Second year students from University Centre St Helens Graphic Design degree course have collaborated with a Heritage Project team from Liverpool St Helens (LSH) Football Club, to produce a unified set of visual branding materials for a new upcoming exhibition on the Birth of Club Rugby.
The project was delivered as a live brief to the Graphic Design degree students, but due to the size, scale and nature of the project, the students were required to operate and function as a design agency. This involved setting up sub-groups to focus upon different elements of the project and allocating specific roles and responsibilities.
The students set to work to pull together all exhibition visuals, including a brand for the project, including, a logo, a large scale exhibition panels for the touring exhibition, a 52-page booklet documenting the history of the club, an education resource pack for schools and an activity sheet for children visiting the exhibition.
The second year of their degree introduces students to a range of research skills and techniques, all of which students have utilised during this project. Collating archival documents and pictures from throughout the club’s rich history to aid them in their digital designs. The work produced will contribute to the students ‘work-related learning’ and ‘studio practice’ modules, as well as growing their personal portfolios, something which they can take with them to future employers as they transition into a career in the industry.
The Liverpool St Helens Football Club was awarded a grant of £75,700 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to support a project that celebrates the unique history of the club and its status as the oldest open rugby club in the world. The project explores the LSH club archive and the delivery of a range of outreach activities to share this heritage as widely as possible. This outreach activity includes; a small touring exhibition, a publication, a new website and workshops in schools.
The exhibition will tell the story of the birth of the club and its development up to the present day. It won’t only focus on the heritage of the club, but also the development of the game, kit and key players. This inspired the work of the graphic design students who embraced this in their work, which incorporates the regions historic emblems, along with nostalgic photographs of the club stretching from the 1920s right through to the game we see today.
Dan McBride, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Graphic Design, said: “The project presented an invaluable opportunity to students, not only being able to work as part of team, but also got to experience the realistic demands of industry, liaising with clients, presenting ideas and concepts, formatting for production and meeting deadlines. We welcome the opportunity for future collaborations involving industry and community partnerships.”
John Williams, LSH Heritage Project Director, said “The University Centre St Helens students have made a really valuable contribution to the project. In addition to producing quality designs being used in the exhibition they brought a much needed fresh perspective to the club’s history. We have enjoyed and benefited from working with them!”.
The exhibition will officially launch Thursday 8th February at 1:00pm in Parr Library with the Mayor of St Helens and Ray French (LSH President) leading the launch. The exhibition will travel to various venues across the borough, before its final appearance at Liverpool Central Library in June. For more information visit The Birth Of Club Rugby – The History And Heritage Of Liverpool St Helens FC
The Graphic Design course offered at University Centre St Helens is validated by the University of Chester. It aims to provide a fulfilling and stimulating experience, where students will learn in dedicated light and spacious state-of-the-art studio, learning the latest industry software and technology. It’s not too late to apply to University Centre St Helens for September 2018. Visit uc.sthelens.ac.uk to find out more.
