University of Worcester students’ design work will feature in fire stations across Herefordshire and Worcestershire thanks to a new initiative.
University of Worcester student Sophie Langston, who is doing a summer internship with Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service - credit Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.
Below photos show staff from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service with Andy Stevenson (centre) visiting to see Graphic Design students' work - credit Andy Stevenson
Second year Graphic Design students were tasked by Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) to develop supporting infographics and imagery for a wall chart detailing the various services available at each fire station, such as drones for search and rescue, incident response units, boats and compact fire engines, as well as potential risks and hazards in that area and showing what the station looks like from the outside.
The Fire Service plans to take forward some of these designs for use in their 25 stations and was so impressed with the quality of the work that they have even offered one of the students an internship over the summer.
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service staff briefed and then visited the students at key points in the process to give extra feedback, including University of Worcester Art and Design alumni Natalie May, who now works there as a graphic designer.
Sophie Langston, who is currently on the summer internship, said: “I liked the challenge of having to create a solution which balanced the needs of the users with the identity of the client whilst also being a visually pleasing display. The ‘live brief’ has been a fantastic chance to gain experience in discussing and presenting ideas to a client and has given insight into a realistic workflow. We had responsibility and accountability to ensure soft deadlines are hit through the process. The University tutor assisted by outlining a timeline, which would allow us to stay on track, and providing relevant software tutorials, and theory on the subject to allow our designs to achieve their full potential.”
Helen Holmes, Head of Corporate and Digital Communications at Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I have been impressed with the quality of work produced for our live brief. The students asked sensible and intelligent questions both during my visits and online. They have presented their work confidently and listened carefully to feedback and acted upon it. They have clearly understood the importance of clarity and detail within iconography, and have researched thoroughly to ensure their designs are relevant.
“We were particularly impressed with the work of Sophie. She had fully embraced the brief and had produced some extremely promising designs. During her summer internship, Sophie has already produced some excellent work, including a series of digital banners for our current firefighter recruitment campaign.”
Natalie May, Graphic Designer at Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and University of Worcester Art and Design graduate said: “It was an absolute pleasure to return to the University of Worcester’s Digital Arts Centre to offer creative insight and support to the Graphic Design students working on this live brief. I really enjoyed spending time with each individual student to discuss their creative solutions for the live brief and offer feedback and advice on how they can develop their ideas further, as well offering technical guidance on using the design software. It was clear to see the quality of work was high and I was really impressed with the professionalism and commitment given to the brief from the students."
Graphic Design Senior Lecturer, Andy Stevenson, said: “It’s been a great collaboration. The students have had a unique opportunity to work on a ‘live’ infographics design brief which would otherwise have been undertaken in the comms studio at the Fire and Rescue Service. The Service’s Head of Corporate and Digital Communications set the brief to the students and has been a regular guest since then helping to feed back on the ongoing design work while mimicking that real studio experience of liaising with a client. Many of the students initially commented that they hadn’t worked on a live brief of this nature previously alongside a ‘real’ client - so I know there was some early anxieties. However, slowly but surely, they really rallied and produced an inspiring set of final design outputs, while no doubt significantly increasing their confidence in real world design scenarios too.”