Supporting the next generation. That’s Better.
- 06/06/2012
Most of the team at Better are proud graduates of Teesside University and, even those of us who aren’t, are mightily proud of the way it has established a national image that helps put Teesside on the map. A couple of weeks ago, the School of Arts and Media and graduates of the Graphics course pulled together an outstanding degree show.
Better was there of course – along with hundreds of other invited guests – to look at the work, talk with the tutors and engage with the students. This year’s private view was introduced by Richard Klein, the Controller of BBC 4, who used the event to launch ’Creative Teesside‘, a week-long series of events to showcase talent from the school.
And what a range of great talent there was to see, all of it easily on a par with – if not better – than the best in the country. In fact, we would go so far as to say, this was some of the best work we have seen in a long time.
Creative Teesside.
As part of the the programme of events celebrating this talent, Better was delighted to be invited to present a two-hour masterclass on ‘Brand Building’, featuring some of our latest work, thoughts and ideas all designed to help students bridge the gap between the classroom and the working environment. Key to this was a presentation by Better designer, Ryan Crawford, who spoke at length about what he’d learnt since graduating two years ago and the opportunities he has been presented with whilst working with us.
The main theme of our story was the importance of keeping talent in Teesside by providing designers with the same opportunities they could expect in London.
Portfolio Surgeries.
The masterclass was followed by a series of ‘Portfolio Surgeries’. Each student had 20 minutes to spend with Ryan and Peter, Better’s Creative Director, to show us their work and to talk about their ambition for the future.
Interestingly, pretty much everyone we spoke with stated a strong desire to stay in the region. And that is why we’re looking forward to an exciting summer working on some audacious projects – internal and external – with some awe-inspiring emerging talent.
Author: Kate Burton, Brand Director
Photos of the event from our Flickr Stream.
