Inside RUSH's Design Mentorship Programme
When we launched our 8-week Design Mentorship Programme in August, we had two goals: nurture emerging design talent and provide leadership opportunities for our senior designers.
Breaking Down Industry Barriers
For the mentees, the programme demystified the transition from education to industry. Calum and Harriet thought corporate life would be scary but when they got into RUSH they loved how collaborative everyone was, especially when bouncing ideas off each other. Harriet's experience at a client workshop particularly stood out for her, as she discovered that clients were just as engaged and passionate about the design process as the designers themselves.
Brittany enjoyed coming into a fresh space and learning from different people's experiences, especially the tips and tricks she learnt along the way.
Growth on Both Sides
The impact on RUSH's senior team has been equally significant. Patricia, one of the mentors, discovered a new perspective on leadership: "I don't see myself as a teacher or some sort of person on a pedestal... my actual key role is to connect different sources of knowledge to create the most meaningful learning."
For Sam, working with mentee Monica revealed fresh insights about design evolution. Working with people from different graphic design backgrounds and ways of thinking inspired him. "There's this new refreshing wave of perspective around craft... it's really cool to see".
Mentee Brittany valued Patricia's personalised guidance from helping her on her Capstone project to getting advice from another ADHD woman in the design field and seeing how she navigates it.
Building Community
The programme has strengthened both RUSH's internal culture and the wider design community. Kathryn Mountain, Product Design Lead, found the experience brought the team closer together.
The mentees brought fresh energy and perspective. "They have an innocence about them... they haven't been burnt by corporates or clients saying no. They've got this belief that anything can be built, and that gives us a refreshing challenge… Innovation happens in that space." - Kathryn.
Looking to the Future
For the mentees, the programme has been transformative. It gave Brittany peace that she has started on the correct career path: "I was a little bit fearful that going into a job after this was going to be so corporate and black and white... but seeing what environment RUSH has, it's definitely taken away a lot of the fears and made me so much more excited to begin my design journey."
The programme's impact extended beyond skill development as it built confidence and community. When the mentees started at RUSH they were pretty shy but Kathryn is confident that the mentees could now go into their first job knowing they have a voice.
The success of this first cohort has cemented RUSH's commitment to continuing the programme. "This is how we build a better design community in New Zealand," says Adeline, Head of Design at RUSH. "We shouldn't just be siloed in our little businesses. We need to think broader and really support everyone when they're coming out of uni." We encourage other businesses to do the same and help shape the future of New Zealand's design industry.
