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UK paper distributor, PaperCo, with the co-sponsorship of Avery Dennison Graphics Division Europe, has provided the opportunity for 60 graphic design students to exhibit their work at London’s renowned Delfina Gallery. The work comprises original concepts created by the students as part of their BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree courses in response to commercial-style briefs, set jointly by PaperCo and Avery Dennison.

The two briefs called for an on-desk business gift, to be produced majoring on the use of paper, and a creative promotional application for Avery Dennison’s Fasson-brand

self-adhesive sheet materials. They provided detailed specifications against which the second-year students’ submissions could be marked by their course tutors.

Prior to the Delfina Gallery "Brief Encounters" exhibition, six responses to each brief were selected independently for special recognition by a panel of judges which included the distinguished designer, Brian Webb, and Russell Thompson, production director of the Merchant Group.

Gold, Silver, Bronze and Highly Commended Award certificates were then presented at the Brief Encounters exhibition by Alistair Gough, managing director of PaperCo, and Helen Saunders, vice president and general manager Avery Dennison Graphics Division, Europe.

The 60 students who responded to the PaperCo and Avery Dennison briefs were from Norwich School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University School of Art & Design, Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication and the University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom.

The detailed briefs were prepared by PaperCo's corporate relations manager, Veronica Heaven, in collaboration with Dave Gwyther, Avery Dennison Graphics Division sales manager for the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. Veronica and PaperCo specification sales executive, Angela Fletcher, then worked closely with the course tutors at the four colleges to ensure the students were sufficiently primed to make the most of the exercise.

'As one of the UK’s top paper suppliers, we are very well aware of the constraints and disciplines within which today’s graphic designers must work to achieve in print the results they – and their clients – desire,' says Veronica Heaven, 'So we devised Brief Encounters as a meaningful exercise to give students practical help in preparing for these rigours.

'Our briefs were carbon copies of what we would have prepared for a professional design agency and provided a true taste of the commercial environment in which students will be working. They called for special consideration to be given to PaperCo’s business as a paper and self-adhesive materials distributor and demanded careful attention in choosing the type of paper or material to be used.'

Speaking for Avery Dennison Graphics Division Europe, Helen Saunders said: 'For many years, we have been committed to supporting schools of graphic design in helping their students to become familiar with the versatility of the self-adhesive "sandwich", as we call it. So we were delighted to co-sponsor this year’s Brief Encounters initiative. We are very pleased indeed that four of the UK's top graphic design schools chose to include a self-adhesive project in their BA Honours degree course work.' Dave Gwyther, who co-prepared the briefs, agreed with this viewpoint and added: 'The competition produced a number of great awareness tools that combined practical functions with fun and some terrific visual images.'

Sallyanne Theodosiou, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at the University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom, said she believes Brief Encounters provides a great 'reality-check' for her students. 'This was the first opportunity most students had to work with a client, and approached the experience with a mixture of anticipation, anxiety; and quite a bit of fear in some instances. However, the difference in the students at the end of the module was often quite remarkable: their confidence seemed to soar as they realised their capabilities and how much they have to offer.

'PaperCo provided us with not only the opportunity to learn about their business but also how to interact with a client. The company has always been sensitive to the student position; supportive and encouraging in all their interactions with the group. We look forward to the continuing relationship and the synergy it brings.'

PaperCo is a leading UK national paper merchant, with a network of 24 sales and distribution centres and a presence close to every major city from Aberdeen to Southampton, Belfast to Ipswich. The company distributes the Fasson-brand range of sheet-fed self-adhesive materials, including the unique and world-famous Fasson Crack-Back Plus brand backing removal system, It is a member company of the international PaperlinX group of merchants, whose operations extend throughout Europe, North America, South Africa, Australasia and the Far East.

Gold – Kerry Mallett – Norwich School of Art & Design

Silver – Rhian Edwards – Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication

Bronze – Jon Garside and Chris Harlow – Norwich School of Art & Design

Highly commended – Jocasta Allwood – The University College for the Creative Arts

Elizabeth Grist – The University College for the Creative Arts

Maxwell Harrison – Nottingham Trent University School of Art

Gold – Nicholas Wright – Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication

Silver – Rebecca Parkes – The University College for the Creative Arts

Bronze – Tegan Danko – Norwich School of Art & Design

Highly Commended – Neil Alexander – The University College for the Creative Arts

Amy Forbes – Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication

Katherine Luther – The University College for the Creative Arts

Norwich School of Art & Design – Vicki Winteringham

Nottingham Trent University School of Art – Robert Harland

Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication – Finola Gaynor and Siân Cook

University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom – Sallyanne Theodosiou and Peter Hanauer