In this article we investigate the student experience of risk-taking in an open-ended design project that appeared to be ideally suited to encourage risk-taking. The article is informed by a phenomenological case study documenting student experience of risk-taking during a concentrated, week-long design project. The data revealed multiple instances where students had taken risks and how they had experienced risk-taking. Three significant aspects of risktaking in design education were identified in the data and explored. The first aspect considers how the students' experience correlated with a theoretical educational approach that encourages risk-taking. The second provides a broad overview of the students' experience of risk-taking during the project. The third draws out common student experiences that highlight that risk-taking is often prompted by the undefined and unexpected elements of a project and gaps in student knowledge, experience and skills.