Art and design students gain enlightening live industry project

BMet art and design students ' futures are shinning brighter after participating in an illuminating live “eco-friendly ” industry project, with a leading local lighting business.

The level 2 and 3 creative learners, who are studying at BMet 's Matthew Boulton College, seized the unique opportunity to gain invaluable experience with The Workshop Below, manufacturers of a range of bespoke products including bulbs, pendants and wall lights.

Business partners and directors, Shah Ashraf and Katie Green at the Birmingham-based company, partnered with college tutors to devise an 11-week project.

It enabled the talented scholars to work on real live briefs for creating lighting designs, using organic forms and biomorphic themes.

The exciting, forward-thinking project began with an introduction to the business, a Q&A and a setting of the challenge by The Workshop Below 's Shah and Katie in September.

Organised into two groups, 60 students were tasked with producing a solution to the company 's business needs - to add natural, sustainable and contemporary urban designs to their variety of products.

Important factors common to product development such as adaptability, collections, materials, colours, different environments, trends, longevity and budgets needed to be considered for the task.

The bright sparks were also instructed to carry out consumer market research, trend forecasting for interiors and lighting design; followed by making mock-ups in 3D for their designs.

From the original 60 students taking part, 13 were shortlisted by tutors and presented their finished designs to Shah and Katie, alongside their college tutors.

The pitches were so successful, that all the designs will now be showcased with light fittings at The Workshop Below. Three students were also rewarded for going the extra mile with new lights from the business.

BMet art and design students, Yousef and Jenna, spoke of their rewarding experiences;

Yousef said: “It is fantastic to have the unique opportunity to take part in this special project. I chose to highlight leaves to bring organic design forms to life.

“In the future, my aim is to study architecture at university, and this project has helped me to feel even more excited about reaching my goals. ”

Jenna said: “This experience really exceeded my expectations and helped me see how I can experiment creatively. I was able to develop different concepts and to open my mind to biomorphic art.

“I have gained many skills including pitching to clients, thinking outside of the box, evaluating and I now feel one step further to becoming an interior designer. ”

In the project sessions, students were able to explore important techniques relevant to the industry, which aligns with the college 's emphasis on learning key aptitudes for inspiring future careers.

Nellie Davies, director of Creative, Digital, Business & Law at Matthew Boulton College, said: “This is the first time that our students have worked on a client brief for a leading lighting company and as a result have gained the knowledge and skills needed in the design industry. ”

Shah and Katie, from The Workshop Below, said: “We were so impressed with the level of talent and enthusiasm of the BMet students throughout the process, which exceeded our expectations.

“Not only did they consider the finished designs, but also the commercial element of their products. A high level of professionalism was continuously demonstrated. ”

BMet has a range of options available to art and design students, with an emphasis on encouraging them to progress onto university.

Find out more about BMet 's range of art and design courses.