Wrap to Win

A second year HND Graphic Design student has scooped first prize and £200, in a competition which will see her ‘design in motion’ vehicle wrap concept feature on a fleet of vehicles belonging to leading Civil Engineering Company, Hewlett.

‘Wrap-star’, Lauren Woodhall (20) won the competition with her design that was inspired by her experience working part-time for a construction firm and love for incorporating silhouettes in her designs. By capitalising on her training at the Roland DG sign making and print facilities at the College’s Green Lane Campus, Lauren created an innovative and dynamic vehicle graphic that caught the attention of Hewlett.

Steve Vickers, Training Manager at Hewlett explained: “Our vans are a moving advert for the company. They advertise our presence and act as an effective marketing tool. However, unless you know who Hewlett is and what we do then they are unlikely to generate any interest.

“We approached the students at Walsall College to come up with a design that would make our vans stand out from the crowd, with visual impact. We were very impressed by the quality of entries and had difficulty choosing the winning design, which exceeded all our expectations. It reflects the corporate image of Hewlett, takes the theme of construction in motion and illustrates the diverse range of Hewlett’s capabilities and services as part of a vibrant landscape. We hope this will be the first of many such design competitions with Walsall College.”

Winner, Lauren Woodhall commented: “I’m thrilled to have won this competition. Hewlett is an established business with a diverse set of services and I wanted to ensure my design effectively represented the ethos of the company, as well as the type of work it does. I wanted to incorporate the key elements of branding and highlight the distinguishing and identifiable characteristics of the business, to create a one-of-a-kind design for the vehicle wrap.

“I have always had a strong interest in art and design, with a particular interest in a career in graphic design. The HND Graphic Design course at Walsall College has really developed my design and creativity skills, and I am looking forward to graduating with the hope that I can establish myself as a credible freelancer with my own design studio.”

Project and Course tutor Kevin Myler commented: “The learners have undertaken training at our Roland facilities over the current year, including experience of vehicle wrap design, which has become a key marketing and publicity asset for many companies in getting their message across. Working with David Butler and the Roland team, they have seen the importance of getting the job right, so that their work can be used in the outside world, not just as a colourful sketch on a layout pad or on a screen.”

Lauren’s HND Course Leader Jo Champion commented: “We are extremely proud of Lauren’s achievements. Her design quality and commitment embody the standards and ethos of the HE Graphics provision as the next stop to employment, or to final year of Degree study. Lauren has won design competitions before and it is this kind of achievement that helps to give her and her peers an edge in the hunt for full time design employment.”

Hewlett has been so impressed with the design entries that the company intends to adopt a series of unique designs over time for use on their vans.