John Kelly Girls Technology College and Wayne Hemingway

Duration: Two weeks
Teacher: David Stokes
Students: Year 7

Wayne Hemingway is a cross-disciplinary designer who started out in fashion but now works for a number of different clients.

Activity

Wayne used one of his own real-life projects - a major urban redevelopment in nearby Barnet - as inspiration for his activity. He asked the students to design leisure spaces for the site to be used by all ages.

Unusually for Designers into Schools Week, after giving an introduction to how a designer operates, Wayne picked a dedicated design team of 12 pupils to work full time on the project for two weeks. The students had to take the task as seriously as a professional. One even got the sack for being late, the teacher saying: 'You can't work in design for just an hour and a half'.

The team began by interviewing local residents and then worked collaboratively on designs that met the needs and desires they had uncovered, using techniques such as speed designing, which gives the students five minutes to design and review the idea, ensuring they come up with lots of unusual ideas before cherry-picking the best. The students made models of their ideas, paying attention to scale. The finished work was presented to Barnet Council.

Feedback

Designer

Quoting Whitney Houston, Wayne said of his reasons for participating in the Week: 'Children are our future, let them show the way'. He explained that kids can be very creative and that gave him satisfaction. 'I feel like I'm giving something back' he said. 'The kids actually enjoy it if it's a good project. D&T courses are usually about ticking boxes, which is truly wrong. I hope I've taught them that it's not just about drawing, it's about thinking outside the box.'

Teacher

'The main aim of the project was to get the students working in an environment like a real design practice,' said David. 'It's important for them to experience all aspects of designing. It was great that Wayne talked about determination and how you have to work really hard.'

Students

Amy said: 'It was like a dream. I can't believe we impressed him. I realised you can't stick to one idea, you have to develop it and that you're not always handed the ideal opportunity in life, you have to get it for yourself.'

Beatrice added: 'If you really put your mind to something you can do it.'