Next Gen Talent: Robot Food’s ones to watch in 2023
As part of our ongoing commitment to real support for the graduate scene, we’ve been keenly following the end-of-year shows for the latest university design courses.
And the talent on display has blown us away.
So for no other reason than we love their work and we think they’re going places - and because agencies like ours should be doing what they can to elevate the next generation - here’s our ones to watch in 2023…
Nottingham Trent University
A special aspect of Nottingham Trent’s end-of-year portfolio showcase is that they do two - one in London, but also one in Leeds. The northern showcase puts their students’ work right under the noses of the region’s thriving design & digital scene, and is an approach more universities should consider.
Many of the Robot Food studio headed along, and our Creative Director Ben Brears was one of those eager to check in on the students’ progress: “We worked with this graduate class in their second year, setting them a brief, so it was really interesting to get a chance to view their work again and see the progression they’ve made.
“There was such a wide range of skills and approaches on display - Nottingham Trent is producing some really exciting design talent.”
Ones to watch:
Norwich University of the Arts
Design Director Steph Mason took a trip to see the latest end-of-year show from Norwich University of the Arts. It’s a show we always look forward to, as it includes specialisms in graphic design, graphic communication, design for publishing and user experience design - a really wide spectrum of skills relevant to our work here at Robot Food.
So much do we appreciate the level of talent coming out of NUA, that no less than 3 of our current team (Designers Oli Jackson and Sam Jepson, as well as Creative Artworker Ollie Askew) are former alumni.
Even with high expectations, Steph was thrilled with what she saw: “We were really excited to see such a high standard throughout the course.
“There was such strong creative thinking everywhere, and projects that stretched across full branded touchpoints from packaging to tone of voice and social comms - highlighting their commercial appeal and readiness for industry.”
Ones to Watch:
D&AD New Blood
Senior Designer Craig Lindsay was also out and about, attending the D&AD New Blood show. After a break of three years due to the pandemic, he left the show in no doubt of its continued importance on the graduate scene.
“There are new universities that are inspiring us,” he explained. “New Blood pushes forward a wide variety of universities that perhaps aren’t always on your radar - and that can only be a good thing. There are always surprises and students that stand out.”
And these are the students that caught Craig’s eye…
Ones to Watch:
Harriet Allmark — Birmingham City University
Joanna Nicoll — Loughborough University
Becca Ayres — Loughborough University
Follow our ones to watch on socials if you want to see more of their work. And to find out more about how we’re putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to graduate support, read this.