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Junior Designer at DigitasLBi has a big idea

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Alan Chu, a 21 year old junior designer at DigitasLBi, recently hosted a training day for Ladder students from the Ideas Foundation, the same foundation he graduated from himself just recently. Chu first got involved with the foundation through a Woolwich schools programme seven years ago. Through it, he got the chance to work on communications briefs from real brands, was mentored by industry professionals and got taken on numerous work placements, all of which helped him build his portfolio, and eventually led to him being hired at DigitasLBi, the global marketing and technology agency.

Alan Chu, a 21 year old junior designer at DigitasLBi, recently hosted a training day for Ladder students from the Ideas Foundation

With this training day, Chu aspired to give a new breed of young creative talent the same opportunities he was given, opportunities that led to him joining such a highly regarded global agency at such a young age. Twenty students aged between 16 and 22 were given the chance to spend a whole day at DigitasLBi this past Monday (February16), where they learned the art of digital storytelling through a series of workshops, and had the opportunity to work on a live brief. Students travelled from as far as Manchester to the heart of Brick Lane in London for the immersive and exciting day.

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Alan Chu

The day began with students being given a live brief for the YouthNet online youth charity, which was led by DigitasLBi group creative director Abi Ellis. The challenge was to create “Big and bold” serialised content, which would be hosted on the YouthNet site in order to increase awareness of the issues faced by young people in modern society, and where they can turn to ask for help. Mentors were on hand to help students throughout the day to offer guidance, questions and answers. The day was also populated by numerous DigitasLBi employees, which meant there were plenty of staffers on hand to answer students questions on how they arrived at the agency.

Students were given a live brief for the YouthNet online youth charity, which was led by DigitasLBi group creative director Abi Ellis

At the end of the day, the students presented their ideas in whichever format they felt best suited the material, with some inventive pitches including everything from emotive storytelling to interactive gaming. The diversity and invention on display was seen as a testament to not only the skill and creativity of the students, but the training they received throughout the day. The winning pitch was a weekly series of YouTube videos that concentrated on stopping online negativity, and was built about the effective and memorable conceit of “Giving someone the finger.” The panel of judges who decided on the winning pitches included Ideas Foundation founder Robin Wight, DigitasLBi creative strategist Nic Howell, and of course, Chu and Ellis.

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Abi Ellis

Ellis said that “Having heard so much about the Ideas Foundation, it was mesmerising to see these young people in action.” She felt “They took the brief on, wrestled with it” and came up with solutions she'd never have dreamed of herself. Chu added that since 2008, the Ideas Foundation has been a massive part of his life, has supported him through his time in education, and has given him the chance to gain skills he “Might not have obtained through education alone,” so feels that “It’s nice to be able to give something back” with the training day.

Students presented their ideas in whichever format they felt best suited the material

Dan Parry, Copywriter at DigitasLBi and one of the creative mentors on the day, meanwhile, had some wise words of advice to the next batch of creative talent: “Be brave. This is something that has been drummed into me at DigitasLBi. Ultimately if you’re comfortable you’re not really capable of producing your best ideas. Try something new. Think laterally. If you’re comfortable, you’re not really learning. And if you’re not learning, what’s the point? By the way I’m talking mentally comfortable. Physically, I like to relax by a warm fire in a onesie with a fine glass of wine. Or Ribena.”

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