Project introduction and the Brief
Over the summer, outside of term time, Graphic Design students from Loughborough University were invited to take part in an elective project. They were invited to produce anti-knife crime campaign material to address the serious issue of knife crime and encourage positive societal change.
The project brief asked students to tailor their campaigns to an audience of their choosing, each with a specific angle on addressing knife crime. They could choose to focus on convincing government officials to enforce stricter knife control laws or to reallocate funds to support community activities for young people in underprivileged areas. Students could target young individuals who might be vulnerable to the influence of knife crime or focus on informing parents of the risks that their children might face. Students could consider selecting a specific location (i.e. city) within the UK or the UK population as a whole.
Students were encouraged to use visual communication, through illustration, storytelling, photography and copywriting, to design campaigns that could resonate deeply with their chosen audience.
The why?
I am from Beeston and live close to where the Nottingham attacks took place on 13th June 2023. Whilst any death is a tragedy it seemed to resonate more deeply when an attack takes place close to home. The more I heard about Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates the more they sounded like such wonderful and kind individuals.
My teaching day at Loughborough University involves getting in early – speaking to the cleaner or caretaker before teaching bright young people (a similar age to Barnaby and Grace) all day.
Since the attacks took place, I have been more receptive to the grief (and dignity in grief) of so many people who have lost loved ones to knife crime as well as the increasing frequency that such violent crimes occur.
Over the past year I learnt more about the lives of individuals and victims of knife crime including Harry Pitman (16), Jermaine Cools (14), Ava White (12), Ben Kinsella (16) and Shawn Seesahai (19), to name just a few, as well as their families.
Saying sorry for your loss did not feel like enough.
I see how talented, bright and empathetic our students are. The project was organised as an optional pro-bono brief. It felt like a way that we could honour the memories of all of those who had lost their lives to knife crime.
When researching more to inform the project briefing presentation I learnt:
‘Nearly half of homicide victims killed with a gun or a knife are aged 15 to 24 despite the age group accounting for only 12% of the population’ (Office for National Statistics. Figures released in the week commencing 22nd April 2024)
And that ‘teenagers in the UK today are twice as likely to be fatally stabbed as they were ten years ago’ (Sergeant, H., 27th April 2024).
The urgency of the issue is further reflected by the Office of National Statistics who have said that ‘knife crime is rising at its fastest rate for five years’ (2024), which is extremely concerning.
As so many of the victims are a similar age to that of the students I teach, I wanted to see how they would respond to the brief and what they thought could be done.
The work
Throughout this edition of the magazine there are numerous pieces of the students work, which were produced in response to the project brief.
The exact brief asked them to consider a graphic design response to a specific issue directly linked with knife crime and stabbings.
Dan Hatfield’s campaign approached knife crime from the angle of health preservation by seeking to address the fact that too many young people are dying or are unprepared/uneducated in treating the stab wounds of their friends and family. Dan’s project called #PatchTheSlash aims to both save young adult lives, in addition to providing a second chance to break the cycle of knife crime to those that have faced death. Dan conducted extensive research to inform his project outcome from on-scene first-aid and stab wound treatment from; The NHS, St John Ambulance, British Red Cross, First Aid for Life and Onlinefirstaid.com.
Georgia Smith1, an Innovation Award winner, who reviewed the project said “Dan’s #PatchTheSlash campaign was…such a brilliant and well executed concept that was backed by thorough research, where he’s taken time to understand the problem and how as a society we could work towards reducing the number of mortalities from knife crime.”
Dan’s feeling about knife crime and what needs to be done are that:
“Knife crime is so much more than violence. It’s about acknowledging fear, heartbreak and anger. The life-ending choice of carrying a knife is made by a vulnerable heart, so our ideas need to heal the heart and not punish it further. Hope and second chances are incredibly powerful, and I think we would be surprised of the knife free future we can create when we hope together.”
Since producing work for the project Dan has decided to support The Ben Kinsella Trust further. Ben was a promising graphic design student before he was killed at the age of 16. Ben never got the chance to fulfil his dream of becoming a graphic designer.
Niall Corcoran chose to target his project on young people within the West Midlands where he is from. Niall commented on the project “Having experienced the impact of knife crime first-hand in my youth, I became all too aware of the dangers many young people faced. My project ‘Think Life Not Knife’ was a chance to confront past traumas, channel my skills into meaningful social change and encourage young people to choose life over violence.” Niall wanted to remind us through his work ‘of our potential to build safer communities and challenge the normalisation of violence among young people”.
Niall produced a wide range of campaign material and touch points for his project. He produced work to be shown for school presentations as well as posters and work for use in digital formats.
Elena Inch through her research felt that “a lack of opportunity and poverty are key causes for young people turning to knife crime.” In order to counteract this, she proposed a “campaign to provide young people in at-risk areas to learn and acquire skills that will help set them up for employment and feel part of a community” which she called “Skills not Kills”. Students, as part of their project, were asked to produce a ‘pitch document’ and/or a ‘project explainer.’ In Elena’s pitch document the reviewers saw a stakeholder map which she had produced. Elena, as part of her campaign, had produced campaign posters, social media digital assets, apparel and merchandise as well as other touchpoints.
The main targeted areas for Elena’s campaign would be urban communities and counties with the highest offence rates – such as the West Midlands, Cleveland, London, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Essex, Humberside, and Leicester. (Allen, Carthew, Zayed, 2023, p13). Her campaign ‘Skills Not Kills’ would offer classes and workshops in trades such as cooking, electrician work, hairdressing, gardening, nail art, bricklaying, and more. Local businesses could support the campaign by offering work experience or apprenticeships to students.
Elena says this of knife crime and her work:
"I read stories about a Knife Crime related incidents in the local news almost every week. One of the key causes of it is often poverty or a lack of action by the government. When I heard about this (project)…, and the potential impact it could have, I wanted to create a campaign that would target this. Without organisations to provide vulnerable youth with skills for their future, there will be no change in the situation."
Similarly, Millie Fennell’s campaign work was fuelled by her feelings about knife crime and what needs be done:
“Knife crime is truly on the up and it's scary for everyone, but especially for young teenagers who are the most effected. I believe we need more funding put into youth clubs where people can become part of a community and turn to it as their safe space, which unfortunately many don't have.”
Joseph Smith chose to explore visual metaphors within his work. He used the idea of the knife as almost as a ticking clock which had a domino effect to suggest the actions of a perpetrator affect so many individuals. Joseph produced a piece of motion design which with the addition of sound was incredibly impactful and memorable. Joseph’s piece of motion design was accompanied by a poster.
Maya Norman chose to explore illustration and copywriting in her visual responses to the brief, which included posters, digital media assets and even beer mats. Maya chose to focus on “the most common age to start carrying a knife”: 14 – 17 year olds according to the North West Community Services.
Maya wanted the visual outcomes for this campaign to “provoke an emotional response in viewers that may be susceptible to committing knife crime. This should encourage them to stop and reflect on their actions. The outcomes should influence the viewer to think about the child inside of them - a younger version of themselves - and the impression it would leave if they knew their future self would be involved in knife crime. The viewer should know their younger self would be afraid, disappointed and shocked at themselves, and this realisation should push the viewer to take responsibility for their actions. It also encourages people to think about the role model they are being for their younger siblings, cousins or friends, and whether this is the behaviour they want to be known for. This emotional response should persuade the viewer to put their ‘Knives Down’, step back from a situation, and prevent further knife crime.”
Maya’s thoughts on knife crime and what needs to be done are as follows:
"Knife crime is prominent amongst young people and is becoming increasingly more common. This violent behaviour destroys families and friendships and therefore anti-knife crime campaigns are essential to prevent violence and deaths. I believe education about the risks and consequences of knife crime is key to reducing the number of young people carrying knives."
The visuals the students produce, if used within a real-life scenario, would emphasise the urgency of the issue.
Palak Bothra has a keen interest in advertising. In her campaign Palak thoughtfully used photography and the use of reflections to further elicit a response from her viewer.
Palak through her research found that ‘carrying a knife not only makes you 3 times more likely to get stabbed’ but saw it that also destroys dreams, hopes, and aspirations of the victims, perpetrators and all of their families. She chose to utilise words within her campaign to make reference to this especially.
One of Palak’s posters was “strategically placed at a bus stop, offering the target audience a chance for direct interaction. Made with a reflective surface that mimics a mirror, the poster allows the audience to see their reflection—encouraging them to literally and figuratively reflect on the potential consequences of carrying a knife. This immersive experience fosters a deeper emotional connection.”
Palak’s other poster “uses the same design elements but replaces the plain background with a picture of a person, making the message more personal and relatable to the target audience. By including a human face, the poster aims to evoke empathy and draw attention to the real-life impact of knife crime, making it feel more immediate and relevant to young people. This design also allows for the advert to be converted into posters and flyers, making it easy to distribute in schools and at anti-knife crime events.”
Palak has said:
"Knife crime doesn’t just harm the victim; it destroys the life of the perpetrator too. A single decision can lead to years of regret, lost opportunities, and the weight of knowing you’ve caused irreversible pain. Educating young people about this reality is vital to breaking the cycle of violence."
Andreas Au also used visual metaphors within her two visual outcomes, “with the aim to deter potential perpetrators from committing knife crimes through an emotional response.” Andreas “decided to target teenagers with the campaign as they are most at risk. To connect with them, I decided to approach the brief with the concept of video games as violence in video games has negative influences on their behaviour.”
These are just a few examples of students work as well as their thoughts and feelings on the issue of knife crime and attacks.
Design and Communities
I think that design is for impact.
As people we are designed for impact. Our actions good or bad have significant impact (and influence) on those around us, which we can see so deeply with this issue.
Kaia Dendaluce2, a reviewer of the project work who works as a Designer at a Hundred Studios, said this:
“Design is a practice of communication. To do that well we need to speak the language of the people we are designing for.
By slowing down, listening to the people we are interacting with, and emphasising with their unique experiences, we can learn to speak their language and become better designers.”
Students who took part in the project were encouraged to be empathetic and sensitive to their target market.
Support for the project
Initially students attended a presentation briefing where they were introduced to different pieces of information to help support their studies and provide more information as an initial starting point for their project. Students were encouraged to conduct further second-hand research to gain insights of their own.
The project was supported by Nigel McCrery, former Murder Squad Detective and Writer of BBC’s Silent Witness. Nigel gave an online lecture to support students, sharing insights from his time as a Detective and Writer to underscore the gravity of the subject.
Interest in the project has also come from Jacob Dunne, a Community Ambassador for Nottingham’s Violence Reduction Unit who is heavily involved in restorative interventions to help young people to thrive.
The student work was reviewed by Loughborough alumni and industry professionals. These included Jess Shaw3 (a Design for Social Value Award Winner) currently working for Gymshark, Kaia Dendaluce (who won a Wood Pencil at the Design & Art Direction Awards) who works for Hundred Studios in Belfast and Georgia Smith (an Innovation Award winner) now working for IBM.
Georgia Smith said:
“It was a pleasure to review work of such a high standard for such an important and sensitive topic. Even with such a variety of entries, many were original, thought provoking, and well-considered.”
The Anti-Knife Campaign Project was also supported by Professor Emily Keightley, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Vibrant and Inclusive Communities, and the School of Design and Creative Arts. The project aligns with Loughborough University’s commitment to foster socially responsible and impactful design.
Bruce Houlder CB KC, and the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE have also been incredibly supportive of this project initiative.
There has been a large range of people who have been interested and helped with the project in one respect or another and I am extremely grateful to all of them.
Further aims of the project
Throughout semester 2 and providing I have the students consent, I am intending to write to organisations, individuals and charity organisations who may be interested in using the work that the students have produced.
The intention of the project was that the work could potentially be used in a real world setting to persuade and inform. I have always found that visual communication can be used as a memorable tool to elicit influence on an individual and their behaviour. It is designed for purpose and effective communication. That is the hope with the project.
Editors note: For additional design work on knife crime prevention from young student designers, do please click on the following links-
Niall Corcoran - https://niallcorcoran.co.uk/thinklifenotknife
Dan Hatfield - https://hatfielddesign.co/patch-the-slash
Elena Inch - https://elenainchportfolio.myportfolio.com/skills-not-kills
Helen Nowell
Loughborough University
www.lboro.ac.uk
Helen Nowell teaches on the Graphic Design / Graphic Communication and Illustration Degree Courses at Loughborough University and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
References
[1] https://www.georgiasmithdesign.com
[2] https://kaiadendaluce.wixsite.com/
[3] https://jsdesign-portfolio.squarespace.com
