Publisher’s awards sponsorship supports student talent
Hot design trends are being shown at New Designers as it returns to London for the 2023 outing this week, with sustainable ideals, ethical processes and circular design principles a major theme.
And Hallmark is once again sponsoring two Connection Awards at the event, which runs at London’s Business Design Centre over two weeks having started on Wednesday, 28 June.
The student winners will each receive a paid work placement at the greeting card giant along with mentorship.
This year’s awards are being presented by British design legend Sebastian Conran in Week 2, and artist and woven textile designer Margo Selby, winner of the Turner Medal for Britain’s Greatest Colourist in Week 1.
Innovation in sustainable design is being recognised at New Designers through the highly anticipated awards programme, celebrating sustainability models including upcycling and repurposing materials and works that raise awareness and call people to action to change things that are not serving either people or the planet.
Inclusivity and social mobility, and health and wellbeing are also themes being explored at the annual showcase of the UK’s most innovative emerging design talent which has now been running for 38 years ago, providing a platform for over 3,000 graduates to present their visionary ideas to industry professionals and the public every year.
The event takes place over two weeks, with different disciplines highlighted in Week 1 that runs through until tomorrow, 1 July, and Week 2, running over Wednesday to Saturday, 5-8 July, spanning fashion, textiles, furniture, product design, illustration, and more. Tickets are available here and there is a £12 discounted late entry on Thursdays, from 3pm-9pm.
Bringing fresh blood into the greeting card industry is key to ensuring it moves with the times, and Hallmark has been at the forefront as a long-standing supporter and sponsor for over 20 years, has helping champion and support the UK’s grassroots design sector as part of its Graduate Programme.
Sandra Junele, from the University of Dundee, and Kingston University’s Reuben Loftus were chosen by the publishing giant as the winners of its two awards at the 2022 show and each earned a £1,000 paid four-week internship at Hallmark’s creative studio where they were part of the future-thinking ideation squad working on a research and development project and mentored by the in-house design team.
Eve Gray, Hallmark’s creative development director in its Future Squad, said that when the placements end, they keep in touch for future advice as well as catching up with the students at their degree shows or following year’s New Designers – and the event has produced a number of staff for the company, including art director Hannah Greenwood who exhibited at New Designers in 2008, designer Becca Clapham from the 2013 show, and senior designers Gill Anderson from the 2006 ND, and Helen Leeks from the 2003 exhibition.
