At the boot camp, participants delve into the core principles of design, establishing a solid foundation in design fundamentals.

During the boot camp, aspiring apprentices also have the opportunity to listen to and learn from the career journeys shared by past apprentices. They also gain insights from real conversations around design based on projects we’ve undertaken in the past.

This immersive experience not only prepares participants to tackle real-world design challenges but also provides our facilitators an opportunity for in-person evaluations. After the final round of assessment, a select group will be invited to join our six-month apprenticeship.

The right balance of theory and practice

The apprenticeship is designed to strike a balance between theoretical study and practical assignments. This allows apprentices to apply their newly acquired knowledge in real-world contexts and further solidify their design fundamentals.

As apprentices advance, they gradually join a project team under guidance, getting exposure to different UI/UX design processes depending on the nature of their assigned project.

Carving out a design career

Here’s what our apprentices can expect to learn in the apprenticeship:

• UI segment: Immersion into design theories such as design principles, typography, colours, and UI components, and actively apply these in real-world projects and assignments. We primarily use Figma, an industry-standard tool for UI design and prototyping. We provide basic instruction but also encourage exploration for a more profound understanding of the tool.
• UX segment: Exposure to a comprehensive UX process through individual projects, also known as case studies. This involves stakeholder interviews, prototyping, and user interviews to understand needs, as well as usability testing to verify design feasibility.

The success of our Apprenticeship Programme is measured not only by the skills acquired but also by the lasting impact it has on the careers of our alumni. We take pride in seeing our apprentices evolve into emerging leaders in the design industry, and we hope their positive influence resonates in every place and project they work on.

Interested in the 2024 Epsilon intake? Keep a lookout on our social media announcement! 

Congratulations to Rachel, Aini, Affan and Hanif for making it into our Delta apprentice class! We look forward to being colleagues and embark on the journey towards becoming industry leaders.

Meanwhile, watch our insightful post-event interview session featuring Delta Apprenticeship Boot Camp participants and special guests, where they shared with us how the boot camp has reshaped their creative perspectives and propelled them towards excellence and the profound impact that the Stampede Apprenticeship can have on nurturing future designers.

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Stampede has been fully remote since day one, thanks to our early beginnings with clients primarily from Europe, United States and Australia. We take great care of our people and promote a healthy remote culture, enabling people to do great work together despite the distance.

Going against the grain

While working remotely is the norm in many jobs today, the same cannot be said when we began in 2006. Despite internet penetration already being high in most countries, the shift towards remote work was slow.

One of the more vocal proponents for remote work, Jason Fried of 37 Signals even argued that working from an office was counterproductive on his TED Talk: Why work doesn’t happen at work | Jason Fried

Iwan, a longtime member of the Stampede team since 2010, recently reminisced about the early days of remote work. Back then, programming was done without Git and calls and meetings were handled through Skype. An internet speed of 8Mbps was considered sufficient at the time as most work was done offline, with occasional online uploads and calls. According to Iwan, working from home did not feel deficient compared to working in the office, but it did require a higher level of self-discipline due to the absence of physical supervision.

As technology improved, new tools such as Git, Figma, and Slack emerged, which Stampede adopted after allowing them to mature first. Iwan also recalled that remote work was less common back then, and some people had a hard time grasping the concept of working from home. All that changed overnight though, as know it, with COVID-19.

Our remote culture

Being remote has allowed us to tap into the pool of talent and capabilities unlimited by location. It is astounding how many talents and wonderful people have joined our rank thanks to this conscious decision to treat location as a strategic tool (we still do plenty of on-site at client locations) but not a necessity.

But having a fully remote team is just the beginning. In the next edition, we will look into what makes Stampede’s remote culture, the true workhorse of our success.

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