Creative Industries students leave their mark with new sixth-floor mural

Creative Industries students have helped transform the sixth floor of City Campus with a vibrant new mural celebrating creativity, collaboration and community.

The artwork grew from The Big Draw, a collaborative student induction project held in the Ralph Cowan Gallery at the start of Academic Year 2025-26. Students from across the Faculty were invited to create large-scale drawings and words inspired by their College journey, collaboration, diversity and their chosen subjects.

Using huge sheets of paper and chunky markers, students were encouraged to think big and leave their mark. Their drawings included stairs representing progression, flowers symbolising personal growth, and stars, thumbs up and explosions capturing positivity. Interconnected patterns explored diversity, while figures holding hands celebrated community.

The drawings also included references to different areas of study, from ones and zeroes representing digital subjects to a hammer and nail from Furniture and a paintbrush for Visual Arts.

Amy Whiten, Curriculum Head of Visual Communication and Graphic Design and Illustration, said: “We used a tried and tested approach of bringing people together to collaboratively create drawings that reflected their experiences, ideas and community.

“This was a faculty-wide project that brought together students, lecturers, the Design Team and a work experience opportunity for Charlie. We are very proud of both the process and the outcome.”

The project also provided valuable industry experience for Charlie Kerr, a fourth-year Design Practice degree student, who worked with Recoat to develop the students’ ideas into mural-ready graphics.

Charlie photographed the original drawings, selected and digitally isolated suitable elements, and explored different compositions, scales and layouts before creating the final graphics.

Charlie said: “This was a highly valuable opportunity to gain experience working with real clients on a real brief. I reviewed more than 25 long scrolls of drawings and selected illustrations that were relevant and visually suitable for the installation.

“Seeing the design come to fruition has been incredibly gratifying, and I’m proud of the final design and outcome.”

The College’s Design Team then refined the final compositions and prepared the artwork for print and installation.

Installed in July, the finished mural now provides a colourful welcome to the sixth-floor gateway and surrounding areas, reflecting the creativity and diversity of the Faculty’s subjects.

It also leaves a lasting reminder of the ideas and creativity of the students who helped bring it to life, while welcoming a new generation of Creative Industries students as they begin their own College journey.