City student Robert's prestigious design award

Robert Traxon, aged 21, is a winner in the D&AD New Blood Awards, which celebrates outstanding work in the design and advertising industry.

The awards comprise industry standard briefs set by global brands, and attract submissions from graduates and the under 24s around the world. Robert, of Heeley, has just completed the new BA Honours Level 6 Creative Practice course at The Sheffield College’s Hillsborough campus, on Livesey Street, in the new £8.8 million creative industries facilities.

Robert said: “There is no greater reward for a designer than to see their work appreciated by other industry professionals, and winning this coveted award is a wonderful end to my time at college.

“I’ve had incredible teaching, encouragement and guidance from my college tutors who have helped me to develop my skills and knowledge of design. It’s great to see how far I’ve progressed.”

And in a double whammy, Robert - who has just started working as a designer for Twinkl, a teaching resource company in Sheffield - he has also been put forward for consideration for a second and third award: the group category winner and the overall winner. Robert’s submission was in response to a brief set by Shutterstock to capture dramatic narrative in everyday reality, and was developed as part of his college course. Robert chose the archetypes of war, greed and violence and created 20-second animations of each in a video game format to show how these issues can be controlled or stopped by humans.

Graphic design lecturer Paul Clarkson said: “The D&AD Awards are the highest accolade you can get in the industry, attracting professionals and students from the world’s best art and design colleges and universities. Winning a New Blood Pencil is an instant validation of Robert’s talent, which will give him a significant head start on his career.”

The Sheffield College principal Heather Smith added: “I want to congratulate Robert on this outstanding success and recognise the high quality teaching that he has received from our talented staff. We ensure that students get the industry relevant skills they need to progress in their careers, as this award demonstrates.”