Pandemic lockdown fails to dim students’ creative powers

Creative students from the University of Northampton have overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to produce some brilliant work in lockdown.

The lockdown came just as final year Graphic Communication students were working on the most important project of their three years at university.

Being asked to leave campus and to not return wasn’t exactly the ideal situation for those developing their final year projects – but they turned the situation to their advantage to produce some stunning work.

You can see their final year projects, Designed By Humans, online.

Programme Leader, Trevor Brown, has paid tribute to his students with this foreword on the website:

“The year of 2020 will sadly be remembered for one thing. COVID-19. We can’t sugar coat it. It has affected all our lives.

But the Class of 2020 will be remembered for something quite different. In late March, this graduating third year was asked to leave the campus and to not return.

How did they do this? They did it with calm resilience and maturity.

The challenge to remain engaged, positive and enthusiastic about their final projects from the isolation or hustle and bustle of their bedrooms, studies, kitchens and dining rooms can’t be underestimated.

The uncertainty of tomorrow, next week and next month looms over us all, but looms large for the class of 2020 as their three years of university comes to a truly unorthodox end.

Unorthodox yes, but their skills have not been diminished, their creative powers are undimmed, and they have inadvertently developed some very powerful abilities; to swiftly and gracefully change and adapt in the face of adversity, to find strength in their own powers of self-belief and motivation, and to continue to create in order to create paths for their futures.

This Designed by Humans collection is a perfect example of human endeavour. The work here demonstrates their personal signatures and styles but demonstrates much, much more. It would have been easy to give up, but these graduates chose to keep their eye on the future and kept designing to ensure they would, when the world returns to some form of normality, have the future that they had been designed for.

Well done for navigating this challenging time with poise and understanding.”

Scroll down to see some of the students’ work

Chelsie Ellis

Evelina Ulickaite

Isabella Kampstra.

Jake Marshall-Hopkins

Jordan Smith

Kyle Thompson

Matt Beard