Design sprint for Gray鈥檚 students with UK brand consultancy
Communication Design students from Gray鈥檚 School of Art have taken part in a two-week design sprint with Good; a leading UK brand consultancy that specialises in the B2B tech space with clients including Ford, Zanussi and Talk Talk to name a few.
Five teams of students were tasked by Associate Directors, Mike Hunter and David Brownlie, to develop a brand vision for a new start-up company. Each team was asked to identify a new or emerging sustainable technology and then develop brand collateral for a business that would help launch it into the marketplace.
After an initial briefing session by Good, the teams were expected to research and define a technology which then led to a mid-point review where their ideas were refined and developed further. Each team was then expected to deliver their outputs via a final pitch presentation.
M谩rti M茅sz谩ros, Stage 4 Communication Design student said: 鈥淭aking part in this design sprint has been very rewarding; it was exciting to tackle a creative challenge within a short timeframe and collaborating with my peers on the development of an innovative idea for a striking brand identity in response to the brief. We learned a lot about managing the workload and delegating tasks within our group in order to stay on track. This experience has allowed me to utilise my creative design and problem-solving skills in a professional industry setting, and I would encourage fellow students to get involved in similar creative challenges in the future.鈥�
Emma Hill, Stage 4 Communication Design student said 鈥淭his was another valuable insight into the industry and the design processes that Good apply within in their agency. I was able to develop my skills through a design brief, which focused on branding a startup renewable energy company. I really enjoyed the experience and feedback from Good on our final pitch, which I will take into my own personal and professional practice.鈥�
Another Stage 4 Communication Design student, Hana Sim, said: 鈥淚t was a fantastic experience; speaking one to one with Dave and Mike at Good was invaluable and I really enjoyed the conversations. The feedback allowed us to consider and gain new insights into brand identity that will help develop and elevate our skills and understanding in our own professional practice.鈥�
Phoebe Hill, Stage 4 Communication Design student added: 鈥淚 thoroughly enjoyed this design sprint project and working as part of a team. It was a great learning experience, and I developed my own practice whilst seeing how other groups tackled the brief in the final pitch presentations.鈥�
Iain Morrison, Lecturer and Stage 4 Coordinator for Communication Design, said; 鈥淭his has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to experience working with another leading brand consultancy. Our students have really gained from the experience and additional insight provided by the team at Good; highlighting the level of critical thinking and attention to detail that is required when working with clients in a professional setting. We would particularly like to thank Sarah and the wider design team at Good for their time, expert guidance, and feedback.鈥�
Sarah Holland, Traffic Manager at Good, said: 鈥淔ostering new talent is one of the core principles shared through the creative team at Good. We know that working on branding is an enormous challenge for the students and takes many years of experience. Our first partnership with Gray鈥檚 was a delight and we were surprised at the quality the students work presented, in such a short amount of time. This sprint was certainly not for the faint hearted and we hope it encourages the students to continue their journey designing for brands further."
