life@ white design
Our way of working
“Work hard and have fun” describes our style of working at White Design. The practice has grown organically since 1998 and we are now a team of 30. As the practice has expanded, we have been determined to keep our “small practice feel”, so we researched and introduced a unique, internal structure which we call “communities”.
White Design communities act like small family units within the wider team, bringing together colleagues across professional disciplines, career stages and work patterns. Rather than splitting the team into project or sector-based work groups, we designed communities to provide a focus for well-being and communication in the work environment. Communities support individual and professional development needs with the help of dedicated CPD, IT, Research and Knowledge co-ordinators. Each community has its own identity and its own name, with a programme of social events organised by a “Life@White Design” co-ordinator.
The whole team takes a day away from the office at least once a year to explore specific themes and contribute ideas to our business plan. In 2008, to mark the practice's 10th birthday, we combined our “Away Day” with a study tour to Snowdonia, visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth and staying atPortmeirion. Our most recent Away Day combined discussions on future strategy with a bear and pie tasting session!
