Mentoring at ECA
In the past, I mentored students from Edinburgh College of Art and Fife College during their design degree final year.
I was contacted by Beverley Hood, a lecturer at the Edinburgh College of Art School of Design, who asked me to do a session with a group of students working on a social brief called Brand Me. Having never worked with ECA before, I was really keen to get involved!
I had the pleasure of visiting the 4th-year graphic design students and presenting on how social media is intertwined in everyday life—whether we like it or not.
During the presentation, I took them through my journey in the design industry, from how it all started to where I am now, and my work as a Digital Media Producer for Whitespace. It was a lovely reminder of the progress I’ve made within the industry, the confidence I've gained to talk about my experiences at ease, and how I’ve adapted my skills to fit into each role I’ve been in.
We talked about the impact of social media on young people, with two-thirds wishing it didn't exist due to its portrayal of unrealistic lifestyles, creation of low self-esteem, and its addictive nature. Despite this, people spend around 8 hours a day consuming content online, meaning that brands and individuals have an endless need to generate content for their channels.
The presentation focused on content creation, highlighting that it should be educational, engaging, and/or emotional. We looked at campaigns like Always' #likeagirl, which has been successful since 2014, compared to Vera Bradley's recent #itsgoodtobeagirl campaign, which fell short.
We also touched on upcoming social media experiments, like Taylor Swift's The Swift Life, and how people are likely to engage with it. We discussed how fans might feel safer expressing opinions in a more private, like-minded community. I also highlighted brand partnerships, like TopShop's collaboration with Stranger Things 2, which allowed them to reach a different audience and gain new customers.
To conclude, I conducted a short Q&A session where we discussed agency life further. I explained the roles different teams at Whitespace play in creating campaigns and content for clients, touching on insights and the digital marketing role specifically in relation to social channels.
After the presentation, we moved to another area of the college and gathered in small groups where the students presented their ideas to Beverley and me. The brief was to create a social media brand for themselves as a critical exploration of the medium. They needed to show research strategies that other designers, artists, and activists had used, and come up with a plan for themselves.
Working collaboratively, Beverley and I advised on how the students could take their ideas to the next level and push the boundaries further. I was really impressed with how far they had already progressed with their projects—most of my feedback was simply a gentle nudge in the right direction, as they were already on a great path.
It was incredible to hear the different approaches each student took to the brief—all of which were fantastic and unique in their own ways. Their presentation skills were excellent, and they were able to convey their ideas clearly and confidently—a great starting point for working in the creative industries.
Wherever possible, I plan to continue giving back to the creative industries by mentoring, coaching, and running sessions, ensuring that students don’t feel distanced from agency life. Many thanks to Beverley and the students for having me in, and a big thank you to my former lecturer, Mike Inglis, for recommending me for the session.
“Sarah came into Edinburgh College of Art, to work with our 4th Year undergraduate and postgraduate Graphic Design students on a social media project. She gave a really interesting lecture, which was very informative for the students about social media strategies, the campaigns she’d been involved in and agency life.
She then spent time in the graphic design studio, giving the students feedback on their individual social media self-branding projects. Sarah’s feedback was insightful, pertinent and expanded the scope of the students projects, both technically and in their relevance to the context of social media.
Sarah’s time with the students was an invaluable aspect of this project and she was extremely capable. I would highly recommend her for any future student engagement opportunities”
