Awards

All six winners will also receive a goodie bag courtesy of GF Smith.

Sponsored by:

A well-executed and commercially viable solution or application. 

Judge: Sam Moore, Midweight Creative

Reason for Recognition: Olivia created an exceptionally well thought-through campaign concept, executed to a truly professional standard and with clear commercial viability.

What really stood out was the simplicity and strength of the core campaign line - sharp, memorable, and highly effective - supported by a strategy that was both insightful and robust.

The depth of research and quality of insight behind the work were equally impressive, demonstrating a clear understanding of the audience and the brief.

Sponsored by:

Demonstrating significant commercial potential and viability in the marketplace.

Judge: Ed Matthews-Gentle, FRSA and specialist advisor

Reason for Recognition: 

Award Winner: Fern demonstrated an outstanding approach to research and investigation in response to the brief, bringing real depth, curiosity, and rigour and personal insight to their work.

She presented a rich range of ideas, all carefully considered, with a clear focus on both the client’s needs and the user experience. It’s a thoughtful, well-balanced project that shows both creativity and strategic understanding.

Highly Commended: Genevieve presented a strong and compelling concept, brought to life through a highly effective and engaging exhibition.

Her work is both important and highly creative, raising meaningful awareness of a significant issue, and demonstrating a genuine commitment to activism that seeks to drive real change. It’s a powerful example of how creativity can inform, challenge, and inspire.

Sponsored by:

Recognising research ingenuity and creative insight that has influenced the student's final solution.

Judges: Mollie Balshaw, Founder and Creative Director and Rebekah Balshaw, Founder and Managing Director

Reason for Recognition: Brad demonstrated admirable ingenuity in their research, using practical processes to meaningfully inform their creative outcome.

Brad's work is experimental and playful yet consistently grounded in a clear artistic vision and a strong sense of commercial viability. The result is a concept that is both original and well-executed, showcasing creativity with purpose and precision. It’s an impressive piece of work.

Sponsored by:

Effectively tackles ethical, societal, or environmental challenges while demonstrating a strong commitment to inclusivity and sustainability.

Judge: Jenny Rutter, Chief Executive

Reason for Recognition: Genevieve created a brave and thought-provoking project, beautifully realised and presented to an exceptional standard. At its core is a genuine activist purpose, using creativity with intention and integrity to address important issues.

Genevieve's work demonstrates the true power of art - not only to engage and communicate, but to inspire meaningful change. It’s a powerful and memorable project.

Sponsored by:

Showcasing how creativity can best enhance existing technology and techniques to find solutions that are readily achievable.

Judges: Camilla Hadcock, Founder and Director and Charles Hadcock, Sculptor and Honorary Fellow

Reason for Recognition: 

Award Winner: Liliana demonstrated excellent engagement with a wide range of materials and processes, showing both skill and curiosity in their approach.

She displayed a clear understanding of sustainable practice, from reducing waste to thoughtful pattern matching, ensuring efficiency without compromising creativity.

Liliana's work also draws beautifully on historical design influences, reinterpreting them in a contemporary context with originality and care. It’s a sophisticated and well-executed body of work.

Highly Commended: Adam demonstrated a strong and insightful understanding of how regeneration can be achieved through technical excellence, while remaining economically viable.

Adam's work is underpinned by exceptional research, particularly into the potential of waste energy from data centres and industry — an approach that is both innovative and highly relevant. It’s a compelling example of how thoughtful, technically informed design can respond to real-world challenges.

Sponsored by:

Celebrating originality and industry-shaping innovation.

Judge: Lucy Kennedy, Chief Executive

Reason for Recognition: Fern has developed an impressive artistic practice spanning illustration, screen printing, collage, colour theory and textile design. Inspired by her experiences of seeing a loved one navigate challenges within the healthcare system, she explored how art and design can help improve the patient experience. Through sensitive research and thoughtful exploration, her project addresses a deeply personal issue with wider social relevance.

Her work demonstrates the creative and innovative thinking that can be brought to some of the most important challenges facing society today. By considering how art and design can be applied in a real-world context, she places the patient experience at the heart of her process, developing work that gives people greater control over their environment and reimagines how NHS spaces can better support patients and staff alike. This is a project that shows how creativity can inform, challenge and improve the world around us.

Sponsored by: