Last week at Explosive Brands, we had an exciting opportunity outside our usual day-to-day: hosting a design workshop for a group of curious 13–14-year-old students from Bucksmore in conjunction with Meducators. Led by our own Johnny Isaacs, the workshop provided the young participants with a foundational understanding of user experience design and its various disciplines.
The students were challenged to identify a product need, create user personas, and then design a solution using rapid brainstorming techniques. The results were truly impressive - the ideas they came up with covered a range of important topics like mental health support, medication interaction tracking, and accessibility solutions for the elderly.
"I was so impressed with the different solutions that the students came up with," said Johnny. "Things like a mental health app connecting young people to vetted professionals, or a monitor for self-harm - the level of detail and empathy in their designs was way beyond what I would have expected from 13-year-olds."
The workshop also gave the students a chance to get hands-on experience with design tools and processes, as well as interact directly with the Explosive Brands team. They particularly enjoyed using the recording studio to pitch their final concepts in the style of a podcast.
"The students loved getting to use the recording equipment and do the podcasting," Johnny noted. "They also really valued the opportunity to meet our team and learn about the diverse backgrounds and experiences we all bring to the creative process."
Overall, the workshop was a resounding success, showcasing the incredible talent and potential of the next generation of designers.
It's a great example of how Explosive Brands is committed to nurturing young creatives and providing meaningful learning experiences.
Reyna Sandhar, the Activity Counsellor, who was at the Industry Day sent us a heart-warming message with her feedback.
“A huge thank you to Johnny at Explosive Designs for running such a brilliant day for our Bucksmore graphic designers. They especially loved using the professional podcast cameras and mics for their projects and getting the chance to chat with other designers at the company. The whole day ran smoothly and was a big hit all round!”
We're already looking forward to hosting more workshops like this in the future. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming events!