Students create special guide showcasing the landmarks of Leamington to those visiting the town

A group of college students have created a special guide that will showcase the landmarks of Leamington to those visiting the town.

Leamington History Group tasked level three visual communication students from Royal Leamington Spa College with creating a visitor guide that will be distributed to those attending its events and tours.

The group of 26 students was divided into two teams for the project, with one focusing on photography and the other on designing the flyer.

The brief involved researching points of interest and working with the history group to select which to include, before the photography team held shoots at the chosen locations.

Each member of the design team then used this material to create an initial mock-up of the flyer and updated this based on feedback from town dignitaries.

All of the work was then showcased at an exhibition held at All Saints' Church where members of the history group selected a winning flyer to be printed.

The high standard of work meant the history group faced a difficult decision, and eventually saw members select two flyers created by students Libby Berridge and Victoria Cerchez.

Irene Tsiampakou, course leader for visual communications, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to gain real life experience of working on a professional brief.

“They had expectations to meet such as working with the client, conducting research, designing something for a specific target audience, meeting deadlines and taking on feedback, and the students were excellent ambassadors of the college throughout.

“The project was also tailored to link with our curriculum to enhance the students’ learning.

“This is our second year working with Leamington History Group, and we would like to thank them for trusting us with this project. They have given us some brilliant feedback, and we now look forward to seeing the printed flyers in use.”

Student Libby said: “This was a really interesting project which not only involved working to a brief, but adapting your work to take different tastes and preferences into consideration.

“It’s exciting to know that my work will be printed and used by people visiting Leamington.

Victoria added: “Working on a live brief for a real client made it feel like a very mature project. Our tutors were very supportive throughout, and it was a very enjoyable experience.”

One student from the photography team who was commended for his work was Owen Thompson.

He said: “I really enjoyed the project, and the live brief made it even more interesting as you had to take the client into consideration.

“I went out at different times of the day to capture the landmarks in a variety of lighting, and I also liaised with a member of the community to gain access to a restricted garden to frame one of my shots from there.”

Stella Bolitho, chair of Leamington History Group, said: “It has been a delight working with the students.

“They engaged fully in the project and have produced some excellent designs to really welcome visitors to the town and to showcase some of Leamington’s best sights.”