WAB Podcast | When Students Design for the Real World

This week on the WAB Podcast, we're diving into how our Grade 8 students became designers for real WAB events and how they discovered that creating something meaningful means learning to see through someone else's eyes. 

In the recent design project in Middle School Design class, students worked with actual clients, navigated real briefs, and iterated their designs. 

Ben, Aurora, and Emily joined us alongside Mr. Simon Furmston, Middle School Design Learning Leader, to talk about their journey designing graphics for WAB events, including Jazz and Chill, the Upcycling Fashion Show, and Grade 8 Celebration. Their logos, posters, stage banners, and even hoodies are the ones you see at these events. 

Emily started with a simple goal for the Grade 8 Celebration: combine the numbers 8 and 9 to symbolize the transition to Grade 9. Her design also included a figure walking across a bridge, connecting to the actual bridge-crossing ceremony at Grade 8 Celebration. Aurora faced a different challenge: how do you merge fashion and nature? After browsing Pinterest and asking peers what they pictured when they thought of "fashion," she landed on high heels combined with leaves for her logo, then built a striking design featuring flowers in place of faces. Ben tackled the theme of "humanities" for Jazz and Chill, trying to blend abstract human silhouettes with musical instruments like pianos and trumpets.  

Mr. Furmston explained that iteration is at the heart of this project. Students create multiple versions: hand-drawn sketches, digital drafts, color variations and test them with their target audience. Sometimes students have to let go of ideas they've fallen in love with to meet the client’s needs. Ben admitted his original design didn't capture the energy of jazz. Emily realized her clever number combination was hard for others to read. Aurora learned that showing everything isn't always better, sometimes leaving something out makes a design stronger. 

For many students, this was their first time using Adobe Illustrator, and navigating vector graphics, layers, and design principles. Beyond technical skills, students shared how the project taught perseverance, perspective-taking, and how to ask for useful feedback. Mr. Furmston added this project is unique because it adds the real world accountability. Students are designing for an actual event with an audience and client who have opinions and expectations.  

Listen to the full episode to hear Ben, Aurora, Emily, and Mr. Furmston share their creative process, their challenges, and what they're most proud of in their own words.