A Coleg Gwent student has made her public debut as an artist in style – on billboards around the UK after winning an art competition.
A Level Graphics student Lauren Goodland, 17 from Newport, was among 10 winners of a Bournemouth Arts College competition entitled ‘Who are You?’. Lauren secured a place for her work at an exhibition in Bournemouth as well as on billboards in towns and cities across the UK including Bristol, Portsmouth, Weston-Super-Mare, Worthing, and Lauren’s hometown, Newport.
Lauren entered the competition whilst completing her final A Level graphic design project at Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys Campus, and is delighted by her success: “When I found out I was just so happy,” she said.
“It was really a shock to me as I didn’t believe in myself or even think that I could win.
It took a while to sink in, it wasn’t really until I actually saw the billboards up that I realized how lucky I was to have my work super-sized!”
Working to the competition brief, Lauren came up with a list of key words relating to her personality and used graphic design software to form the central part of her work.
“I decided my entry would be typography based, as I’d studied this type of work for my final year graphic course work. I chose quite a simplistic design which is unusual for me, as my work is often quite busy, but I decided to try something new and it paid off.”
Lauren’s graphics lecturer at Coleg Gwent, Leander Parker, said: “We are all so pleased for Lauren to have won in this competition.
“She’s a naturally creative student who is always bubbling over with ideas, and her dedication enabled her technical skills to really develop throughout the course.”
As well as expanding her portfolio, the experience has also been an opportunity for Lauren to develop many different skills: “I think it’s important these days to have experiences that make you stand out,” she said.
“Entering this competition has given me confidence and I now believe in myself. The brief was quite a personal one, so knowing that people are looking at the billboards and reading about who I am is quite strange, but on the other hand it’s really great, and I feel proud.”
The talented student will be going to University of Wales, Newport in September to study Art Foundation in Art, Design & Media. “I really can’t wait to continue my studies in art,” she said. “I hope to keep developing my skills on the foundation course, and then to go on to study a degree in Graphic Design.”
