Aprimary
Awaken
High-energy sessions that spark early curiosity and confidence in what they can actually achieve.
the briefbranding · promo design
C4DI came to me with a problem the whole region can feel: the Humber keeps growing brilliant young people, then watches them leave. The Academy is the answer to that. A tech, digital and entrepreneurship programme built to show kids a future worth sticking around for. My job was the part that makes them look twice: the brand, and the promo that carries it.
the problem
a future worth sticking around for
The line came straight from C4DI, and it's the whole brief in a sentence: we shouldn't expect our best talent to stay in the Humber if we don't show them a future worth sticking around for.
The Academy is built to change that. Developed by C4DI, it runs age-appropriate sessions around tech, digital and entrepreneurship, sitting alongside school to show young people alternative ways to learn, grow, and see what is actually possible in our region.
So the brand had a job most education branding ducks: it couldn't look like school. It had to feel like something kids want in on, that a sponsor takes seriously, and that holds up on a primary-school wall and a boardroom pitch alike. And it absolutely could not smell of homework.
the anglebuilt from the blocks up
so I built the name out of raw shapes.
The whole identity runs on one idea. The Academy hands young people the building blocks and teaches them to make something, so the logo does exactly that in front of you. Every letter in the wordmark is constructed from primitive shapes: triangles, arcs, bars, squares. Raw parts, assembled.
It reads as ambition. Loud, modern, a little rebellious, the opposite of a worksheet. Up close it breaks back down into the pieces it was built from, which is the point: this is what we do here.
the wordmark, assembled
the kitone system, every surface
a flexible set of marks.
The full lockup for the hero moments, a clean wordmark for the long haul, a symbol for the small spaces, and a single building block to sign off the rest. Electric pink, deep indigo, and a dusting of grit hold it all together.
the full lockup
the bracketed mark
the wordmark
the symbol
the building block
the journeyawaken · create · develop · master
four stages. and yes, they spell it back to you.
The programme grows with the learner, from a primary-school spark to a young founder pitching for real. Awaken, Create, Develop, Master: the four stages even read the brand back, ACDM, the same letters the wordmark is built from.
Csecondary
Create
Business as a game. Learners take active roles, have to turn a profit, and deal with unexpected commercial curveballs, all built around real local opportunities.
Dsecondary / college
Develop
The practical side of business: the common sense, resilience and problem-solving that give young people a distinct edge, whatever they go on to do.
M18 to 24
Master
A supported space to build a network with driven peers, pitch ideas, access mentors, navigate real startup development, and learn the exact skills needed to scale.
get involvedthree ways in
a community, with a stake in the region.
The promo had one distinction to land, because it changes who says yes: backing the Academy is a stake in the region's own economy. Sponsors fund an investment here, and the promo had to stop them reading it as charity. So I split it into three clear ways to back the work.
01
Sponsor
Tiered levels, from backing a single workshop or a full category to underwriting the regional rollout.
02
Mentor
Share the real-world experiences, the failures and the wins, directly with the next generation.
03
Support
Host a workshop challenge, advocate for the programme, or open your industry network to help learners scale.
in the wildthe brand, working
built to work everywhere.
A pull-up banner for the room, a flyer for the hand, a hero for the screen. Same loud system, holding its nerve from a school hall to a sponsor's inbox.
the manifesto
We aren't a charity project looking for a handout.
We're a community of specialists, startups and employers, building a stronger economic foundation for the entire Humber region.
the line the whole brand defendsone region, in their corner
A full identity and a promo kit that takes a regional ambition and makes it look inevitable: a programme young people want to join and partners want to back. The angle was simple in the end: show the Humber what staying could look like, instead of asking it for a favour.