The Brief
At the end of 2022, footwear retailer schuh and footwear brand Converse approached London College of Communication (LCC) looking to collaborate with our students to produce a creative identity for a music event at Elephant and Castle’s iconic music venue Corsica Studios, as part of schuh’s series of Student Sessions live music events.
As both schuh and Converse are brands fuelled by creativity, they are always on the lookout for what’s next creatively which is why it was important for them to work directly with the next generation of creative talent. By collaborating with LCC students, they were looking to give this Student Session event a unique look and feel, and create an unforgettable experience for students, by students.
Our Approach
Employed through our university’s recruitment agency ArtsTemps, 4 LCC students from a diversity of year groups and courses ranging from Graphic Media Design to Photography were brought together to work on this ambitious client brief.
The students joined forces to produce the Leave Your Mark campaign:
Welcome to the world of the creative rebels and the disruptors. We don’t shy away from expressing our creative selves. We don’t believe in conforming. We believe in creating – a new path, a new adventure and our own vibrant identities. If it doesn’t exist, we create it for ourselves. In a culturally diverse and happening city like London, each of us is having a unique experience. Let’s embrace diversity. Walk a day in my shoes.
Over the course of 3 weeks, students were supported by schuh and Converse to create a suite of digital and physical assets to promote this edition of the Student Session event. The visual identity was inspired by the DIY culture that resonates with their target group of 18-25 year old students, reflecting the unique experience of students in a culturally diverse city like London. Capturing elements often seen whilst walking through the streets of London, the identity used graffiti marks, tape, stickers, shoe prints and doodles throughout. The students also developed a series of onsite activations to bring the event to life and create a memorable experience for attendees.
The Result
The promotional assets were used by LCC, schuh, Converse and participating musicians, achieving 41,500+ impressions on social media, and the event was also promoted on the the DICE ticketing platform across their emails, newsletters and website. schuh also promoted the student’s animation assets in their London stores, including their Oxford Street flagship store. All of this resulted in the event selling out an entire week before its ticket sales deadline.
The Leave Your Mark campaign came to life during the event itself:
- A world map mural encouraged attendees to show where they’re from by leaving their mark through a mini-shoe print stamp. This created a collaborative piece of art that showcased how culturally diverse London is. The group collaborated with a graffiti artist from Soulful Creative to personalize tote bags for attendees, who also received a free branded powerbank.
- Branded polaroid pictures captured the night’s revelries and served as a memento from the evening.
- Staff wore branded t-shirts using the campaign’s visual identity, while animations and motion graphics were projected behind the musicians during their sets.
schuh and Converse were keen to expand upon their efforts to involve students in this event and recruited 3 DJs from within the LCC student community to also play alongside the featured up and coming artists.
A video of the event, captured and produced by another LCC student, was created to share across the schuh, Converse and LCC social media accounts, providing another opportunity to enrich the UAL student experience and provide a platform for their work.
Impact
Learning how to apply creative skills to real-world scenarios is key to developing as a creative professional. By connecting students with industry, the students involved were able to explore commercial design, the joy of translating ideas from screen to print, and the importance of honing collaboration skills when working across industry-oriented projects. Taking part in these kinds of projects is also proven to improve student's employability skills and stimulate career opportunities.
Now more than ever, young consumers are looking for authentic connections with brands. By creating an event for students by students, both schuh and Converse were able to talk directly to and in the language of their core audience thanks to our LCC students. The brands have shown a commitment to nurturing the next generation of talent and championing diverse voices in their work, while giving students the opportunity to gain experience and take their first steps towards their future careers.
Meet the students who took part in the project and learn about their experience.