Graphic design student wins global award

A South Essex College graphic design degree student has won a top award in a global competition.

Ciara Allen, 20, who studies at the College’s Southend Campus, has won a D&AD Pencil in the New Blood Awards 2019 category for her work creating a new campaign for John Lewis & Partners.

The awards are highly prestigious and are often dubbed the ‘Oscars of the design world’.

Caira’s work, which followed a brief set by John Lewis & Partners, portrays the famous brand not just as a Christmas go to for gifts but as an all year round inspiration and source for spreading joy.

The concept of Ciara’s advert is life moments in numbers, showing them all in silhouetted cut-out presents that have been inspired by the John Lewis & Partners’ logo, with the slogan for the campaign being ‘There for life’s moments’.

Ciara is one of only eight student designers worldwide to be awarded in this category, and will find out which colour Pencil Award she has won at a ceremony in July.

The awards were established in 1962 when a group of designers and art directors, including David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Alan Fletcher, came together to celebrate creative communication, and have been a prestigious event in the design industry calendar ever since.

Ciara said she was shocked when she found out she had won.

She said: “This is such a big award in the design industry, so it means so much to have been recognised, even though I still can’t quite believe it!

“The whole process was a fantastic experience and I can’t thank my tutors and classmates enough for their support as I experimented with different ideas and concepts to get to the final product.”

Not only is Ciara an award winner, but she is also now in the running to join the D&AD New Blood Academy - a creative bootcamp for top new talent.

Graphic Design Lecturer John Chandler, said he was extremely proud of Ciara’s achievement.

He said: “Ciara has worked fantastically hard over the three years, she’s a fabulous student. It’s great to see her rewarded with such an amazing achievement that can open doors that wouldn’t have been available to her otherwise.”

To find out more about degree courses available at the College, visit www.southessex.ac.uk or attend our upcoming Higher Education open event at the College’s Luker Road Campus on Saturday 22 June 11am-1pm.

You can see Ciara’s winning work at www.dandad.org/awards/new-blood/2019/john-lewis-partners/3520/your-life-in-numbers/