#Fresh Start Festival #Impact #Student talent

An interview with student designer Berlinda Kuo

If you came along to the Fresh Start Festival in January, chances are you saw plenty of striking red and yellow branding splashed across campus. Those designs were the work of student Berlinda Kuo, who’s currently completing her MA here at Leeds. Berlinda’s design concept was chosen after a competitive pitch process, which featured plenty of excellent examples of work from our student community.

At LUU, we’re all about preparing students for their future, whether that’s through providing ongoing employment and voluntary opportunities, or by harnessing student talent on one-off projects for major campus events and campaigns. Here, we chatted to Berlinda about working with LUU, what it was like seeing her designs across campus, and how her involvement in the project will help achieve her future career goals.

What’s your education and work background so far? How did that play into the work you completed for the Fresh Start Festival?

I did my undergrad degree in BA Design Studies concentrating on Graphic Design in the States, and I am currently enrolled in MA Advertising and Design (MAAD) here in Leeds. I also have multiple work experiences in design. I utilized the skills and knowledge that I gained from these experiences during my pitching and design process.

What was it like designing the visuals for LUU and UoL? Did you enjoy the process of working with your Union and University?

It was exciting! I never thought I could work with LUU and UoL. Before, I always thought I should only focus on getting good grades in my studies. But this time I told myself, “Why not try out something else? It will be a great experience besides studying.” I’m glad that I took the chance to step out from my comfort zone to work with the Union and University. Even though it’s a short-term project, I enjoyed and learned a lot from the process.

What was the inspiration for the approach you took to your designs?

I read the reviews of students’ experience of Semester 1. Students mentioned that they had lots of fun opportunities to meet more people during Welcome Week 2021; however, it’s hard to find a group they truly connect with and belong to, especially as the semester gets busier. I took this as the inspiration for my designs. I wanted to communicate visually to students that with all the opportunities and support of Fresh Start Festival 2022, the festival would be a great chance to find their place of belonging in the university community.

An example of Berlinda Kuo’s Fresh Start Festival branding.

As a Leeds student, what was it like to see your work covering campus?

I was delighted and thankful. Seeing my designs around campus made me feel like a part of the university community. My MAAD coursemates and friends from other courses were supportive; they congratulated me and shared social media posts and pictures of my designs to others and on their social media.

At LUU one of our core aims is to help Leeds students get ready for their future. What would you like your future career to look like, and how do you think your involvement in this project will help make that a reality?

I aim to work in the creative industry, where I can pitch and create impactful ideas and designs. I appreciate how LUU and UoL see the importance of harnessing student designers, and how they include us creative students in different types of projects across campus. Through these projects, we get to develop our experiences, portfolios, and CVs.

LUU Wellbeing Officer Beth, who helped recruit the student talent for this project, commented:

“Utilising student talent was one of my objectives for this year. We have over 38,000 brilliantly talented students at this University, and I felt we needed to collaborate with them more on all the projects that we do. Fresh Start Festival was made for students, therefore I wanted them to see themselves reflected in the event. That’s why I wanted a student designer on the project, to bring the student voice into the project. Berlinda did an amazing job and I can’t wait to see what she and all the other students we have will achieve.”