A good hair day to you! My name is Ange, and I have just finished my placement with ghd. I get frequently asked “How do you make the straighteners?”, “When is the next product coming out?”, “Do you have a spare hair dryer I could borrow?”, and often the answer isn’t as expected. Starting my role at ghd in the Innovation team, was a bag full of surprises, always guessing what project I would be next working on and so the short answer was always, “I don’t know”.
What I do know is how enriching my experience has been at ghd, not only professionally, but personally. Being surrounded by industry professionals that tailor their designs so intricately, move with pace, and have the time to walk me through their thinking has been invaluable and I have loved being in every part of it.
So do you actually make the straighteners?
My role is in the Innovation team, where the birth of new ideas are developed. The Innovation team is responsible for creating these new ideas and meticulously testing them to relay to different departments and management teams to determine a suitable fit for it being a product for consumers. My time in the Innovation team, had me involved in the development of designs already in the development pipeline, but also procuring new ideas for the future of ghd technology. These included hands-on work for rigs, hot air products, and yes, a form of straighteners also. The development of these designs goes as far as the capacity of the innovation team; other departments such as the systems team or electronics are also involved to bring the design to life.
Figure 1. An off-the-shelf air heater from
our partner company.
Figure 2. A wire winding jig I created to develop
house heaters tailored for our hot air products.
Regarding the skills I developed, working in the Innovation team has acquainted me with computational fluid dynamics software, process integration and design optimisation software, computer aided design, coding and much more. Having these skills on hand has given me the ability to tackle most, if not, all design challenges and to answer crucial consumer pain points. Derived from these skills, has been the thinking process behind these tools. Often the results speak for themselves, however, it isn’t always apparent what needs to be changed in order to achieve the consumer relevant requirements. Frequent exposure in multiple projects has taught me what to compromise and the consequences borne from those decisions. What has been especially eye-opening whilst developing designs at ghd has been constant monitoring of what can and can’t be done respective to patents and legal claims on already existing products in the market. This has been an especially tedious challenge and requires a great deal of work around, during collaboration sessions, to still achieve showstopping designs for the consumers and stay. Handling such responsibility at my age in my first job role was unnerving at times but gave me the confidence to be thorough with my work knowing how costly it can be to the company. Not to mention having the frequent support from those who have spent years doing such. Often these came in the form of 1:1 sessions, or skill improvement workshops during the company’s dedicated Personal Development Time which especially help me grow technically in my computational skills in CAD and CFD.
When is the next hair product coming out?
Working on multiple projects at ghd has been a thrilling experience, always looking forward to working on a product that will be releasing soon in the future. A project I worked on close to the hands of consumers was the ghd Speed. A formidable hair dryer capable of 118kRPM and airflow velocity of 176km/h.
Figure 3. The ghd Speed launch package.
My time on this project consisted of testing its static pressure and airflow velocity for a potential future upgrade on its system. Whilst the testing itself was not the most arduous, being responsible for verifying multiple units that would dictate a change in the production of the unit and potentially a change in consumer satisfaction was particularly daunting, mindful of the potential monetary implications. Being exposed to such responsibility early on in my placement, has shaped my confidence and awareness as an engineer, in decision making and risk management. These amongst many other characteristics in my time at ghd, have shaped me into the engineer I see myself becoming in the future of the career I chose.
As for the next hair product coming out, I can’t say I know but I hope to soon see consumers enjoying that which I have contributed to.
Do you have a spare hair dryer I could borrow?
The perks at ghd have been beyond the fantastic freebies. Being surrounded by industry professionals at ghd has enhanced my thinking and judgement to make meaningful contributions to the future of consumer products. Whilst it is also beneficial to have also attained a myriad of vital technical engineering skills, developing my reasoning capacity has given me a clearer vision of what I want to contribute to in the future of my career.
A challenge I often face is understanding my strengths and weaknesses compared to what I am driven to do. Being a part of the Innovation team gave me the breadth of opportunity to highlight those factors in addition to my interests. This has come in the form of testing, report writing, project scopes, 1:1 meetings, collaboration sessions and regular chats with other colleagues. Examples may include meetings held after a sprint review discussing simulation performance on products, highlighting the areas which were the most tedious but required the most attention to ensure successful results regardless of time frame. Other examples may follow a similar pattern, but the outcome has demonstrated to me how to refocus my attention and tailor the learning objectives in a project in such a way to balance my passion for it.
Figure 4. A reference image of the type of CFD
simulations performed at ghd.
This can be transferred to many similar scenarios during my studies at university to which lengthy or frequent projects may seem to get lost in the results or the initial ideas and having this experience will positively transfer into my academic performance and discourse amongst my peers.
Still thinking about it?
I could not have been more grateful to have done a placement with ghd and had the scope to explore many thoughts and questions. The experience has been invaluable, and I would recommend all considering a placement to apply to one. Applying may seem incredibly daunting with the volume of applicants per role and limited headcount per role; however, I will always advise other students to have a go and give it their best in the quality of applications to the quantity. Even for industries that may not seem of initial interest, challenging yourself to a different form of engineering will yield the same, if not more, clarity in your academic pursuits and career prospects.
Whilst on placement, ask as many questions as possible, get involved with volunteering, and ask to be involved in projects where possible. The opportunities I received whilst being at ghd were also a direct result of my inquisitive nature and willingness to learn and get involved, which exposed me to many challenges that have now steered my career and education in the direction I need it to.
Lastly, take some time whilst completing the mandatory university assignments to reflect on all the small but noticeable opportunities during the year. Beyond my assignments, doing this reflection exercise has helped me critique my work and my genuine curiosity and how these are to apply themselves in the future work I do.
How you do one thing is how you do everything.
Respond
