Weston College student is New Designer of the Year
A WESTON College degree student has been named the Business Design Centre’s New Designer of the Year at a prestigious London awards ceremony.
India Lawton, aged 20, was awarded the title at the New Designers exhibition and awards ceremony held at Business Design Centre, London on Wednesday 6th July.
India has just earned a first-class BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree from Weston College in partnership with Bath Spa University.
She beat graduate designers from 78 colleges and universities across Britain to win the prize of £5,000 worth of legal, accountancy and marketing advice.
India’s winning concept, called Fare, is a tool which would allow victims of human trafficking to communicate with each other and access support services to aid their rehabilitation.
India intends to use the professional services she has won to develop Fare into a live app.
She said: “Winning this award means so much to me, and has done so much to build my confidence in my design skills.
“I’ve always been quite academic, but this has proved to me that I am good at design and that others can engage with and be affected by my work.”
The judging panel, featuring senior designers from companies including Tesco, Aardman Animation and McLaren, praised India for her “selfless passion with a real drive to make a positive social impact”.
India’s work was one of 13 displays in Weston College’s Zoo2016 Exhibition at New Designers –Britain’s biggest showcase and networking event for degree-level designers.
Victoria Norcross, the Curriculum Coordinator of the College’s Graphic Design degree programmes, said: “I am absolutely delighted for India, and so proud of the hard work and technical expertise all of our students have put into making such a beautifully-designed and thought-provoking exhibition.
“The judges praised them for their design and for their professional and welcoming communication skills which, together with India’s award, is a fantastic vindication of the focus on collaboration and industry practice we place at the heart of our courses.”
India’s success also continues a rich vein of form for the College at New Designers. Degree students also won the Sky Creative Award in 2013 and the Design Council’s Future Pioneers Award in 2014.
The College students exhibiting at New Designers were Tom Davey, Philip Demir, Connor Eliot, Issie Gardner, Luke Jones, Joshua Lewins, India Lawton, Charley Murray, Chelsie Inglis, Chris Smith, Matt Tucker and Ashley Wookey.
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