Reflection on Collaborating with Marketing Students
The key to completing this assignment was collaboration. This was a new experience for me, especially working with people I didnt already know, and it came with both strengths and challenges. Working alongside the marketing students and my design partner was beneficial when it came to research, particularly in understanding trends, audience data, and how campaigns are positioned for a brand like Classic Football Shirts. Having multiple perspectives helped broaden my understanding beyond just the visual side of design.
However, I initially found communication quite difficult. There was a slight language barrier at times, which meant that ideas could take longer to be fully understood by both sides. In addition, the marketing group’s reliance on ai generated ideas occasionally created a disconnect, as they would compare my designs to outputs that weren’t always realistic or achievable within my workflow. This made the early stages of collaboration more challenging, particularly when trying to align expectations.
These issues were mainly present at the beginning of the project. As we began meeting more regularly and sharing visual work such as mock ups, communication became easier and more effective. Being able to show developing designs helped clarify ideas and allowed feedback from both the marketing students and the client to become more constructive. This had a positive impact on the development of my work and helped strengthen the overall campaign direction.
Looking back, one thing I would improve in future collaborative projects is communication outside of scheduled sessions. Most of our interaction took place during workshops, and although this didn’t prevent progress, it sometimes felt like I was developing ideas more independently from broad starting points. Despite this, collaboration was still valuable, as it introduced different viewpoints that helped shape the design to be more considered and suitable for a wider audience. While I am happy with the final outcome, I recognise that a more consistent level of communication could have made the process feel more balanced and collaborative overall.
Reflection on working with a Client in an Industry Context
Working on a live client brief was a completely new experience for me and had a strong impact on how I approached the project. Having workshops where I could present my work to the clients Ash and Alec, allowed for direct communication and feedback, which helped refine my ideas and ensure they aligned with the brief. Their input played an important role in shaping the direction of the campaign, particularly reinforcing the idea that nostalgia should be a key focus, while still capturing the excitement of the 2026 World Cup.
Based on this feedback, I developed the concept further across both the web design and campaign outputs. This influenced decisions such as the players I featured, the use of colour, and the choice of social media platforms. These decisions were also supported by research insights provided by the marketing students, helping to create a more informed and targeted campaign.
At the start of the project, I had limited knowledge of football culture, but through research and analysis of the client’s existing website, I was able to build a strong foundation for my designs. This ensured that my work remained consistent with the established brand identity while successfully integrating the World Cup campaign across both digital and social platforms.
Overall, the direct, constructive feedback from the client was highly valuable. It gave me an insight into professional expectations and demonstrated how collaboration and communication are essential in industry practice. This experience also links back to my earlier research into collaborative studios such as Moving Brands and Universal Everything, where teamwork, iteration, and client input are central to producing strong, effective outcomes. It reinforced how working closely with a client can shape and elevate a project in a similar way.