As part of my Foundation course, we have undertaken a live brief. We had two option between the Hereford based charity HOPE, who work with young people to help them with troubling times, and an infection prevention campaign with Hereford and Wye hospital focusing on hand washing.
I choose to work on the hospital's campaign because recently members of my family have been taken into hospital due to infections. As I had a clear interest in this project I thought that I would have many ideas to present to them, however for the first day I had nothing. To gain some inspiration I decided to look at previous campaigns by the NHS, which gave me a clear indication that I wanted to do more than just a poster.
From looking at previous campaigns, I decided to take inspiration from the posters with the multi-coloured hand prints, and try to make them more interactive, and in turn a stronger campaign. This is when I started looking at heat transfer materials and how they could be used in the campaign.
And so I had the idea that I could use heat responsive resins and varnishes on door handles, taps, bed frames, or anything else that you can come into contact. The idea is that once people realise how quickly heat transfers it would prompt them to realise that bacteria can be transferred in a similar way; the hope would be that they would then go and wash their hands and/or be more aware of how regularly they should wash them.
This project was a rollercoaster experience of what the creative industry is like for practising designers. it displayed how not everything can go to plan due to unforeseen events. This project for me was not about getting a commission with the NHS but pure experience development that I feel has started my preparation for working as a creative in the modern world.
