On Tuesday 13th November 2018, we visited Woodford County Grammar School for Girls for BIMA: Digital Day - a yearly programme catered towards students, aged 13-16, to gain insight into the digital industry.
BIMA is a non-profit organisation championing innovation and growth within the digital industry across the UK. Each year a number of agencies are invited back to school to share their knowledge and experience of working within the digital sector. We at Dsgn & Co were tasked with designing a workshop around the wide range of careers available within the digital industry.
A misconception is that digital is a very niche industry, one that is enforced by a lack of understanding amongst parents and student in general. Whereas there are a variety of roles available to explore. Our intention was to open their eyes to the range of avenues they could take up e.g. digital marketing, social media, AI, tech etc.
Our intention was to give the students a full-rounded idea of a day-to-day in a digital agency through a four-stage journey; discovery, develop, design and deliver.
During the second half of the day, BIMA had given us three briefs to respond to however, we selected two briefs that the students were excited to do.
Vodafone
Design a tool using either AR (augmented reality) or VR (virtual reality) technology that.
Will change the way we shop for food, fashion and homeware on the high street. Think about how you could attract more people into the shops with a new experience, more information or a fun spin on a boring task! Brings the high street shopping experience to remote, busy and/or disabled customers.
BBC
Develop a marketing idea to promote the new series - think about creating a big impact, inspiring the audience and getting people to tune in every week. Let your imagination run free, using new or traditional forms of media, or even experiences.
“It was a pleasure teaching 60 students the different career choice that is out there for them, especially as the students were all girls, and from my experience, I was brought up to believe certain industries embodied a perception that these roles are only for men. Seeing the girls get stuck into the brief was definitely encouraging and I felt honoured to have shared my excitement of work with them.”
- Jennifer Falowo, Creative Partner at Dsgn & Co.
We had split the students into groups, where they had the opportunity to build and develop their ideas. Towards the end of the day, we had judged all groups on how well they responded to the given brief. With three finalists, we had selected a group that demonstrated innovative-thinking, strategy, and creativity.
Overall, our intention was to give the students a full-rounded idea of what a typical day-to-day life is like in a digital agency through a three-stage journey - a better way to show and demonstrate to them the depth of the industry.
