UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 05 DECEMBER 2016
A university student is causing a buzz after her designs were chosen to feature on the label of a unique brand of local honey made by bees kept on the roof of Birmingham’s famous Custard Factory.
Sarah Martin-Allon, a Visual Communication student at Birmingham City University, was named the winner of a competition to create a brand for company Bee9 – believed to be the only urban bee keepers in Birmingham city centre.
The organisation, which takes its name from its B9 Digbeth postcode, installed an apiary on the roof of the independent shopping centre which is now home to more than 50,000 bees.
Bee9 contacted Birmingham City University to task design students with drawing up a number of creative artworks which could feature on their labels, posters and flyers.
Nineteen students crafted visuals which were entered into a competition for the public and students to vote for their winner.
Sarah Martin-Allon was given the sweet smell of success after being crowned the winner and her designs are now displayed on the honey pots and she has been handed a placement with acclaimed graphic designer Paul Felton.
Sarah said: “It’s really exciting and warming to know that people like and appreciate what you do. It gives you a certain pride in your work and makes you much more confident in your decisions.
“Live briefs with real opportunities are really important. Knowing that what you’re studying does hold value and a future in the real world is actually really encouraging, and projects like these allow us to gain more experience and help prepare us for life after university.
“From winning this competition alone I’ve been offered to work on some designs for a studio and have begun a placement with designer Paul Felton who is also based at The Custard Factory. I’ve been enjoying my placement, once again, because I’m constantly gaining experience and advice that makes me more self-assured about my future.”
Sarah, a regular visitor to the Custard Factory, crafted her designs to create a mixture of the vintage and modern scene of the area.
The University was a hive of activity throughout the competition with students drawing up dozens of different designs capable of fitting on to a honey jar.
Part of the money made from selling the honey will be donated to charity Bees Abroad which teaches people in third world countries to keep bees and sell hive products.
Tim Vivian, Bee9’s beekeeper, said: “Urban beekeeping is a fairly new phenomenon. London has a lot of bees in places like Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Buckingham Palace, but Brum needs to catch up.
“The honey is currently on sale in the Custard Factory reception using Sarah's artwork. We have sold almost half of the production, so anyone who wants the authentic taste of Birmingham needs to pop along to the Custard Factory reception before it has all gone.
“I was very impressed with the professionalism of the University’s Visual Communication students. They took the brief, asked pertinent and perceptive questions and came up with a wide range of designs within a short deadline.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Sarah and the University should be proud of her. She is an excellent advertisement for the university and its Visual Communication course.”