Pros
Have the best expected of you, be challenged, succeed and grow. Internal intranet/wiki Diversity of jobs, technology, timelines and client sources all over the world very talented team of designers and engineers Respectful and supportive culture Many genders, races, cultures across all staff Great working environment Pretty casual dress code at desk but be clean and sharp in front of clients Walking distance to 10 pubs, and short ferry to CBD for fridays Surrounded by unmetered all day parking Bus stop across the street goes to QVB every 15 minutes
Cons
It is known that D+I have very high quality of output. This comes at a cost, and attracts premium clients with high expectations. It is rare that these clients and their problems are easy to solve / fun to deal with (thats how things are in any industry). The stakes on some of the more high profile commercial projects are high and thus the details will be under scrutiny and the approach will need to be justified. Don't take this personally, they might be spending $X at D+I but they are risking $X times 5 to go on this venture and launch this project so they're often nervous, projecting their angst and just trying to mitigate risks and 'help' (lol). I read some of the reviews here and think these are a couple of disgruntled employees who perhaps didnt want to learn in the way D+I teaches (through action and example), and similarly were as inflexible as they accuse D+I of being. (I dont hold it against them or anyone - everyone learns differently and likes different environments). You want to learn from the best, have access to the best clients for high profile career making jobs? D+I can offer that - but as the headline says it comes at a price. There is marginal handholding and things can feel pretty sink or swim - to some this is an opportunity and to some this is an abandonment. For me? I have had access to more diversity of clients, projects, design approaches and exposure to new tech than I know I could not get somewhere smaller or on my own. I don't really get the complains about 'career opportunities or high staff turnover' - the department heads and head of D+I have been here for an average of a decade or more each. The management structures haven't been built by some business school textbook but clearly by these designers. Yeah it means its not facebook or snapchat level awareness of everyones emotions and lifestyle but those places were designed to use HR depts and fringe pleasantaries to inflate value. And yeah, it means there hasn't been too many spots at the top leading the departments but I have experienced and seen a designer at any level crush a job and be handed or pulled into another because of the positive word of mouth from the client or team. This is a place where if you do well solving a complex client and project they will hand you another. If you're not the type that sees these challenges as developing you as a designer then go to Tiller or somewhere where you can sit around in D+I's literal shadow and not have the expection of industry leading quality. I checked out glassdoor before accepting my job here and I don't think anything written here really expressed what my truth/view is above so i wrote this to help. I'm not the type that thinks if you hang out in the kingdom long enough you deserve your turn to wear the crown - you earn it.