This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
Introducing Franca Wade, a talented designer in the Brand and Creative team at the National Trust. With a background in graphic design and illustration, she has navigated a career across publishing, marketing, and communications before finding her place in design.
In this chat, she shares insights on the role of women in design, the impact of creativity on future generations, and advice for those forging their path in the industry.
I’m Franca, a Designer in the Brand and Creative team at National Trust. I studied graphic design and illustration in Bath before working in a few creative sector jobs, mainly in publishing. I joined the Trust a little over 9 years ago in Marketing and Comms, then the Images team, finally landing in the Design team 4 years ago. Being part of a conservation charity keeps me motivated – I’m passionate about helping to make the National Trust accessible to everyone, and the power of nature to improve health and wellbeing.
From social media designs and fundraising packs to children’s activity sheets and concepting for seasonal campaigns, no two days are ever the same. My favourite project was wrapping trams with designs of giant flowers, insects and birds for our Blossom campaign last spring. Hopefully they made people’s days a little brighter!
As a woman I see empathy, compassion and emotional connection as a thread running through my work. Designing for a charity with a meaningful cause – restoring nature, making nature, beauty and history accessible to all, and inspiring future generations to care for nature and heritage – reminds me that creativity can be used a tool to inspire people, unlock emotions and bring about positive change.
I’m a strong believer in the impact creativity can have on future generations and I love working on projects that are aimed at young people and children. That’s the work that excites me the most.
My thoughts are around motivation and intention. For anyone starting out, I’d say do what you enjoy and believe in. Figure out what kind of creativity you’re interested in and pursue that – whether it’s motion design, illustration, graphic design, UX, creative direction, photography or film. If you’re passionate and excited about what you choose to do, that’s what will give you the most energy and be sustainable in the long run. It’ll also allow your unique skills, vision and ideas to shine through. Don’t try and force yourself to work in a certain environment or style that doesn’t naturally fit because that’s a good way to kill creativity or burn out.
And as a woman, don’t be afraid of setting yourself up for success. Make yourself visible, find your voice, be clear about what you want and don’t be afraid to ask for it. Take time each week to recognise your successes, big or small, and celebrate the successes of women around you along the way. Be intentional about your priorities – if you’ve got clearly defined goals, you’re more likely to get to where you want to be.
In my experience, hard work can be a foundation for success but it’s not usually enough on its own. As a creative you need to become comfortable making yourself visible to attract opportunities. It can feel counter-intuitive because women are often taught from early on to be modest or not to speak up. But those patterns can be overcome with practice – being seen and heard is important because your ideas matter. The more you do it, the easier it becomes!
I’m lucky to be surrounded by female role models at National Trust. I see strong, intelligent and creative women in specialist and leadership roles across the organisation; it’s inspiring to work alongside women succeeding in careers that they love and making real change. I’m a strong believer in the power of building connections between women and sharing our wisdom and insight. Outside of the Trust, my most recent role model has been Lauren Currie, who runs Upfront BOND confidence courses for women. I was lucky enough to take part in her Charity Bond last year and I follow her online for all things confidence and female power.
For anyone starting out in their design career I’d say find someone you see as a role model, reach out to them and try and understand their journey. Mentoring is a great opportunity; if you can find someone to mentor you, go for it! I’ve been a mentor in the past and it was rewarding to share my experience with someone getting started on their journey. Role models are important no matter what stage of your career you’ve reached – seeking out inspiration and different perspectives helps me to keep developing as a designer. Creativity is a continuous process.
If you’re inspired by the stories and wisdom shared in our ‘Women In Design’ series and would like to contribute your own experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Creatives at all levels, please email us and your story could be the next we feature.
Join MotherBoard in partnership with Bristol based law firm Burges Salmon for an exclusive event designed to support early-stage female-founded start-ups. This session will provide invaluable insights from industry experts on key areas that can help your business thrive, avoid common pitfalls, and set a strong foundation for growth.
What to Expect
This event will feature expert-led interactive breakout sessions. Topics include:
Employment & Incentives – Building the right team and structuring incentives for success.
IP & Brand – Protecting your ideas and strengthening your brand.
Fundraising – What you need to know for raising investment.
Culture & Growth – Scaling your business while building an authentic culture.
Tech & Data – building your tech stack, contracting with software providers and navigating the data protection legislation.
After the breakout sessions, enjoy networking over drinks and nibbles, where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other female founders at a similar stage and quiz the Burges Salmon team on any legal questions. This is a chance to share experiences, gain new perspectives, and build your support network in a welcoming and collaborative space.
Who the event is for
Female founders at idea, pre-seed or seed stage.
The details
Location: Burges Salmon, One Glass Wharf, Bristol, BS2 0ZX
Date & Time: 11th March 5-7pm
RSVP via the meetup link
Spaces are limited, secure your spot today!
Any personal data collected before or during the event will be shared between the joint hosts, MotherBoard and Burges Salmon LLP, for the purposes of pre- and post-event administration and communications with you. Each organisations’ privacy policies may be viewed here: MotherBoard and Burges Salmon.Manage Cookies
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
I’m a brand identity designer and founder of Design Bench Studio, a creative practice based in South London. My background is in graphic design. I currently focus on working with local communities, tech-for-good entrepreneurs, and social change businesses.
We help clients define their voice and visual identity and work with the them at the very start of their ventures or business ideas. The “bench” in the studio name reflects the horizontal and open design approach, which has helped us build meaningful partnerships and create work that is purpose-first. Our studio values are designed to mirror the values of the people we work with.
Anyone working in design will have unique contributions to bring into our industry. It would be hard to define this according to gender alone without looking into cultural norms, access to education and resources. As in many industries where there is still a gender pay gap we will need to address a few issues before we can quantify fair contributions.
In terms of perspective, women will certainly have their lived experience lens to add to the industry, and this will be the same for people who identify as women and non-binary people. From my experience with working with all-women teams in design I have seen a more intentional focus on inclusivity and empathy across creative outputs as well as in the ways of working and workplace culture. I have felt more supported and influenced to grow mindfully in all-female teams.
It’s also worth asking—what unique perspectives do men bring? That’s not a question I hear answered a lot by men in design.
Start before you feel ready. Waiting for the “perfect” moment can hold you back, and the truth is, you’ll learn more by doing—even if it’s messy. Mistakes are inevitable, but they’re also where the best lessons happen. You’ll grow more from an imperfect starting point, as long as you adapt and learn along the way, correcting and owning your mistakes. A little embarrassment goes a long way.
The biggest challenge has been tackling my own self-doubt and limiting beliefs—questions like, “Do I deserve to be here?” or “Have I done enough to prove my worth?”. This is, in part, the female experience overall in the work environment, I feel.
I have (somewhat) overcome this with support form a coach and by learning to ask for what I really want from a workplace. Building confidence is hard and I believe we all need some external help and support from mentors and peers to face those challenges.
Role models are hugely important – they show us what’s possible and that success can take many forms. Seeing women lead authentically in the creative industry has been so inspiring and was a big reason for starting the ffsc.club. The club is structured around soft networking events and story-sharing for women in the creative industries.
Role models can help us draw strength from their stories in order to carve out your own path.
Ana is the founder behind Female Founders Sharing Circle, an open-source directory and initiative designed for knowledge exchange between female founders in the creative industries and beyond.
Their next ‘soft networking’ event is scheduled for 20th of March in the CIC space at the Bussey Building, Peckham for a 7PM start.
Check out the event and community here.
If you’re inspired by the stories and wisdom shared in our ‘Women In Design’ series and would like to contribute your own experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Creatives at all levels, please email us and your story could be the next we feature.
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
This article delves into the significance of accessible design, highlighting insights from accessibility specialists and the impact of the upcoming European Accessibility Act.
Accessible design is key in ensuring that websites, services, products and places are inclusive of everyone. But understanding of, and investment into, accessibility and inclusion is not where it needs to be. A 2024 AbilityNet survey found that 19% of respondents considered digital accessibility was a low priority in their organisations, with none of the respondents answering that it was a very high priority. A study by WebAIM found notable increases in accessibility issues across the top 1 million home pages in 2024 – a major problem given around 135 million users across Europe are living with a permanent disability.
Inconsistent senior buy-in, limited budgets, and an uncertain market have been barriers to significant advances in digital accessibility. Considerable improvements are needed across the board to ensure that services, products, places and the web are designed to work for everyone.
si
The European Accessibility Act, which businesses operating in Europe will need to comply with by June, should lead to some improvements in this area in 2025. Additionally, while businesses are sometimes failing to prioritise accessibility, more professionals appear to understand accessibility basics, and despite a slow job market, accessible design skills appear to be in increasing demand. More change is needed, but there are positive signs of improvement going forward.
In 2024, we spoke to individuals working to make the design landscape more inclusive. Through our Design for All interview series, we have heard from accessibility specialists working on products, websites, apps, wayfinding strategies, and written content. These specialists have shared lived experiences of disability and neurodiversity, insights on designing inclusively, and useful resources for anyone looking to improve the accessibility of their designs.
We’d like to express our thanks to all of our contributors this year; Oliver Quinlan, Tom Pinks, Emily Yates, Henny Swan, Cameron Farwell, Rodrigo Sanchez, and Katy Cooper. Here are some of the valuable insights from our contributors.
“Listen, learn, ensure involvement is well-considered and useful (rather than tokenistic) and pay people for their time and expertise. It’s the simplest four-step process that will completely transform how you design but, more importantly, the perspective from which you see the world around you.”
“While guidelines are great, even accessibility guidelines are based on what works for the majority within the disabled community, and they might not account for the full diversity of needs. Designing for the edge cases can lead to solutions that not only benefit the people who need them the most but also improve the experience for everyone.
Take voice interfaces, for example. They were originally designed for people who couldn’t see, but now they’re part of everyday life. The same goes for keyboards and closed captions—designed for specific needs but now used by many people in various contexts. So again, it’s about designing for those edge cases because that’s where you find some fantastic design solutions that positively affect everybody.”
“As a general strategy for accessibility, I’ve always taken a 3-pronged approach with a focus on compliance, culture, and education.
I think of it a bit like the fire triangle they teach you in Science class, where you have oxygen, heat and fuel as the 3 sides, and when you remove one the fire goes out.
In the accessibility triangle, if education is removed, people don’t know how to do accessibility. If culture is removed, people don’t think accessibility is important. And, if compliance is removed, there’s no way to measure whether or not accessibility is being done to the correct standard. Culture is always going to be the hardest to change. Compliance and education are much easier, and in the process you can start to change the culture.”
“Something is better than nothing. If an organisation isn’t as willing to invest in accessibility as much as it ideally should, it’s worth noting that bringing in some elements of accessibility is better than none. Lots of beneficial things can be achieved with fairly low effort and, over time, these small gains will begin to add up. It also makes the potential task of further improvements less daunting when there you aren’t starting from zero.”
The specialists we spoke with have also been kind enough to share recommendations to help make your designs more accessible. We have collected these into a comprehensive Accessible Design Resources List of tools, guides, articles, books, blogs, and videos tailored for specialists at every level – here are our top 3:
We will be continuing the series over this year and can’t wait to share more insights from experts over 2025. If you’re interested in taking part, please contact me at chris.n@adlib-recruitment.co.uk.
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
Here’s our conversation with Samantha Merrett, Senior Accessibility Specialist at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
She shares her journey into accessibility, the role inclusion plays in her work, and how small design changes can make a big impact. Samantha also offers practical advice for designers looking to create more accessible experiences and highlights key resources to stay ahead in inclusive design.
Hi there, my name is Samantha Merrett, and I am a Senior Accessibility Specialist working at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). I have been at the MoJ for nearly a year now and I have worked in the Civil Service for more than 8 years.
Before joining the team at the MoJ, I was Accessibility Lead at the Food Standards Agency and GOV.UK Managing Editor at the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Whilst working at the MoD, I managed a small team of editors editing and publishing content on GOV.UK. The introduction of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) in 2018 required us to upskill quickly to understand how to ensure our content was accessible.
However, there was one specific moment that made me realise that accessibility was the career for me! I spent time working on the Armed Forces Pension forms to try and make them more user-friendly and accessible. We ran focus groups with users to understand the problem areas and then worked to fix the issues. We then presented the improved forms back to the focus group and the attendees was so thankful that they could now independently claim for their pension.
It was that moment for me that made me realise how important accessibility is. I might have only helped one person in that room but that was enough for me! What we do matters and it can have a profound impact on the users that we serve.
For me accessibility and inclusion go hand in hand, if we make things more accessible, they should be more inclusive for all. In my current role, we encourage all colleagues to consider accessibility from the start, whether you work in design creating digital products or write emails and documents, accessibility should be front and centre.
Adding accessibility in at the beginning makes it much easier to ensure the final product or design is accessible. Addressing accessibility early in the design process is more cost-effective than retrofitting a product later.
Designing for accessibility can lead to innovative solutions that benefit all users. For example, adding captions to videos benefits not only those with hearing impairments but also for users in noisy environments.
Fundamentally, accessible design can enhance usability for everyone not just those with disabilities. This promotes equal access and prevents exclusion.
Promoting inclusive design is a core aspect of my work. I strive to ensure that the information and tools I provide are accessible to everyone. This involves using clear and concise language, offering alternative text for images and ensuring all interactive elements are keyboard accessible. I also never stop learning; I continuously keep up to date with standards and best practices to provide the most relevant and effective support to my colleagues.
One of the main challenges I face is designing visually engaging content whilst making it accessible. I like to ensure that complex topics are explained in an understandable way. Infographics and visuals are often avoided when it comes to accessibility, but this overlooks the benefit they can provide for those who are visual learners or neurodivergent. If graphics are designed using the appropriate colour contrast, accessible font types and use clear and consistent layouts they should be accessible to users. Of course, to make the content accessible you must also provide an appropriate, equivalent text version of the content so users can read through the text if they prefer.
First, you need to understand your users. Take the time to learn about the different ways people with disabilities interact with digital products. This might include using screen readers, keyboard navigation or using voice commands. Talk to people with access needs about their experiences, specifically in the area that you are working in. It is important to truly understand your users and acknowledge that not everyone’s experience is the same. We are all individuals with our own needs and preferences, and we all deserve to have these needs considered.
Never stop learning and make sure you invest time and energy into your own self-development. Continuous learning helps you to stay up to date with the latest news, technologies and best practices making them more effective in your role. Accessibility is an ever-evolving topic, and it can sometimes feel difficult to keep on top of all the latest trends. If you can prioritise your own development, you not only advance your career but also help to contribute to the overall success and adaptability of your team and organisation.
There are so many amazing resources that I could share but these are a couple that I refer to time and time again.
Accessible Design Resources
Following the insightful recommendations from our Design For All participants, we’ve curated an extensive collection of tools, guides, articles, books, blogs, and videos. This resource is specifically designed to support accessibility and inclusion specialists at every stage of their journey.
View Accessible Design Resources
This article has previously appeared on the ADLIB Blog.
In this chat with Sara Telahoun, we discuss Climate Reframe and the pressing need for Diversity and Inclusion in the climate sector, where ethnic minorities make up just 4.8% of the UK workforce. Climate Reframe, launched in 2019, aims to change this by amplifying the voices of diverse environmental advocates, providing media training, and dismantling systemic barriers within the movement.
This blog explores Climate Reframe’s mission to amplify diverse voices in the climate movement and drive equity, inclusion, and systemic change within the environmental sector.
Let’s start with the need for Diversity and Inclusion, what’s your take – why is it so important?
We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for diverse perspectives and voices. Not only does having diverse voices foster innovation, promote justice, improve organisational performance, and strengthen social cohesion, but it also creates safe spaces for people to truly be themselves and feel supported. It enhances creativity and problem-solving. It also helps address systemic inequalities, ensuring fairer access to opportunities. In workplaces and movements like climate advocacy, inclusion ensures that all voices, especially those from marginalised groups, are heard, leading to more just and effective outcomes.
This is especially needed in the environmental sector in the UK, which is the second least ethnically diverse sector, with employees identifying as ethnic minorities representing only 4.8% of the workforce in 2021. There is much work to be done to amplify the voices of Indigenous global majority climate advocates, activists, and experts who have been excluded from the media and wider public conversation for a long time.
Can you share a little bit more about what you do? What’s the purpose and mission of your initiative/programme/organisation?
The climate and environment movement is predominantly white, and its lack of diversity hampers climate action. To help redress this imbalance, Climate Reframe was launched in 2019 as a list of 100 UK-based environmental and climate justice activists, experts, and advocates from racialised minority backgrounds. The list was intended to make it easier for the media and those working in the climate and environment movement to find climate experts from diverse backgrounds. Since its launch, many Reframers have benefitted from more local, national, and international media exposure, and Reframe itself has provided media training opportunities and support for its members.
Climate Reframe’s ongoing work is important in dismantling the bias and institutional racism that has resulted in a climate movement that is skewed and imbalanced. We are committed to working with allies and collaborators to challenge media and funding opportunities that continue to go mainly to male- and white-led organisations.
Climate Reframe is about challenging and changing this reality, but it is also about so much more. Climate Reframe is committed to supporting the climate and environment movement in its transformation towards greater justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Climate Reframe models a more intersectional, intergenerational, and equity-focused movement.
What do you consider are the potential consequences of a lack of Diversity and Inclusion and what do you see as the main benefits of an inclusive workforce?
Climate change is one of the most complex and important issues affecting the world. We need diverse voices and perspectives to bring healthy challenges and ideas to the table, along with varied expertise. We already know that global majority populations are on the front lines of climate impact, experiencing the worst of extreme weather changes. We must centre Indigenous communities, who have been stewards of vast ecosystems, resisting extractivism and educating the global community on the climate crisis. We also know that having singular perspectives will mean marginalised communities are further distanced from the climate movement, and we need communities from all walks of life to understand and feel empowered to create change.
We believe that BIPOC communities are not only on the front lines of the impacts of the climate crisis; they are also leading with the solutions and analyses that are critically needed for a just future.
How can businesses and potential employers get involved with your initiative/ programme/ organisation?
Use, share and distribute the Climate Reframe directory when looking for speakers or experts on climate and sustainability issues.
Get in touch with us directly via our website to discuss opportunities and potential collaborations.
Follow @Climatereframe on social media to stay updated with our community activity, updates, and events.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter—the #ReframeRoundUp.
If you are a part of an initiative, brand or company that proactively champions diversity and would like to be featured as part of the “True Diversity” series please get in touch with Tony.
View True Diversity blog collection
If you’re in Year 11, have a creative passion and you’re thinking about what comes after your GCSEs, come and see us at our Open Day on 25th January.
At Access Creative College (ACC) Bristol of Broadmead, we offer courses in music, media, games, esports, and computing. Our industry expert tutors teach from a bespoke, creatively designed campus tailored to maximise your learning experience so you leave us set for success.
Our campus is fully kitted out with all the tech you need to kickstart your career, including the below, plus much more!
When you study at ACC, you join both a local and national collaborative community of passionate, like-minded creatives with a shared goal – to build a successful career and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Over the last 30 years, some of the creative industry’s biggest names have passed through our doors and gone on to shine in their respective fields including Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Jess Glynne and more. Will you be next?
Throughout the year, we run two different types of events – Taster Days and Open Days. Our next event in Bristol is an Open Day, giving you the chance to experience first-hand what it’s like to study with us.
On the day, you’ll get the chance to tour the campus, try out our tech, learn more about us and our courses, meet staff and student ambassadors and get a chance to ask any questions you may have.
Find out where your creative talent could take you. Book your place at accesscreative.ac.uk/eventsnow.
Nine Tree Studios, Bristol’s biggest independent studio, has launched a WhatsApp Community to give back to local filmmakers, photographers, creatives, and production companies.
Primarily it’s a free loyalty programme offering studio discounts and freebies, including:
There’s also groups for advice and jobs, and private channels for production companies and studios to collaborate and share advice.
“We’ve always wanted our space to be able to support Bristol’s creative community” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios.
“Nowadays email newsletters feel old and clunky and aren’t really suited to what we wanted, like offering free studio hire to those who need it, and promoting and discussing events.”
“By virtue of having members we also hope it’ll be a space for freelancers, screen professionals, studios and production companies to share advice, post jobs, collaborate, and generally chit-chat.”
You can join the community at https://chat.whatsapp.com/D64qZ5CmnxCASYEevxDFEV and visit https://www.ninetreestudios.co.uk/community for more information and terms.
***
Nine Tree Studios is Bristol’s largest independent studio.
Suitable for set builds, commercial productions, photography and HETV, the space features two main studios – a 4,640sq ft soundstage and a 567sq ft infinity cove – plus a podcast suite, green rooms, production offices and a 9,000sq ft backlot.
For more information visit www.ninetreestudios.co.uk or email info@ninetreestudios.co.uk.
We were delighted to take part in this year’s Discover! Creative Careers Week, an industry-led initiative designed to provide young people aged 11-18, from England, with encounters and experiences of the creative industries through in-school, workplace and online opportunities.
In partnership with Speakers for Schools, these brilliant Bristol Creative Industries members provided virtual work experience sessions covering PR, marketing, advertising, film, TV and more:
Stuff Advertising | Modular Digital | Carnsight Communications | Fable & Verse | McCann | AMBITIOUS | Team Eleven | Hybrid | Sunhouse Creative | Taxi Studio | Stratton Craig | Shaped By | Enviral | Conscious Solutions | Fiasco Design | The Bottle Yard Studios | Beeston Media | JonesMillbank | Studio Giggle | Distortion Studios
The sessions, managed by Bristol Creative Industries membership and operations manager Alli Nicholas and internship programme manager Clare Leczycki, featured talks about life in the creative sector, myth busting, the huge variety of different roles, and career pathways.
In between the talks, the young people were split into groups to research roles in the industry and consider their own values. They also worked on an example marketing campaign, including the problem they were they trying to solve and the marketing strategy. At the end of the final day, they presented their ideas.
We were really impressed by the young people who took part. Big thanks to attendee Imani Joseph-Obiorah for sharing this great post about the first day. Click on the image to read a larger version on LinkedIn.
Here are great posts from some of the agencies about why they took part and their experiences during the events:
Nina Whittaker, Stratton Craig:
“Having discovered copywriting through a careers event myself, I know that events like Discover Creative Careers Week can genuinely change lives.
“A platform like this helps demystify the often lesser-known world of creative careers, opening minds to possibility and hopefully inspiring a new generation of talent. The whole process was imaginative, incredibly well-organised, and a privilege to be a part of. And it was easy to see that the students found it beneficial – they were engaged, curious and enthusiastic, and I was really impressed by their insightful questions, comments and feedback.”
Sally Knapton, Sunhouse Creative:
“It’s never felt more important to be supporting the creative industry and inspiring future talent is absolutely key to this. It was impressive to hear the students’ pitches off the back of three days of agency interactions – encouraging for the future of the creative industries!
“On a personal note, it took me a fair amount of trial and error to discover the brand design side of the industry even existed! So making ourselves visible and talking more about our part of the industry is something I feel really passionately about.”
Katharine Eriksson, McCann:
“McCann Bristol’s involvement with DCCW gave me the opportunity to show and say what I’d love to say to my younger schoolgirl self.
“I truly hope we managed to make an impact on the young people, show them their voices absolutely matter, and that they are welcome with open arms to the advertising industry and McCann!”
Daisy Martin, McCann:
“It was a great opportunity to bring attention to the variety of roles we have here at McCann. Hopefully, we were able to provide some insights on how advertising agency’s work and what we all get up to in our day-to-day.
“The questions at the end were really well thought out and insightful and makes me think many of the listeners would thrive in the advertising industry.”
Patrick Mbele, McCann:
“Speaking was an incredibly enjoyable experience. It was refreshing to see their genuine curiosity and enthusiasm as we talked about my role and the path I took to get here.
“Their questions were thoughtful and engaging, making the conversation lively and meaningful. I hope the session sparked some ideas and confidence in them to explore their own unique paths.”
Nick Farrar, Shaped By:
“We have a number of work experience students here each year and we’re always really enthused at how genuine and enthusiastic young people are about what our sector can offer.
“Inviting people into your studio is always good fun, it’s an investment of time that we never regret, but it was great to have a chance to reach a much wider audience for a short amount of time. Giving them access to a wide range of agencies over a two-day period is a top opportunity.”
Richard Spruce, Stuff Advertising:
“It was great to be involved in DCCW and I was really impressed with the students.
“To see how far they had come in a matter of days was quite incredible and speaks volumes to their attitude and all of the great help and advice Bristol Creative Industries had been able to offer them.”
A key focus at Bristol Creative Industries is boosting workforce diversity in creative businesses and helping to grow the talent pipeline for our members.
Find out more about our intiatives here.
Launched with a successful pilot in 2023, the Bristol Creative Industries programme, in partnership with Babbasa, is aimed at young people aged 18-30 from under-represented backgrounds who want to gain more insight and real experience in the creative industries.
Brilliant agencies from the Bristol Creative Industries member community provide paid placements for the interns over six months.
The structure of the internship programme means that our interns spend Monday to Thursday working within the agencies and come together as a cohort on a Friday for a skills and training day.
The Friday sessions allow them to reflect on their internship experiences and pick up a range of other skills such as CV writing, building brilliant LinkedIn profiles, networking, how to navigate the workplace, and developing healthy work habits.
Other sessions were focused on technical skills and included managing a creative brief, digital accessibility, data analytics and SEO. As part of the programme, the group also attended the Building Brands Conference and worked on social media for Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
Alongside the practical skills sessions, this year’s cohort was tasked with working on a live brief to develop a suite of material that could be used to educate, inform and inspire other young people considering a career in the creative industries.
Often, opportunities in the creative sector pass young people by, simply because they don’t know enough about the sector and the wealth of opportunities available. Across the region, we know that BCI members are worried about the potential long term skills shortages and a lack of diversity within the sector. To address this we need to get the creative industries in the minds of young people much earlier so that they view the creative industries as a viable and fulfilling career choice.
The live brief allowed the interns to work as a team, showcase and develop their skills and specialisms, and produce work they could include in their portfolios going forward. It’s also a lasting legacy that we can build on to support our outreach activities with local schools, colleges and universities.
“Create engaging and informative promotional materials aimed at young people interested in entering the creative industries (specifically creative agencies). These materials should explore and explain various job roles and required skill sets within the industry.”
The group began by discussing the brief and fleshing out the nuances and areas they wanted to focus on. Getting into the creative industry for a young person, particularly from an under-represented group, can be challenging, so we were keen to use this opportunity to create some assets and resources that would help young people better understand the different roles and departments with a creative agency.
The group split into groups (based on their individual strengths) to develop the strategy and research, production elements (filming and interviews), and design the digital assets.
As part of the initial research, the strategy team looked at the importance of diversity in the creative industries. Based on their own experiences and some further research, they explored some of the reasons why young people can find it hard to get into the industry.
They also undertook some research into some of the potential barriers to entry for young people whilst also exploring why diversity is so important in creative teams.
In order to address some of these issues to demystify what it means to work in a creative agency, the interns looked at the different team structures, job roles and types of projects, campaigns and products that are produced.
From their own experiences and their research, the team felt representation was key in promoting these job roles to the next generation of talent. They selected six people from the BCI membership, all from diverse backgrounds, to share their insights, pathways, and top tips for working in a digital agency.
As part of their campaign, the team were keen to create an impact to:
They decided to create three different assets:
The film crew sourced equipment, put together a production schedule and interview questions, and spent two days visiting our guest interviewees in their place of work gathering content. It was an intense shoot but everyone worked as a team and played to their strengths. They captured six interviews which then needed to be edited and shaped into bitesize content.
The interviewees were:
Meanwhile, the design team made the digital assets that the content would feed into, creating infographics, and social media post templates. They used the BCI branding as a guide but wanted to bring in elements to make sure the designs appealed to a young audience and were both inclusive and representative.
Job roles within a creative agency:
Instagram carousel:
Social media posts:
Once the interviews were complete, the team spent time pulling out the key quotes and messaging that could then be used for some social media posts which included top tips for working in the industry, pathways to creative careers, potential barriers to work, and the importance of diversity in the sector.
Webpage wireframe examples:
As part of their workflow, the group presented their research and designs back to the BCI team for feedback and suggestions. We are so impressed with their work and are keen to use it to create a resource pack we can send out to education providers and youth groups to help spread the word about creative jobs.
Watch the final film here:
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
The interns will soon complete their Bristol Creative Industries internship placements and are looking for their next opportunity. If you have a role that you think may be suitable for one of this year’s interns, please get in touch with clare@bristolcreativeindustries.com asap before they get snapped up!
Here are some useful resources to help young people find opportunities in the creative industries, including internships and junior level roles:
You need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationNotifications