About Spark for Life

Spark for Life is a talent programme from Pearlfisher that aims to raise awareness of careers in the design industry amongst young people aged 16 to 18 years old. Through the programme, we aim to highlight the diverse roles and opportunities available throughout the industry and to give young people from all backgrounds the chance to experience life in a thriving design agency.

The programme has been developed for 16- to 18-year-olds to reach people before they begin to make decisions about further education and to highlight that a traditional University degree is not required to make it in the design industry.

The programme runs in two streams:

Education - talks and workshops with young people

Experience - the opportunity to win a 2 week summer placement at Pearlfisher to experience life and the diverse roles at a design agency

Apply

The Spark for Life programme runs 2-week paid placements at Pearlfisher’s studios during the Summer months.

Requirements:

No experience is required. We’re looking for raw talent, an inquisitive nature and big ideas. That talent can come from anywhere, all we ask is that you’re open to rolling your sleeves up and getting involved. We’re looking for people who:

Dare to think differently

Dare to create change

Dare to make a difference

Applications are open until 18th July and you must be available to fufill a 2-week work placement between 8th August and 1st September (we will discuss the actual dates with you if you are successful and aim to be as flexible as possible).

To apply, we simply ask you to answer a creative brief:

Design a poster titled, ‘I am a designer’

Things to think about:

This poster is your first creative calling card for your future career.

It will tell us and others that you want to work in design. That you have creativity oozing out of your pores. You don’t know what to do with it yet but something tells you, you could make a career out of it. Winning a spot in The Spark for Life Placement scheme will give you brilliant insights, connections and ideas about what a future in the design industry looks like.

It must: Reflect your voice! It should creatively celebrate your personal and/or cultural roots through an original creative expression, communicating why you want to be a designer, or why you consider yourself a designer already.

It must not: Be in the style of an existing designer, play to clichés of design or be in the voice of someone else.

Before you begin, you should conduct research to define:

• What is design?

• Your audience - who is this poster for? Where will they see it? What do you want them to feel or do when they see it?

• Your idea - how does it answer the brief? How will it connect with your audience

• Different design styles that will communicate your idea

Your submission can utilise any form of design to communicate your message and answer the brief. It could be:

• Typography

• Illustration

• Graffiti

• Graphics

• or any other style of your choice

What’s important is that the one you choose should reflect something from your culture, your identity or your community.

Submission:

You are required to submit:

• 1 A3 poster

  • Digital OR

  • Physical (will need to provide photos of the final poster)

• Proof of your research phase

  • Research and process

  • Audience

  • Your idea

  • Description of your solution

Judging criteria

Idea & Impact
Is there a clear idea that’s immediately communicated and understood?

Creativity & craft
Is the idea well executed?

Fit for Purpose

Will the idea connect with the target audience and does it answer the brief?

Applications are open until 18th July 2022.

Contact Pearlfisher

The Spark for Life programme runs in two streams:

Education - talks and workshops with young people

Experience - the opportunity to win placements at Pearlfisher to experience life and the diverse roles at a design agency

If you are an educational institution looking to host a talk or workshop for the young people you work with, please get in touch here.