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Wrap to win...College student’s ‘Design in Motion’ earns 1st prize.
A second year HND Graphic Design student at Walsall College has scooped first prize and £200, in a competition which will see her ‘design in motion’ vehicle wrap concept feature on a fleet of vehicles belonging to leading Civil Engineering Company, Hewlett.
‘Wrap-star’, Lauren Woodhall (20) from Tipton near Walsall, won the competition with her design that was inspired by her experience working part-time for a construction firm and love for incorporating silhouettes in her designs. By capitalising on her training at the Roland DG sign making and print facilities at the College’s Green Lane Campus, Lauren created an innovative and dynamic vehicle graphic that caught the attention of Hewlett.
Hewlett – who has recently taken use of land at the i54 site near Wolverhampton to develop an innovative construction training facility - approached the College to commission creative concepts for their fleet of vehicles which currently only display a logo and contact details.
Steve Vickers, Training Manager at Hewlett explained: “Our vans are a moving advert for the company. They advertise our presence and act as an effective marketing tool. However, unless you know who Hewlett is and what we do then they are unlikely to generate any interest.
“We approached the students at Walsall College to come up with a design that would make our vans stand out from the crowd, with visual impact. We were very impressed by the quality of entries and had difficulty choosing the winning design, which exceeded all our expectations. It reflects the corporate image of Hewlett, takes the theme of construction in motion and illustrates the diverse range of Hewlett’s capabilities and services as part of a vibrant landscape. We hope this will be the first of many such design competitions with Walsall College.”
In order to meet the design brief the students had to consider that Hewlett is a multi-disciplined organisation, whose principal activities comprise of civil engineering, building, rail, plant hire and commercial property development. The company also has a reputation as one of the leading Civil Engineering Training Providers within the UK
Winner, Lauren Woodhall commented: “I’m thrilled to have won this competition. Hewlett is an established business with a diverse set of services and I wanted to ensure my design effectively represented the ethos of the company, as well as the type of work it does. I wanted to incorporate the key elements of branding and highlight the distinguishing and identifiable characteristics of the business, to create a one-of-a-kind design for the vehicle wrap.
“I have always had a strong interest in art and design, with a particular interest in a career in graphic design. The HND Graphic Design course at Walsall College has really developed my design and creativity skills, and I am looking forward to graduating with the hope that I can establish myself as a credible freelancer with my own design studio.”
As part of the course, Lauren has gained experience of vehicle wrap design working with the team in Walsall College’s Roland DG Sign Making Academy. She has worked on a number of live engagement assignments as an integral part of her coursework, including European College Training Logo design awards, and the creation of the branding for Walsall Council’s Regeneration Scheme.
Throughout the process, the students were given feedback from Hewlett to help refine their ideas, which were submitted to the judging panel in June.
Lauren’s HND Course Leader Jo Champion commented: “We are extremely proud of Lauren’s achievements. Her design quality and commitment embody the standards and ethos of the HE Graphics provision as the next stop to employment, or to final year of Degree study. Lauren has won design competitions before and it is this kind of achievement that helps to give her and her peers an edge in the hunt for full time design employment.”
Hewlett has been so impressed with the design entries that the company intends to adopt a series of unique designs over time for use on their vans.