Cadbury Design Graduate Wins Global KSI Competition
One of Cadbury’s successful alumni, Hamza Ali, has won a competition to create a new Reddit icon for social media superstar KSI. Hamza, who is set to graduate from Birmingham City University as a Graphic Designer in the summer, has been praised for his “passion, imagination and huge flair” by the famous YouTube influencer.
Hamza saw off thousands of rivals from around the world with his entry, which will now be viewed by KSI’s army of 2.9m followers. KSI, who also has more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube, added: “I’ve seen Hamza’s work all over Reddit. I love his passion, imagination and huge flair for artistic design. I know his work is in hot demand by other YouTube influencers. He is very talented. Hamza managed to whip up a madness of colours and energy, combining all the things I love in this icon. The design is super awesome and sick.”
Hamza, who goes by the name Ballpoint Papi on social media and has more than 40,000 followers across TikTok, X and Instagram, said: “It’s pretty amazing and it’s hard to put into words what this means. KSI rarely changes his icon for Reddit, so it’s really massive. It means the entire KSI community will know my work. KSI is very into Dragon Ball Z, so the icon was inspired by this and the Reddit logo.”
Hamza hopes this competition win will improve his chances of impressing leading design agencies in the USA when he heads to New York later this year with a group of fellow creatives from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at BCU. He also plans on travelling to Japan to publicise his work next summer with a series of exhibitions.
He added: “Apart from my academic pursuits, I have arranged studio visits in New York City. During my visit, I will be exploring ‘SlangInc’ and Design Bridge to broaden my knowledge and gain real-time exposure to the professional world of graphic design. This opportunity follows a similar experience I had last year when I met with esteemed designers such as Michael Beirut at Pentagram and Georgia Stout at 2×4. These visits have shaped my approach to design and have inspired me to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity.”
Hamza credited his experience and lecturers at Cadbury for paving the way to his growing success. “The A Levels I chose have played a significant role in shaping me into the designer I am today. Stuart, my former graphic design tutor at Cadbury, challenged me creatively, and I am incredibly grateful for him pushing me beyond the boundaries of what is considered ‘normal’ for a graphics designer. He encouraged me to pursue a career in graphic design, and I attribute my success in this field to his guidance and unwavering support.”
You can view Hamza’s winning icon here
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The Titan Award finalists have been announced for 2023 – and one of the nominees for Further Education/Higher Education Student of the Year is from Cadbury Sixth Form College!
Zainab Mallah is an A Level Science student at Cadbury.
Here’s why she was nominated by her personal tutor Emily Broome:
“Zainab is a conscientious, kind-hearted, caring student who holds a real maturity beyond her years and always treats both staff and students with an incredible amount of respect and kindness. Zainab is very well liked and willingly gets involved in group discussions and speaks out appropriately if she has any concerns. She willingly supports those around her and has volunteered for open days as a student tour guide, supported fundraisers and petitions and has been involved with external companies such as SafeUp. She also started her own Medicine and Healthcare Society and always supports her peers with genuine care and enthusiasm.”
Emily added: “Zainab is a genuine delight and always makes me smile and brightens my day! I really hope her nomination will provide her confidence and allow her to see how truly hard-working and special she is! She is a credit to our college and an outstanding role model to our students! Our college truly wishes her the best of luck in her nomination and her future, I have no doubts that she will excel in everything she does!”
The winners will be announced at the upcoming Titan Awards & Charity Dinner in July at Aston University, and each will receive a trophy, framed certificate and Amazon gift voucher.
Good luck Zainab!
We were delighted to host Group Captain Deputy Lieutenant Ian Sargeant OBE today for our Big Coronation Party and tree planting ceremony.
Many of our staff and students have been making big preparations for this event to commemorate the historic Coronation of King Charles III.
Creating colourful bunting and learning about the significance and history of the Monarchy, students also enjoyed Coronation-inspired cakes and games and sang celebratory songs live on stage.
Royal representative Group Captain Sargeant, who is also a Queen’s Honorary Surgeon, joined in with the celebrations and met members of staff and students, before helping Head of Curriculum Ian Vogel to plant a commemorative tree in the campus grounds.
The Lord-Lieutenant, Sir John Crabtree OBE, who attended the Coronation on Saturday, is appointed by the King to represent him in the region and attend events and activities on his behalf.
He said: “The Coronation is really bringing people together to celebrate and get involved in some amazing projects. You can feel the excitement mounting across the region and there is a wonderful community spirit with many people volunteering for the first time to support their community.”
The West Midlands is the second largest Lieutenancy in England and Wales supporting nearly 3 million people across seven local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The Lieutenancy is active across the community supporting projects and initiatives that benefit the community and it helps recognise people through the Honours awards. It also coordinates Royal Visits and acts as a connection between the civic, military, religious, armed forces and emergency services.
The Lieutenancy is involved in a number of events that will be held across the region for the Coronation.
We asked our Digital Design and Production T Level students what they were enjoying most about their course so far, and to tell us a bit about themselves. Here’s what they had to say:
Abas – The reason why I have chosen this T Level course is because I believe it teaches me everything to send me in the right direction to become a software developer. Since the start of college, we have learnt a lot such as python, HTML and SQL. The teachers are also pushing us to work hard in building websites during our lessons and to do research at home. The course offers us the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand how the work environment is. My hobbies include playing basketball, reading and spending quality time with family.
Haneef – My experience of the new T Level Digital Production course I am taking has been excellent. I have expanded my knowledge of Computer Science and understanding of the Digital World, additionally I have learnt many core skills such as using tools from the Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office. I would highly recommend this course for anyone looking to go into any computer related career such as Web Design, Software Engineering and Cyber Security. It is a great environment and I couldn’t ask for more. The amazing support I get from my lecturers has really helped prepare me for any future industry placements.
Hassan – I have chosen this course as it will help me achieve my ultimate career goal of becoming a software engineer at Google, Facebook and TESLA. I have already learned a lot, like how to use CMS software Drupal. I have also learned a lot of different coding languages including python, JavaScript, HTML, SQL, CSS and PHP. My teachers are good and have real-world experience in the field of STEM and building websites for clients. We have learned how to use applications like Photoshop and InDesign to create the front end of a website. This course will help me achieve my future career goals because it offers me the opportunity of a work placement to learn first-hand what it is like to work in the software industry and how it operates. I’m enjoying this course because it’s helping me to understand how games, websites and apps are built. It also teaches us how to create and maintain databases with advanced security, plus how to build a really well functioning website and how to add good security features to prevent it crashing and breaking down. My hobbies are going to the gym, gaming and helping my brother build computers.
Shahzeb – Since this course became part of my schedule, I’ve come to understand how committed and enthusiastic I am about this subject. This T Level is excellent because it opens doors to careers in the digital industries, including web design, programming, game design, data analytics, software engineering, cybersecurity and many more. Outstanding instructors that have real-world expertise teach the course, which makes it easier and more entertaining. Amazing web design instructor Stuart has expertise creating websites for paying customers. I’ve learned how to design a website front end using Photoshop and InDesign. My career goal is to learn how to operate the (CMS software) Drupal and also learn the different computer languages such as python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, HTML and PHP. I am already very good with computers and how they operate, but this course offers more challenges which is what makes it so attractive and fun. I always wanted to understand and learn how to build/design different games and software, which this course allows me to do. Studying this T Level course opens up a lot of opportunities for me and allows me to work on actual digital projects. This is one of the best courses in Birmingham, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in computers.
If you’d like to find out more about our T Level or Digital courses, register here now for our next Talk & Tours event or Open Day.
