An Edinburgh College Graphic Design student has been named as one of the UK’s brightest young marketing stars in a national industry competition.
Ayesha Islam claimed the Breakthrough Award at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Awards, which showcase the best in creativity from undergraduate advertising, design and marketing students in the UK.
Ayesha, in her first year on the HND Visual Communication: Graphic Design course at the college, claimed her award and £1,000 prize money at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday night.
Ayesha said: “When it came to my category it felt like time had stopped. The night was a whirlwind so I had to take a moment for it all to sink in. The night was an incredible opportunity to mingle with industry and open doors. I had people coming up to me, asking to stay in touch. The award really does mean the world to me.”
This year’s DMA challenge was to design a brand campaign for East of England Co-op that would directly appeal to a younger market – 16-24 year olds in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Ayesha’s innovative campaign stood out from the crowd, topping two shortlisted students to win the award.
Ayesha explained: “I put a lot of effort into making sure the concept fitted the brief and that it was big enough to have an impact. And, sure enough, it has. I was shocked and over the moon when I won because the target market is very hard to impress.”
Helena Good, Graphic Design lecturer at the college and Ayesha’s tutor, said: “Not only did Ayesha do herself proud, she did the college proud. This might sound clichéd but it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.
“We got very good feedback on the night – her campaign really hooked the client. It was brilliant that the winner came from north of the border. This is the first year we’ve entered and certainly won’t be the last.”
25
0
20
