Graphic Design students’ success in Kent County Council ‘Pathways for all’ logo competition
Three Graphic Design students from our Tonbridge campus place in the top six entries from the Kent County Council ‘Pathways for all’ logo competition with one North Kent College student taking the top spot!
The opportunity was shared with the Graphic Design department by Lucy Flack, Assistant Principal (Arts), who believed this would give the students the experience of working to a live brief and it fitted perfectly into their Final Major Project, Typography.
All Level 3 1st Yr. Graphic Design & Illustration students entered the competition, along with two 2nd year students. They received the brief from Kent County Council which was to create new branding for a major Kent-wide education campaign. The work would become the brand used on a campaign to make education, skills, and training options better for the 16-19 sector in Kent and win a fantastic work placement in a London Design Studio.
All entries were submitted by April 21st 2023, and after deliberation by the judges three North Kent College students made the top 6. Amy Vater and Jem Norton placed within the top 6 and Cameron Craig’s design was chosen as the overall winner. Congratulations to all students who took part!
Cameron Craig, Level 3 Graphic Design & Illustration student, said
“When designing my entry for the ‘pathways for all’ logo I found it fun as I had to cater to the clients need all the while keeping to the restrictions they set. My designing process felt like how I have been working with my course work, so I just applied that to this entry, starting with rough sketches and then refining them until I got results, I liked.
He continued, “Afterwards I scanned in my refined sketch into adobe illustrator and worked on top of it; using the pen tool, I created the line art for the logo, and when I was happy, I added the colour for it. I am very pleased with my outcome, and I am extremely grateful to have won the competition.”
Amy Vater, Level 3 Graphic Design & Illustration student, commented
“During the design of the logo, it was very interesting watching my design go from a thumbnail design to a final logo. I found it challenging sticking to the max of 5 colours and keeping the amount of detail to a low, but it was a great experience to follow a certain brief.
She continued, “I am very grateful that I ended up being in the top 6 and thought this was a good way of experiencing future art careers. Watching everything come together was an amazing feeling as you get to watch your ideas run wild and create this ‘pathways for all’ logo.”
Jem Norton, Level 3 Graphic Design & Illustration student, said
‘When designing my logo I went through several rough drafts, I knew I wanted to incorporate people of all backgrounds within the logo and this feature stayed universal throughout every concept I made. I eventually settled on a design that featured 3 different people moving forward into a distant horizon and including a directional signpost with multiple different destinations to signify the idea of there being multiple different paths one can take. My colour choices came from the existing Kent County Council branding as well as my personal view of the teal colour, that it represents renewal, stability, and independence. I’m happy the team at pathways for all saw my vision too!”
Miles Jefcoate, Graphic Design & Illustration lecturer, said
“Considering the short time frame the students had and the fact that they were responding to sometimes 4-5 workshops a week for their Final Major Project, the effort and quality of their work, from their thumbnail initial ideas, through to their final outcomes was incredibly impressive. I’m extremely proud of the 3 winners, along with the whole class with what they managed to achieve. This experience is brilliant preparation for the professional jobbing Graphic Designer and Illustrator.”
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