Illustration Highlights

Brief Case competition wins and selling-out (in a good way!) at the Winter Fair.

Brief Cases national design competition
Along with BA (Hons) Graphic Design students, BA (Hons) Illustration students were rewarded with a huge total of thirteen awards for their work for Brief Cases - an exciting national design competition that links students with real companies.  Illustration students from Staffordshire secured recognition and wins ranging from Gold to Highly Commended.  The briefs and work completed were based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
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Gold Award winner Lewis Edwards produced an animation from his illustrations to combat packaging waste with an innovative and engaging 'Super Noodles' pot design.
Kira Mawby won silver with a biodegradable and recyclable packaging concept for 'Nurofen' pain relief, along with a visual asset for the project.
Watch the award winning solutions


The Winter Fair
Illustration students were amongst many art and design students selling goods at our Winter Fair as maker-sellers.  The event itself was promoted across the community with a winning poster design from Illustration student Robin Cavendar, following a brief from the Students' Union, whilst 3rd year Illustration student and Student Content Creator Tee shared her experiences of having a stall at the popular campus event for the second time.
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The winning Winter Fair poster design by Illustration student Robin Cavendar

Lewis Edwards' innovative Super Noodles packaging won him a Gold Award

Kira Mawby's impressive reimagining of Nurofen pain relief packaging won Silver at the Brief Cases

Teacher's Pet - a live brief, and a trip to Amsterdam!

Teacher’s Pet
Final year Illustration students worked with a local business who provides educational materials for teachers across the world.  This provided a taste of working to a professional brief, meeting a deadline and the opportunity for artwork to be shared globally as part of a live project.  Students have opportunities to build their portfolio with valuable industry-focused work such as this live brief throughout their time studying in our studio.

 

Amsterdam
In Spring was a trip to Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands with an impressive artistic heritage.  Illustration students from across all years of study were part of a wider Art and Design group, that also included Photography and Graphic Design students.  Students were able to take part in guided tours of leading design and immersive technology agencies, in addition to exploring the inspirational city and world-class Museum District.  
Modern installation exhibits at Moco, café sketching sessions, and drawing in The Rijksmuseum, the students were able to bring back plenty of inspiration for their practice back in the studio on campus. 

"My favourite parts of the trip were the museums and the journeys to them, as it allowed me to soak in my surroundings and inspire me, I took many photographs as references for future personal illustrations and mood boards.

Other than the creative aspect of this trip, the entirety of it made me feel as though it was possible for a regular student like me to travel as an adult and it wasn’t something scary. I hadn’t flown for years so I was very nervous about it all, but leaving Amsterdam made me want to look forward to a trip abroad in the future." Afsana Begum, L6 Illustration

 

 

Lights at the Moco

World-class exhibitions at The Rijksmuseum

Exploring the inspirational city streets of Amsterdam

I found the Amsterdam trip so enriching and inspiring. I loved the architecture, the museums, the scenery- just the overall experience. Molly looked after us illustration students, guided us and we were able to be independent and venture off on our own for a short period of time.

Briony McKay, L6 Illustration

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021