A group of Confetti students have been working on placements at Nottingham’s Ignite Futures to create digital content for Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity.
Ignite! is a small charity based in Nottingham that promotes creativity in learning, working with schools, youth groups and communities to investigate the things that make them curious. One of their major projects is the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, which is currently taking place, and is held each year in February.
The festival includes a programme for children, families and adults, taking science out of the lab and into our everyday lives.
Supporting children and young people to develop their capacity for creative thinking is at the heart of the work Ignite! are committed to, and this feeds through into the ethos of the festival, where they ‘hand over creative control’ to young people to help produce the festival.
Level 3 Graphic Design and Digital students from Confetti who have been participating in the T-Level Pilot have completed 315 hours of placement time working with Ignite! to produce some of the most important aspects of the festival.
For the February 2020 festival, graphic design student Josh was tasked with designing and producing the festival programme, which was a 12-pager crammed full of events, photos and graphics – great work, Josh!
This year’s festival has also seen a magazine be produced – 24 pages of articles, illustrations, activities, quizzes and online events – all produced by Level 3 Graphic and Digital Design students John, Michalina and Sophia. Check out the magazine here for yourself!
The logo for Wollaton Watch, and various other animations in the programme, have also been produced by student Michalina.
Ignite! have been impressed with the quality of work produced by the students:
“We’ve been blown away not only by the high quality of the work the students have been producing, but also the maturity and resilience they’ve demonstrated in completing a placement remotely, in taking on board feedback and in collaborating amongst themselves to get the magazine ready for publication. We’re now supporting the students to complete the Gold Arts Award as part of their placement with us so that they’re able to benefit from additional experiences through the scheme as well as the accreditation for use on university applications. For us it demonstrates the importance of placing trust in the hands of young people, and continuing to provide opportunities for young people’s creativity to thrive.”
And it’s not only Ignite! who have been impressed – the students themselves have found the placement a really positive experience.
Level 3 Graphic and Digital Design student Sophia really enjoyed the experience:
“I have really enjoyed the work placement and it has been a pleasure working with the team at Ignite! The placement has helped me gain more confidence working in a team and individually. It has given me insight into the graphic design industry and I would definitely recommend this experience.”
Fellow Graphics student John Kidger has learned a great deal from the experience:
“During my placement with Ignite I have gained experience in working in a professional environment. I have learned to communicate in other ways such as by Zoom calls and emails. I have learned new techniques on InDesign from creating the magazine for The Festival of Science and Curiosity.”
Experiences like these are what Confetti prides itself upon – offering real-life industry experience, and allowing those who study with us to Do It For Real.
