Co-production in action - How Youth Concern put a young person in charge of their new brand identity

We first worked with Youth Concern way back in 2017, when we worked on their first ever brand identity.  One thing that’s always struck me about the charity (who work with young people in and around Aylesbury, Bucks - especially those facing the toughest of challenges) is that they are single minded about putting young people first.  So when they approached us 8 years later to do their rebrand, I knew that this was something that had to come through much stronger in their brand.

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Putting young people at the heart of the brief

We needed to find a way to get young people to design their visual identity. But equally we needed to make sure we delivered a professional brand identity that would be fit for purpose. Enter our partnership with Bucks New University (whose advertising and design courses are industry- renowned).  BNU were local to the charity and were keen to connect their students with real-world experience. And we wanted the brand to be conceived by and for young people. So running a student design competition was a win win!

We ran a briefing for the students, where students heard from our Creative Director,
Thad as well as me (as strategist) and our client too. They had the opportunity to ask questions and hear about the day to day of a Creative Director in the industry.  

Then after a few weeks, we held the finals of the pitch competition, where 3 aspiring student designers presented their ideas for Youth Concern’s new branding. We were blown away by the quality and creativity of all entries, but one stood out for its flexibility and differentiation.  And that was the entry from Chisom Muomah, our competition winner. 

You can read more in the case study - but in this blog, I want to shine a light on the mastermind behind the visual identity. Let’s hear from Chisom on why she got involved and what it meant to win the competition. 

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Why did you enter the Brand by Me/Youth Concern competition?

A friend encouraged me to enter because it felt like a chance to put my work out into the world and challenge myself. We don’t often get opportunities at university to work on real-life briefs for actual clients, so this felt like a way to gain that experience and see how my skills translated beyond the classroom.

What did it mean to you to have the opportunity to work on a real life branding brief?

It felt rewarding to know my work could be used in the real world. It made the project feel meaningful, and it was validating to see that my designs had a purpose beyond assessment grades.

How did it feel to take part in the live pitch session?

At first, I was nervous, especially seeing how different the other designers’ ideas were from mine. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, but in the end, it was exciting to share my thinking process and to receive feedback from Youth Concern in real time. 

What did it mean to you to win the competition?

Winning was such a proud moment. I remember FaceTiming my family straight away to tell them the news. It felt amazing to realise that others appreciated and believed in my design work.

 Anything else you’d like to say about the competition or opportunity?

This experience has been incredible. Seeing how Thad and Collette at Brand by Me developed the full brand identity from my original design has been inspiring, and it’s given me a lot of confidence moving forward as a designer.

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And that means everything to us at Brand by Me. Genuine co-production that creates opportunity and connects brands to their audiences is what we’re all about. 
So if you’re looking to co-create brilliant stuff with your biggest stakeholders then get in touch!

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If you’re looking to co-create meaningful, inclusive brands with your communities, DISMANTLE is designed to help you go even further, embedding equity, anti-racism and inclusion into your brand and leadership practice.

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Explore the series

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