Students at Newcastle's Walbottle Campus were given the opportunity to learn about the digital industry through a series of inspirational workshops delivered by members of TH_NK's creative team.
Web designer, Naomi Atkinson, and senior copywriter, Michelle Houlsby led forty enthusiastic pupils through the workshops which had been designed especially around the students' current BTEC art and design project - to create a cereal box for a new kind of product.
Activities included an introduction to characterisation, copywriting, storyboarding, and a lively brainstorming session about brand building and the use of personas in the digital world. Bringing a new dimension to the task, TH_NK's creatives challenged the pupils to design their own storyboard and create a character and strapline to front the cereal brand.
After taking part in the interactive workshops, one lucky Year 10 pupil, Kirsty Woods, was selected to have her own cartoon character -Oatis - brought to life in an animation created at TH_NK. Kirsty recently visited our contemporary office in Newcastle's city centre to see her character and storyboard implemented online.
"I couldn't believe my name was drawn," said Kirsty. "The animation looks amazing and I'm really pleased I can use it as part of my BTEC art and design coursework. The whole day was a lot of fun – plus it was a change from our normal lessons, which was cool."
The Art and Design Enhancement Day was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for the teachers and students alike. We would like to express our gratitude to TH_NK, in particular, Naomi and Michelle for making the day such a success - and of course, for taking the time to animate Kirsty's storyboard. It's fantastic.
William MesserHead of Art, Walbottle
This project is part of a wider initiative in which TH_NK is continuing to develop educational partnerships to inspire students across the region to learn more about the digital arena. This includes future plans to launch an ambitious work placement scheme where students will get the chance to experience a career in the sector first hand.
It's fantastic to see how inspired these students are by the digital industry. They really gave the project their all with some really impressive ideas. We're pleased our experience has given them an insight into the creative possibilities and potential career opportunities within this fast-growing sector.
Naomi AtkinsonWeb Designer, TH_NK