From Classroom to Creativity: Supporting Young Designers at Creative Futures

Having the opportunity to contribute, even in a small way, to shaping the next generation of local creatives is incredibly rewarding. So being invited back to Brandland’s Creative Futures for a second year made the experience even more special.

For me, there’s something genuinely exciting about spotting a student who clearly has a natural talent for design. It sparks a real sense of curiosity about what they’ll go on to create and how they’ll develop that talent beyond their GCSEs.

This year, I had the pleasure of working with students from North Walsham High School and City of Norwich School, helping them explore design principles and creative processes while sharing a few insights from life in the industry. In return, I came away inspired by their energy, imagination, and sharp sense of humour when developing their own brand ideas.

Their brief was to create a new sub-brand for Brick Pizza. This included the name, logo, identity and illustration, all designed to come together on a pizza box.

The team I mentored quickly gravitated towards a character-led concept built around bold illustration. Their idea, ‘The 3 Mamacita’s’, centred on a dangerously spicy, Mexican-inspired pizza brought to life through three illustrated characters representing the key ingredients: pepperoni, cheese and chilli.

They wanted the brand to appeal to a younger teenage audience, so they focused on creating something visually bold and playful, supported by language that would resonate with that demographic. Phrases like “It’s tasty as hell” reinforced the fiery theme, while flames, warning symbols and the three illustrated characters brought the concept to life across the pizza box design.

What stood out most was how naturally the team divided responsibilities between them – from brand positioning to illustration and logo design – all while working under significant time pressure. Watching them collaborate, bounce ideas around, and build on each other’s thinking was genuinely inspiring.

Despite being two groups of boys from different schools, each with their own personalities and perspectives, they worked brilliantly together. They shared ideas openly, supported each other’s work, and ultimately produced a concept they were genuinely proud of.

One of my highlights from the day was simply having the chance to observe their creative thinking in action. The speed at which ideas flowed - and the enthusiasm behind them – was incredibly energising. All of the mentors agreed it was a fantastic experience for both us and the students, and the kind of opportunity many of us would have loved to have had when we were at school.

A huge thank you to Andy Judd, Martin Schooley and Robert Jones for organising Creative Futures and for inviting me back again.

The students’ work will be showcased in an exhibition this June – so keep an eye out for it!