Students illustrate the reasons why Northampton’s a digital destination

The stories of some of Northamptonshire’s digital innovators have been brought to life by artistic students from the county’s University.

Twelve students on the Illustration course at the University of Northampton have produced animations that tell the stories of people who have made a positive impact on a bid to build a digital community in the county.

They were set the challenge by Digital Northampton, a professional network co-founded by the University and Northamptonshire County Council, which raises the profile of local tech businesses.

You can watch all 12 animations on the YouTube playlist, including the one below, by student Deimante Judickaite, who told the story of Clare Elsby, who is head of marketing and business development at accountancy firm Elsby & Co.

Scroll down to watch more of the videos.

Clare said: “I was thrilled with Deimante’s animation. We didn’t actually get to meet as this was planned just before lockdown, so she had very little to go on and captured my role and my relationship with Digital Northampton perfectly.

“I am always impressed with how Digital Northampton brings together business and creative talents, to showcase the skills and opportunities in the county. This initiative shines a spotlight on those who have been involved so far and shows how we now have a wide-ranging forum to share ideas, discuss issues and really build a digital community for everyone’s benefit.”

The videos were commissioned to help promote #MergedFutures2020, Digital Northampton’s second annual tech innovation showcase, which takes place on Friday 12 June. Originally planned to be held at Waterside campus, #MergedFutures will now be a completely online experience – find out more and register to attend.

Zoe Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Illustration, said: “I was fascinated to hear Richard Beards, from Digital Northampton, talk about the stories of local people who were innovating with digital tech in weird and wonderful ways.

“Illustration seemed like the ideal medium for bringing these stories to life and disseminating them and the project was born!”

Watch all of the videos, below.