Ideas Foundation's Poster Challenge Spurs Youth Creativity for Coronation

Young people across the UK participate in poster design challenge to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III

By Creative Salon

05 May 2023

The winners of the Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge have been announced. Educational charity, Ideas Foundation invited schools, colleges and educators from across the UK to take part in a challenge to encourage young people to get involved in the Coronation of King Charles III by harnessing their creativity.

Funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge gave young people and educators an opportunity to get involved in celebrating the Coronation by creating posters using photography, copywriting, typography and graphic design to reflect one or more of the key themes: community, diversity, sustainability, and youth.

Throughout April, Ideas Foundation delivered in-person workshops with schools and colleges from across the UK, including Manchester, Scarborough, Belfast, Greenock, Newport and London. This allowed students to work alongside professional photographers and creatives including Canon Ambassador, Photographer and film maker - Clive Booth, Creative and Design lead, Hannah Wood from Wood & Co, Ayo Olubode, poet & Amos Bursary Alumnus, Jags Singh, Cannon Ambassador, Nigel Stafford from Clear Channel and Robin Wight, founder of Ideas Foundation to develop and hone their skills and build confidence.

Although there can only be one overall ‘judges’ favourite’ design, the real winner is the opportunity itself. Highlighting the importance of creativity and its positive impact on everyone who rolls up their sleeves, embraces the unknown and “gives it a go”.

Judges selected ‘Winning’ posters, which will be displayed on digital billboards on sites across the UK including Ealing, Liverpool and Glasgow, donated by Clear Channel UK.

The judge's favourite design was created by students from The Amos Bursary ‘#KingdomUnited' at a workshop hosted by Advertising Agency McCann London - chosen by judges because of its ability to do so much by saying very little. Head judge Sir John Hegarty, co-founder of Bartle Bogle Hearty and The Garage Soho, commented, “I wish I had thought of it myself. It's a brilliant image. It shows how one idea can unite all issues and I love the fact they’ve just inverted Kingdom and United.”

Heather MacRae, Chief Executive at Ideas Foundation, the award-winning educational charity which champions bringing creativity into the classroom, said “We have all been blown away by the standard of entries and the enthusiasm of schools, having received over 1,000 signups. For many, The King’s Coronation will be the first celebration of this type they will have ever seen. We wanted to ensure young people could share what the occasion means to them. The winning posters give a real insight into how the younger generations view the Monarchy and reveal the yet untapped talent of the future of the UK creative industries.”

Colleen Amos OBE, CEO of The Amos Bursary an educational charity that partner with schools to empower British young people of African and Caribbean heritage to excel in education, commented "The Coronation Generation Poster Design Challenge was an amazing opportunity for our students to explore their creativity alongside industry experts. Their design will be displayed to mark this historic event making the whole experience more memorable for all of us. The Coronation values of community, diversity, sustainability, and youth are integral to all that The Amos Bursary does.”

Students from Amos Bursary involved in the winning poster said:

”I think it’s nice to have been selected; the feeling that I’ve gone above and beyond in the creative field is something that I’m unlikely to forget,” Vanessa Okeke.

"I am grateful to have been part of commemorating such an important event in history" Divine Agumba

Alongside Sir John Hegarty The posters were judged by a panel of leading figures from the UK creative and education sectors, which included Kulvinder Johal, regional mentor for London and the South East for the Primary Science Teaching Trust, Simeon Quarrie, pioneering storyteller and technologist and Ben Conway copywriter at McCann London and Ideas Foundation Alumni.

Conway was inspired by the levels of creativity from all the young people taking part, “To see how the young people have engaged with the Coronation Generation project has been so enlightening, their perspectives as they come of age in the King’s reign, it’s a sign of the times that the United Kingdom is ushering in a new era of hope and vision that we haven’t seen before. These posters they’ve created will be a starting point of King Charles’s history as King, and I’m so happy we’ve been given the platform to validate and uplift the voices of the young people to be a part of that history.”