Alumnae Spotlight: Claire Stranack

Claire Stranack Class of 2018

What led you to study Internet Design?
I had a keen interest in both design and computer science while I was at school and wanted to pursue both in university and in my future career.

What was your top achievement at university?
My proudest achievement at university was probably graduating with first-class honours and completing my industrial placement year. My course consisted of such a range of modules that it’s hard to pick out specifics. Still, one of my favourites was a final year project where we were tasked to create a real-time interactive environment that would provide a memorable experience for users. This was by far the most creative project I did at university.

My peers and I created an artistic installation in which users could stand on wooden honeycomb-shaped platforms, which would influence sounds and visuals projected around them. The more people interact with the installation, the more intense the visuals and audio. This was supposed to represent a beehive and how it relies on teamwork to thrive. You can read about it in more detail here, where I documented the process: (warning it’s a very long read!) This is the promotional video/teaser trailer we created for the project.

Although a lot of the skills I picked up in this project aren’t directly transferable to my current role in consultancy, such as soldering circuits, or laser cutting, it was such an enjoyable module, and I’m so glad I was able to do something so creative while I was at University.

What was the highlight of your time at university?
There were so many that it is hard to choose, I’ve covered a lot of the academic achievements, but on a more personal level, university will be an experience I will always cherish. Moving away from home felt like a huge step, but in hindsight was such an opportunity. The experience pushed me out of my comfort zone considerably. I feel like I gained significant confidence and human skills, which I would have missed out on going straight into work.

You have done so well to gain employment at Deloitte. Can you tell us more about the process and what led you to such an accomplishment?
I completed a placement year between my 2nd and 3rd years of university. I started at a digital transformation company called Keytree and worked in the marketing department focusing on digital and graphic design. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do as a career, but I thought the experience would be worth it. After a month of working there, Deloitte acquired the company, where I completed the remaining 11 months of my placement. This was a pretty drastic change, moving from a smaller company of about 200 people to one with well over 200,000!

The whole year took place through various lockdowns, meaning a lot of Zoom calls and virtual events, I secured an employment offer once I graduated. This brought significant pressure off my final year at University and landed me the role of a UX (User eXperience) design consultant, which was much more in-line with what I wanted to do after university. Since being back at Deloitte, I have thoroughly enjoyed my work, and I am so happy I made the most of my placement year.

You are Co-Founder & Design Lead at Wireless Waiter. Sounds very interesting… Can you tell us more about this venture?
This was a project I got involved with on the side of my placement; I helped a small start-up by creating a website. Not only was this a fun and exciting opportunity, but it also helped me keep many of the coding skills I’d learnt at university fresh going into my final year. Since then, I also created a (much better) website for my sister’s business.

What is your fondest memory of Croydon High?
I have so many memories from my time at Croydon High after being there for ten years, I think one of my favourite memories was creating the beautiful stained-glass window, which (hopefully still) resides opposite the staff room. That was such a fun experience to be part of celebrating the 140th anniversary of the school. I also absolutely loved my time in Sixth Form. I took part in the Fashion Show, having almost free reign of the design workshop, and conducting all sorts of artistic experiments. I also sincerely appreciate all the teachers who made my experience so wonderful.

How do you think Croydon High shaped your future and what would you say to your 14-year-old self?
Croydon High really gave me a sense of confidence and a space where I could explore my strengths and passions. Being dyslexic made some areas of school challenging, but I never felt disadvantaged as I was always encouraged to do my best.

Looking back over all I’ve achieved in the last eight years I have to say I’m pretty content; I’d probably let her know she’ll be just fine, keep doing what she’s doing, so long as she makes the most of all opportunities that come her way.

What are your aspirations for the future?
I want to finish the graduate scheme at Deloitte and move from analyst to consultant in just over a year from now. I want to build on my career to succeed in my field of work. I would like to continue travelling and exploring the world; I’m particularly excited to visit America for the first time next year. I’m also keen to move house in the near future, my partner and I currently live in a wonderful flat in Canary Wharf, but we’d love more space, mainly to get a dog!

Considering that you are a 5th-generation pupil, do you feel a special connection to Croydon High?
Yes, I often speak with my grandma, who is an active alumna, about our time at Croydon High. Her years there were always so special to her, and I love that my sister and I can share those memories.

Liz Smith, Head of Art & 3D Design told us…

“Claire was always fascinated by Enterprise Technology and 3D Design. For her Upper Sixth 3000-word critical essay and her ARTiculation presentation, Claire spoke about the Elytra Filament Pavilion. Elytra was a responsive shelter that grew over the course of the V&A Engineering Season. Sensors in the canopy fibres collected data on how visitors inhabited the pavilion and monitored the structure’s behaviour, ultimately informing how and where the canopy grew. During a series of special events as part of the Engineering Season, visitors had the opportunity to witness the pavilion’s construction live, as new components are fabricated on-site by a Kuka robot.

Claire loved this idea and was inspired by self-tiding chairs plus self-driving cars and the way engineering, design and technology can work together. For her final project, Claire designed and created a to-scale working moving model, which was designed and coded by Claire (bringing both her passions together) to help the elderly queue. She was inspired by her Grandad who loved to travel but found queuing at the airport difficult. Like a true designer, Claire found the problem and decided to solve it! She was a fantastic 3D Design student, and we love catching up with her when she comes back to visit our yearly summer exhibition. We are extremely proud of all her achievements.”

Mrs Karen Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager