Graphic design student, Lewis Webster, from Knowsley Community College has taken Silver in the 2016 WorldSkills national heats.
The competition involved three gruelling stages; firstly applying and being shortlisted, then competing at the semi-finals, to lastly heading to the final event at Birmingham’s NEC.
The final leg of the competition was held over two and half days, with contestants spending an extra 10 hours of research and prepping after receiving their brief.
Their project, which was a live graphics brief from a real working client, was to create a collection of education cards based around the theme of space for an Augmented Reality organisation based in Malaysia.
The brief asked for the contestants to increase the element of collectability and fun through their design, and also asked for a packaging re-design. Finally competitors had to pitch to the client their suggestions as to how the product range could be expanded.
Following the judging of all the entries, KCC student, Lewis was placed in second place, taking the silver award, a whisker away from the gold. Lewis explained;
“I found it to be a really positive experience being part of the World Skills event and in a completely different learning environment. It was really challenging but I found that by working under pressure, I produced much more work, and better work than I ever thought I could in such a short space of time.”
“I have met a group of really great people who I hope to keep in contact with and had the chance to work on a live brief for a large international company who are doing really exciting things with technology. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity.”
Following the contestants meeting the brief, the client expressed that they were so impressed with the competition entries that they are organising a business meeting with them to discuss their ideas further.
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About Knowsley Community College – www.knowsleycollege.ac.uk
Knowsley Community College is a Further Education College set in the borough of Knowsley and is the best performing College in the Liverpool City Region. The College, made up of two campuses, hosts over 4,000 students, and with over 300 courses on offer to both young adults and mature students, it is a thriving place for education and employment in the community.