BIMA star James Hobbs appointed Head of Tech at Aer Studios
Aer Studios, a leading creative technology studio in the South West, is thrilled to announce the appointment of James Hobbs as Head of Technology. Hobbs, who brings a wealth of experience from his time at Dyson and Great State, joins at a time when Aer Studios also announces a new trio of practice leads, including Max Waring (Front End), Jon Chard (Back End), and Aaron Bushell (DevOps).
Hobbs’ appointment comes shortly after the addition of Lucy Rees, Head of People and Culture, further strengthening Aer Studios’ leadership team. These strategic hires mark a significant step in Aer Studios’ growth, as well as its commitment to excellence and innovation in the creative technology sector. Last year it secured a coveted place on the BBC Digital Design Roster.
Notable career achievements for Hobbs include a six-year period at Dyson, where he successfully led the global digital technical team from its inception to over twenty members. At Great State, Hobbs was instrumental in driving the company’s technology strategy, leading an engineering team delivering multi-award-winning work.
In addition to his impressive career achievements, Hobbs has been recognised in the prestigious BIMA 100 for Sustainability, underlining his commitment to sustainable practices. This aligns perfectly with Aer Studios’ 2024 BCorp certification and its ongoing efforts to prioritise sustainability in all aspects of its operations. Aer Studios won its own prestigious BIMA Award in the Innovative App category in October 2023.
“James’ appointment comes at a time when Aer Studios is gearing up for growth,” said Tom Harber Managing Director at Aer Studios. “His experience and values fit perfectly with our ambitions. With James on board, we’re excited to amplify our efforts and lead the charge in transforming the tech industry into a beacon of sustainability for the future.”
“I’m delighted to have joined Aer Studios,” said James. “It was immediately clear from my initial conversations with Lucy and Tom that Aer Studios have a deep focus on people and planet, both of which are really important to me, alongside delivering outstanding work for clients.”
Hobbs’ arrival at Aer Studios is set to propel the company towards new heights, enhancing its technical capabilities and reinforcing its commitment to sustainable practices. With a cross-capability leadership team in place, Aer Studios is well-positioned to lead the industry in creative and sustainable technology solutions.
About Aer Studios
Aer Studios is an award-winning creative technology studio based in the South West of England. Its mission is to create meaningful digital experiences that have a positive impact on people & planet. Partnering with leading brands in the public and private sectors, its clients include Warner Media, Cartoon Network, BBC, Dogs Trust, Diabetes UK, CNN, History Royal Palaces and GOV.UK. With a particular focus on employee experience, Aer Studios ranked in the top 100 best workplaces and best workplaces for wellbeing by the Great Place to Work awards.
We are delighted to announce the eight young people who have been selected for the second round of the Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme, in partnership with Babbasa and eight creative businesses from the BCI membership community.
Launched with a successful pilot in 2023, the programme is aimed at young people aged 18-30 from under-represented backgrounds, wanting to gain more insight and real experience in the creative industries.
For the second year of the scheme, another eight brilliant agencies from the Bristol Creative Industries member community have stepped up to provide paid placements for the interns over six months.
Clare Leczycki, Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme manager, explains the process for selecting this year’s cohort:
“Our aim was to make the application process as accessible and open as possible, to give the candidates different scenarios to share their skills and personality. To apply, candidates could share a short video, audio or written piece to illustrate why they were interested in participating in the programme and what they hoped to gain from it. We had over 60 applications for eight placements so it shows there is a lot of interest from young people wanting to work in the creative sector.
“Once applications closed, we held an insights day at the brilliant Gather Round workspace in St Paul’s, Bristol. This was a chance for the host agencies to meet the potential candidates, pitch their internship offers and share more about the nature of their business. We also ran an informal Q&A session for everyone to learn more about each other and the different job roles available in the agency world.
“From here, we shortlisted candidates for the formal interview stage during which we explored each young person’s skills and areas of interest to help us with the selection process. Having a two-part interview process allowed us to see the candidates in a variety of settings and learn more about them, which also helped with the matching process.
“Working in partnership with the team at Babbasa is a key part of our recruitment process. The organisation supports young people from underrepresented groups who are looking to pursue their professional ambitions, by providing them with employment support, such as mentoring, CV writing and interview preparation, to help them achieve their aspirations.
“The Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme, in partnership with the OurCity2030 Pathway into Creative & Tech, is an innovative example of how creative businesses can come together to offer opportunities to young people from ethnic minority and low income households.
“We would like to thank our interview panel Daniel Palmer, Marissa Lewis-Peart and Alli Nicholas for taking the time to meet all of the candidates. This was no small task. Their energy and insights were integral in making the selection process as smooth and effective as possible.
“In order to prepare for this year’s cohort, we have spent the last three months onboarding the host businesses with a variety of training sessions including equity, diversity and inclusion training from Babbasa, mental health training from Bianca Jones at Empower Develop People, and neurodiversity training from Devon Lowndes at Self Agency.
“Ensuring the workplaces are ready to welcome a young person and provide a meaningful placement is a key priority for our programme. Agency life can be pretty hectic and fast-paced, so taking time to consider the experience (onboarding/offboarding, bespoke work plan, mentorship and feedback) is integral to our internship offer. The eight interns have landed roles in content creation, marketing, press and PR, graphic design and strategy.
“The programme brings huge benefits to everyone taking part. We aim to provide the interns with a positive and enriching work placement, while the BCI team and host businesses have the opportunity to learn from the young people. Having different perspectives in the room brings fresh energy, innovation and new ideas.
“It’s a challenging time for many businesses so we are extremely grateful that the participating agencies are willing to invest time and money to support the next generation of creative talent from under-represented backgrounds.”
Some of the interns explain what they hope to get out of the programme:
Kaden Gardner:
“Marketing and PR is an area of work that I have been interested in for a while, and is becoming more important with video work in recent years. I hope to gain some knowledge within this career path, and hopefully advance my videography skills as well.”
Inaz Hussain:
“I want to make more connections in the industry and learn about how the whole creative development process in order to establish myself as a multidisciplinary artist. I would love to establish a company or space to help bridge the gap for people to break into the creative industry without the barriers I faced.”
Wheri Dumuje:
“I hope to become a designer who helps everyone have equal access to the same services and throw light through research on areas that are often overlooked.”
Elma Hossain:
“I hope to become more confident in the skills I excel at, what roles interest me and build a solid network of people who have similar interests and goals as me. I’m also looking forward to making good friends and enjoying a great experience!”
Fyonh Bui:
“I hope to gain valuable skills and knowledge, become a reliable professional, inspire and guide junior designers in the future.”
Quotes from participating creative agencies
Representatives of the host businesses explain why they are taking part in the programme:
“We are excited and proud to be one of the agencies participating in this year’s BCI Internship Programme. We saw last from last year’s cohort the impact that the placements had, and the opportunities it offered to some amazing talent from across the city, so we knew we had to be part of it this time around. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our first placement to the Ambitious PR office.”
“The BCI Internship Programme was a great experience for Armadillo last year. We hired two of the interns from the programme on a permanent basis, and they’ve both been excellent additions to our team.
“We absolutely recognise the benefits that having a diverse workforce has, not only on our business but on the creative industry and community as a whole. We’re proud to play even a small part in helping work towards that.
“Having met some of this year’s interns already, we can see so much potential waiting to be uncovered, and we’re really excited to witness the successes that will no doubt come out of this cohort.”
Alex Rife, The Collaborators:
“The Collaborators has always been about people first, so it’s natural that we want to help nurture young talent. We have a (borrowed) saying that “none of us is as smart as all of us”, so we’re excited to bring different perspectives into our business.
“We’re so grateful to Bristol Creative Industries and Babbasa for helping us to do this in a way that’s about driving real change in the wider creative industry, rather than feeling like a one-off tokenistic gesture. We’re delighted to be part of the programme and looking forward to getting to know this year’s cohort better.”
“We are thrilled to be taking part in this year’s Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme, helping to shape a brighter future for the creative industries.
“We are looking forward to supporting our interns and nurturing their talent, all while gaining valuable insights and growing from the experience ourselves!”
Image credit: Big thanks to Sham Ahmed for capturing the brilliant images used in this post. Follow @shamphat on Instagram.
Bristol based Creative Agency joins the growing movement of companies using business as a force for good
Shaped By, a creative agency for the b2b world – based in Bristol, UK, has announced its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp), joining a growing movement of companies that are reinventing business for the benefit of all people and our shared planet. Verified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, the achievement demonstrates that Shaped By meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability alongside a commitment to goals beyond shareholder value.
The news comes as the ongoing climate crisis and widening social inequality continue to pose urgent challenges to our economy. B Corp Certification assesses the entirety of a business’ operations and currently covers five main impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The certification process is rigorous, with companies required to reach a score of 80 points in the B Impact Assessment while providing evidence of responsible practices relating but not limited to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity, and corporate transparency. A business must also legally embed their commitment to purpose as well as profit in their company articles.
Shaped By is now part of a growing community of over 8,000 businesses globally that have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK is one of the largest and fastest-growing in the world, with over 1,700 companies spanning a range of different industries and sizes. Names include The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, The Big Issue, Finisterre, Elemis, and Sipsmith Gin.
Chris Turner, executive director of B Lab UK, says:
“We are pleased to have B Corps of all shapes and sizes as part of our community — from startups to multinationals and across many different industries. Business is a powerful force and B Corps demonstrate that positive impact is possible in any sector. Welcoming Shaped Byis an exciting moment for the creative industry. B Lab UK and the rest of the B Corp community are really pleased that Shaped By is paving the way for a new way of doing things.”
Nick Farrar, founder of Shaped By, says:
“Becoming a B Corp and joining the global community of businesses dedicated to building a better world was one of the first, and easiest, decisions we made after changes to the agency’s ownership last year. It aligns perfectly with our belief that design and creativity have the power to improve lives and positively impact the world around us. I’m looking forward to embracing what being a B Corp company means and committing to maintaining and improving our standards now and in the future.”
The mustard team are pleased to unveil their status as B Corp, officially joining the growing community of accredited B corporations across the world. Becoming one of 2000+ businesses in the UK, with a shared vision for the future.
The rigorous process covers all areas of the business including Governance, Workers, Customers, Environment and Community. The Bristol-based creative recruitment agency have painstakingly assessed their impact and are committed to providing a better future for not only their clients and employees but also their community. They’ll be returning to this impact report year-on-year to assess their impact and identify areas of improvement. Providing key insight into their practices, as they strive to hit their enhanced sustainability goals of net-zero by 2030, 20 years ahead of the UK government’s SME net-zero goals.
They’ve already levelled up their community commitments, from increased volunteering allowances to fundraising for their Charity of the Year, The Grand Appeal in aid of Bristol Children’s Hospital.
The B Corp certification provides businesses with comprehensive, credible, comparable impact standards to support economic systems change. Founded in 2006, to support businesses to lead the way towards a new, stakeholder-driven model.
Directors of mustard hope that this spotlight on the recruitment agency will encourage others in the sector to aim for more transparency and accountability.
“We’re delighted to become a B Corp, it’s been a long process, but a needed one. We’re continually striving for higher standards throughout the business. The whole team are extremely excited to be listed amongst like-minded businesses that are taking steps towards positive change.”
– Dave Madden, Director, mustard jobs
mustard jobs have unveiled new plans to support the local community, through charity fundraising and volunteering practices. As part of this redefined commitment to charities and the wider community, they’ve announced a partnership with the well-loved Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal.
mustard have appointed a charity committee to lead the charge, whom will be responsible for all fundraising and volunteering activities. Supporting and empowering staff and clients to get involved and make an impact.
As a Recruitment Agency for the Creative Industries, they’ll be getting creative with the fundraisers that they put together. With a top-secret stash of ideas up their sleeve, all will soon be revealed.
“We’re taking mustard’s charity and volunteering contributions to the next level. Working with Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal is extremely exciting, not only for our committee but for the entire business.
We hope this charity of the year partnership with The Grand Appeal, will help to provide sick children and their families with the support they need. It’s an honour to be working with them.”
Phil Boshier, Associate Director of People & Culture
Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal is the official Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, that helps save the lives of sick children and supports their families. Being a stone’s throw from the mustard office, and with a large proportion of the staff having young kids, supporting Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal was a no-brainer for the team.
“We’re thrilled to have the support of mustard. Our charity partnership means we can work together towards a brighter future for the children and families at Bristol Children’s Hospital. Thanks to the generosity of brilliant Bristol businesses like mustard, we can fund everything from life-saving equipment to free accommodation for families, medical research, and so much more.”
– Helen Haskell, Head of Fundraising (Corporate)
How to use language to foster stronger, happier, more productive relationships.
The language that an organisation uses in its content, copywriting and comms influences not just how it is perceived, but how it makes audiences feel. It’s a complex, nuanced arena, but there are a handful of golden rules to remember around using brand language that’s appropriate and inclusive.
First up: what’s DEI?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) aims to make everyone within an environment, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, ability, gender or sexual orientation, feel supported and welcome.
Why is it better to use inclusive language?
According to Deloitte, companies that embrace inclusivity and inclusive language have 22% lower turnover rates, 22% greater productivity and 27% higher profitability. Externally, those companies have 39% higher customer satisfaction.
Rule #1 Avoid certain ways of identifying people
Only use race, gender, gender identity, ability, age, sexual orientation, etc. to identify people when strictly necessary, otherwise doing so can draw attention to something about someone’s characteristics that might make them feel different or excluded.
Rule #2 Use people-first language
People-first language prioritises the individual. This is an especially useful point to remember when talking about people who have disabilities.
For example, it’s better to say ‘a person with a disability’ than ‘a disabled person’. The former implies that the disability is a secondary characteristic rather than a defining one. But as mentioned in #1, it’s best to simply avoid mentioning disability unless relevant or strictly necessary.
There are a few exceptions to this point. The deaf community, for instance, generally prefers the term ‘deaf person’ to ‘person with deafness’. If in doubt, it’s best to ask.
Rule #3 Be wary of connotations
Terms such as ‘sexual preference’ or ‘preferred pronouns’ can be problematic. ‘Preference’ implies choice, and that can create a false impression. It’s best to err on the side of caution and use the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘pronouns’ instead.
Rule #4 Avoid inappropriate references
Try to avoid using terms such as ‘bipolar,’ ‘OCD,’ ‘ADHD’ or ‘ASD’ as metaphors, especially in a jokey context. These are real disabilities and disorders. Using their names to refer to things they aren’t can offend people who have them.
Rule #5 Use gender-neutral language
Yes, you may often use language with a specific audience in mind, but pronouns are generally best avoided.
When making a hypothetical point – ‘if he or she went for a walk’, for example – the ‘he or she’ clause is unnecessary, and including it can make non-binary, gender non-conforming or genderqueer folks feel excluded.
When in doubt or when using a pronoun is necessary, ‘they’ is a good choice. It’s gender-neutral and can be used to refer to an individual or a group, so has all bases covered.
Rule #6 Avoid universal phrases
Jargon is often best avoided and it’s a good idea to think before using idioms – not all translate well across cultures.
Rule #7 Avoid using your group as the reference group
Using your group as the reference group can imply it’s the norm and that other groups fall outside that norm. Terms like ‘non-white’, for example, imply that white people are the norm and everyone else, a deviation.
It’s best to take care when saying…
Guys
This term is best avoided when speaking to or referencing a group that contains non-male members.
Good alternatives: ‘Folks’, ‘you all’, ‘everyone’, ‘team’.
Girls/ladies/gals
If she’s over 18, she’s an adult. And take care when saying ‘ladies’ and ‘gals’, these terms can be patronizing. Good alternatives: ‘Women’, ‘people’.
Handicap/handicapped
Today, ‘handicapped’ is considered impolite.
Similarly, when talking about people with disabilities, avoid using terms like ‘afflicted by,’ ‘victim of’, ‘suffers from’, and ‘confined to a wheelchair’. ‘Challenged’, ‘differently abled’, and ‘specially abled’ are best avoided too.
Good alternatives: ‘Disabled’, ‘person with a disability’.
You might also consider…
Mentioning pronouns
Including pronouns – he/him, she/her, they/them – in email signatures can help non-binary, transgender and other folk feel more included.
Trigger warnings
If you’re going to publish content that has the potential to trigger people, it’s a good idea to add a trigger warning to that content. Forewarning people about potentially offensive content can help prevent causing offence.
Writing for web accessibility
People with certain disabilities can have difficulty navigating online content. We can all help ensure the content we create is accessible. See our designing for accessibility cheat sheet for useful tips.
Keeping up-to-date
Inclusive language best practice is constantly evolving. Periodic refreshers are a great way to stay up to date. Taking a moment to think about how the language you’re going to use is inclusive often goes a long way, too.
In an era where businesses are increasingly expected to prioritise social and environmental impact alongside profit, Disruptive Thinking has taken a bold step forward by achieving B Corp certification. This certification marks a significant milestone for team Disruptive, reinforcing their commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, minimising their environmental footprint and dedicating themselves to ongoing improvement.
Disruptive Thinking’s Founder, Yiuwin Tsang said “When founding Disruptive Thinking, I knew I wanted the business to be a force for good. Our company motto is “Good work for good people” and it’s really nice to join the ranks of other businesses who share the same vision, under such a well-regarded standard.”
“The decision to pursue B Corp certification was driven by a deep-seated belief in the power of business to drive positive change. As a team who pride ourselves on being forward-thinking, becoming a B Corp aligns so well with our core values of empathy, integrity, and sustainability.”
“One of the key benefits of being a B Corp is the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded businesses and organisations. We can’t wait to meet other B Corp organisations at local meetups – come over and say ‘Hi’ if you spot any of the team!”
About Disruptive Thinking
Disruptive Thinking is a small team with deep expertise in Marketing, Business Growth and CRM. Our team take on a variety of projects, from designing marketing strategies and executing delivery, to establishing sales processes, to delivering workshops and events.
We’ve worked with accountancy firms, agencies, startups, law firms, publishers, universities, the creative industries and healthcare providers – supporting them on strategic planning and execution across their sales, marketing and delivery efforts.
We work with any size of organisation, from large corporates through to startups, plus public bodies and not-for-profits. Our motto is doing good work for good people. We’re proud of the quality of work we deliver, and ultimately want to work with clients who are also passionate and driven about what they do.
Got any questions? Just want to connect? Reach out to the team at [email protected]
For Earth Day, the team at Something Familiar have taken a deep dive into sustainable website design. Looking at what it truly means, common pitfalls and how to start making more eco conscious moves – without losing sight of your brand identity.
How can digital designers make choices to minimise their environmental impact? In this blog, we explore what actions we can take to create websites that are both engaging and better for the planet.
What is sustainable or low carbon website design?
Sustainable website design is all the noise these days, and for good reason. Historically, web design practices have failed to consider the environmental consequences of maintaining a website. With an average of 1.76g of CO2 emitted per page view, the cumulative impact becomes significant. For instance, a site with 100k page views per month emits approximately 2,112kg of CO2 annually! A car travelling 8,000 miles emits roughly the same amount of CO2, which is mad. *Source
So what exactly is Sustainable web design?
It refers to the practice of creating websites with minimal negative impact on the environment, both in terms of resource consumption and emissions. This approach considers the entire lifecycle of a website, from design through to development, hosting, maintenance and user interaction.
On top of environmental impact, sustainable design also involves two other important aspects:
Social Responsibility
Practising user-friendly accessible design, paired with respectful, inclusive content ensures it’s suitable for a wide range of audiences.
Economic Sustainability
Taking this considered approach during the design phases could also streamline the development process, and minimise the page processing power. Ensuring the site is lightweight, future proof and built to last.
As cliche as it sounds we need to make a change. But how do we meet our green goals – without compromising our brand impact and website design?
It’s all about Sustainable Design Considerations
In this article we are focussing on the first phase of a website lifecycle – the initial design decisions you can implement to minimise your site’s environmental impact. This phase seems to be an area where little discussion is currently focused, but it comes hand in hand with development, so decisions made here are crucial.
We’re here to put you onto a few tips and tricks so you can get practising sustainable web design in no time. You’d be surprised what can be achieved through strategic design decisions.
Here’s are some things to consider when approaching your new sustainable website design:
Over-application of ‘best’ practice.
Yes you can remove video, and yes you can use system fonts… but should you? We don’t want to lose the soul of your brand as a result of this practice, so remain conscious about your objectives. Keep it chill.
Set your objectives Addressing what needs to be done to improve your impact at the end of a project can lead to non-optimal solutions – think first.
Do your research Design-focused resources for sustainable impact are few and far between, so when you come across design inspiration that’s also incredibly sustainable – save it and share it.
Carbon calculator hype
Yes, these are helpful and insightful, but it’s important to not prioritise your score over experience or business objectives. Also at the time of writing, these calculators seem to only measure initial page-load, which is not always an accurate reflection of page size.
To summarise, and maybe over simplify this topic, having a low-impact website typically means stripping things back. So using smaller images, removing video, less content on a page, avoiding multiple fonts etc.
But how can you do this without diluting your brand? It’s a challenge that we have been facing so we created a methodology that aligns impact and expectations.
Determine how far you want to give your website a green glow-up.
At Something Familiar, we’ve adapted a tiered approach to sustainable web development – The Gold, Silver Bronze approach. By understanding your business positioning and communication priorities we can build a sustainable website, without impacting your brand presence.
We’ve sourced some excellent example websites to see where they fall on our scale. All of these websites demonstrate excellent design and brand impact, but offer varying levels of sustainable web design.
GOLD: Lean and Green
Those who have achieved sustainable website zen! Exemplary brand communication and aesthetic, whilst upholding impressively low page weight. Sacrifices are evident in the absence of motion and video, with minimal utilisation of photography, opting primarily for a typography or vector-based design approach. However, these sacrifices are executed with meticulous consideration and attention to detail.
We made it our challenge to get to A+. 94% cleaner of all web pages globally on the website carbon calculator (a real challenge when you want to show off everything achieved in the last 12 months)
Our stickers go a long way to inject personality. Light little Lottie Files to compliment each chapter, SF style.
We used a low code page builder, Bricks Builder, built with clean bloat free code.
Our use of video was minimised by looping short autoplay clips rather than playing entire video content.
First visit from Beacon – CO2: 0.131g / SIZE: 420.56 KB
SILVER: Sustainable standard
Could this be the ideal equilibrium? Introducing distinctive and captivating features that depart from typographic and flat styling, incorporating depth and distinctive Javascript interactions and animations. Meticulous attention is given to the utilisation of video and highly optimised images.
Flayks
https://flayks.com/
Portfolio site of designer/art director Félix Péault
Design notes:
The layout is incredible and highly engaging. This is partially due to super confident use of typography – it does a lot of the work in place of heavy media.
Video is used strategically, and only plays when within your viewport.
Basic in terms of sustainability, but bespoke in terms of design impact. These sites offer incredible experiences to their users and have won Awwwards for their work, but this comes at the sacrifice of page weight. Keep in mind though that these sites have different objectives and are aimed at a smaller audience.
The dynamic apple-esque landing page serves up a really enjoyable experience to scroll through.
It’s media rich and interactive in order to convert – but also helps to sell the storytelling piece about Bearbrick ‘finding its voice’.
The on scroll animations and high quality assets are necessary to reflect the price point associated with collectable culture. Also helps to reinforce the value of the Medicom/Bearbrick brands.
First visit from Beacon – CO2: 7.307g / SIZE: 19.45 MB
So what action can you take?
Here’s some simple design-focused moves you can make now to start reaching green glowup. Ideally, these should all be actioned or considered at the beginning of a project.
Variable fonts
Reduce the amount of fonts being loaded on your site. A variable font ecompasses a slew of weights within one file, vs. the old days of loading 5-6 heavy separate files.
Be strategic with media
Beyond compressing/optimising your media, think about its value and positioning. Immersive images and video assets should be saved for key parts of communication.
Make things move
Elevate your website’s storytelling with scroll stopping motion. If you haven’t already, check out our Motion Manifesto, trust.
To further this point, ramp up typography to really push how tone and messaging can be delivered without relying on heavy media.
Main character: mobile
Designing mobile first might not be your thing, but regardless of order – get your mobile design optimised. Cater to accessibility on small devices to make the experience just as beaut.
Make accessibility breezy
Get Stark (plugin) involved in your design process to eliminate any accessibility risks. It’s a lovely little plugin in Figma you can use to review typography, palettes and contrast. It’s all aligned with the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) too.
With all this in mind, think about where your website to sit on the sustainable spectrum. Ultimately, the outcome is reaching a happy medium that meets objectives, delivers a killer experience and practises sustainability.
As we outlined in our new year message in January, a key focus at Bristol Creative Industries is boosting workforce diversity in creative businesses and helping to grow the talent pipeline for our members.
It also showed that increasing diversity and inclusion was a significant priority for six in 10 creative firms, but 21% admitted they were struggling to recruit talent from diverse backgrounds, and 48% wanted more help finding diverse employees from underrepresented groups.
In this post, we outline the initiatives in the Bristol Creative Industries Talent Programme which is focused on tackling those challenges.
If you’re not yet a BCI member, join here to take advantage of the member exclusive initiatives.
If you’d like to join us as a BCI Talent Partner, read the final section of this post.
Equity, diversity and inclusion training for BCI members
Research shows that diverse teams are more creative problem solvers, bringing fresh perspectives to solutions, against the echo-chamber effect that results when people in a business come from too-similar backgrounds. With a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, employees feel valued and that they belong.
To help Bristol Creative Industries members achieve this, we have partnered with The Hobbs Consultancy to provide on demand equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) e-learning.
The CPD certified online course consists of modules to help you bring about positive change in your business, understand the key challenges in the way for different groups, and explore your own biases and how to overcome them. The training modules take an in-depth look at different diversity and inclusion topics: race, disability, LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, gender (split into female leadership, masculinity, gender identity), age and social mobility in the workplace.
The price of the training for BCI members is £120+VAT. All profits will be ploughed back into our youth engagement activity.
To access this brilliant training opportunity, log into your Bristol Creative Industries account and click on the ‘members’ training’ section.
Opportunity to mentor high potential young people
We have to start engagement at school by raising the profile of the creative sector to a wider and more diverse audience. To do this, we’re developing ways to bring together creative business members and future talent through mentoring.
We are thrilled to have launched a partnership with The Early Careers Foundation (ECF), a social mobility charity that works with young people from low-income backgrounds to ensure that talent and hard work are what determine their career success, not background.
Through its mentoring programme, ECF pairs employees from partner organisations with 16-18-year-olds for monthly hour-long mentoring sessions.
Thanks to our new partnership, BCI members can now become a mentor and support a young person in building their confidence, developing their employability skills and offering invaluable professional guidance.
Applications to become a mentor close on 1 August 2024.
To find out more about how you can get involved, read this post.
Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme
Our groundbreaking Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme with Bristol social enterprise Babbasa launched as a pilot in 2023. It is aimed at young people from diverse backgrounds wanting to gain more insight and real experience in the creative industries.
As well as benefiting the interns, the scheme also educates employers to help them build inclusive workspaces that are ready to welcome young people from low income and underrepresented backgrounds.
Brilliant agencies from the BCI member community stepped up to provide paid placements to a group of fantastic interns during the pilot which resulted in many successes including full time jobs following the placements.
The programme has returned for 2024 with more creative businesses offering a wide range of roles in marketing, public relations, design, branding and advertising.
We recently closed applications from potential interns for the second cohort and were delighted to see an increase in responses compared to last year.
For the latest updates from the programme, keep an eye on our blog and social media (X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram).
Influencing the curriculum and driving change
We have committed to an annual programme of round tables with key post 16 education providers in the region including colleges, academies and universities.
Our aim is to promote creative careers to staff and career advisers, drive applications to our internship programme and explore how we can promote the creative industries to students already studying.
Become a Bristol Creative Industries Talent Partner
By joining the programme as a partner, you’ll help to fund all of our activities that support
underrepresented groups entering the creative industries. Your support is vital to ensure we have a healthy and diverse talent pipeline.
For more details, contact Alli Nicholas, BCI membership and operations manager, at [email protected], or Lis Anderson, BCI co-chair, at [email protected]
Professional Apprenticeships are thrilled to unveil ApprenTech, our latest leap forward in cultivating the next generation of technology professionals through comprehensive apprenticeships. We have always strived to bridge the gap between aspiring tech talents and the industry’s evolving needs. Today, we’re excited to announce an initiative that not only continues this legacy but also takes it to new heights.
A New Era of Apprenticeships
ApprenTech is designed to be more than just a program; it’s a movement towards creating a sustainable, skilled workforce that can navigate the complexities of the technology landscape and solve the skills gap!
With our Ofsted Outstanding rating as our backbone, we’ve crafted two new distinct pathways: Software Developer Level 3 and Level 4 Apprenticeships. These programs are tailored to meet the industry’s demands – whether it’s nurturing new entrants with foundational skills or elevating existing employees to software savants. This is in addition to our existing offering of Marketing, IT and other apprenticeships.
Why ApprenTech?
Our initiative stands out for several reasons:
Putting People First: Tailored learning plans with meaningful outcomes.
Ofsted Outstanding Quality: Our commitment to absolute quality.
Direct Impact: For businesses across Bristol & beyond.
For Companies: ApprenTech offers a unique opportunity to cultivate your in-house talent, reducing recruitment costs and fostering a culture of loyalty and innovation. It’s not just an investment in skills but in the future of your organisation.
For Aspiring Tech Professionals: Embark on a journey that promises not just skill development but a clear path to career advancement. With ApprenTech, your ambitions to progress are a reality.
Join Us in Shaping the Future
As we launch ApprenTech, we extend an invitation to tech companies and aspiring professionals to join us in this transformative journey. Together, we can redefine what it means to be equipped for the future of technology.
For more information on how to get involved, pop our team a message at [email protected]
Together, let’s build a future where technology and talent converge to create endless possibilities.
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