Graphic Design student wins Superfast South Yorkshire Brand Identity Competition
A Rotherham College graphic design student has won a competition which will see his logo used by Superfast South Yorkshire as their brand identity to be used on their website, vans and BT wiring cabinets.
Superfast South Yorkshire (SFSY) was formed in September last year when the four local South Yorkshire authorities of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster joined forces with BT signing a £22 million deal to extend the availability of high-speed, fibre broadband from the current 80 per cent to around 98 per cent of homes and businesses in the city region. It has been funded jointly by BT, Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and the South Yorkshire authorities.
SFSY invited graphic design students from local colleges around the region to design a logo, with the brief that it must represent each area of south Yorkshire. They received over 100 entries and judged them purely on appearance with the name of the designer remaining anonymous.
Shaun Carter, 24, a graphic design student at Rotherham College, was thrilled to discover that his logo had been chosen as the winning design.
“I received an email to confirm that my design had won, at first I didn’t believe it”, he said.
“Winning something as prestigious as this is great for my portfolio. I’ll be able to use it as an example of working with clients in interviews and it will really enhance my CV.”
Shaun is already seeing the benefits from his winning design, he says that family and friends have been asking him to design logos for their businesses after finding out he had won the competition.
The graphic design courses at Rotherham College aim to develop student’s creative awareness and work with real-life clients to prepare them for employment.
Shaun is currently studying a Foundation Degree in Graphic Design, having previously completed his Level 3 in Graphic Design at the College. He plans to top-up his degree by completing a BA Honours in Graphic Design (in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University) at Rotherham College next year.
He said: “I’d strongly recommend any graphic design course at the College. Instead of just constantly following a piece of paper with tasks on, you get to meet real-life clients and work to their briefs to create exactly what they want; just like you would out in industry.”
During the last 12 months, graphic design students have worked with clients such as Howells Solicitors, No 26 Shop and Human Studio on real-life projects. Shaun believes that working with these clients has vastly improved his confidence.
John Young, Curriculum Leader for Graphic Design at Rotherham College, said: “Live projects give students the opportunity to broaden their skills and at the same time prepare them for the outside world.
“Our students have worked successfully with a variety of clients on a range of live projects throughout their time on the graphic design course here at Rotherham College. This gives them confidence in their own creative ability and motivation when applying for employment.”