Gemma comes first

A University of Teesside student has won a national prize worth more than £1000 in recognition of her design talents.

Gemma Whitfield, 19, from Stockton-on-Tees, won first prize in the national Point of Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI) awards for her design of a stand to promote a range of skin care products.

Now in the second year of the BA (Hons) Design Marketing degree, Gemma entered the competition while in her first year and fought off stiff competition from more experienced students across the country. The competition challenged the students to design a branded promotional stand of the type often found in shops and supermarkets.

Gemma said: “The competition offered us the choice of four different briefs to create the designs for the promotional stands. I chose the brief to design a stand for women’s products and decided that I would base it around the Simple Skincare range. I based the appearance of the design on the brand’s logo and tried to make the stand as appealing as possible.

“I was really surprised to win, especially as I beat some much more experienced designers. The prize-giving was held at the Hilton Hotel in London and was a fantastic night. As well as the trophy, I also received £1100 in prize money, which I’ll use for driving lessons and to buy a car. The only bad point was when I fell over after picking up the trophy!

“I prefer this type of design-led art to fine art. I like the research and there are lots of options for a career. I really enjoy point of purchase, packaging and product design, as well as marketing. When I graduate I think I’d like to go into brand management, but there is plenty of time yet to make sure what I want.”

Gemma is a former student of Ian Ramsey School and Cleveland College of Art and Design and is the first in her immediate family to attend university.

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