Fine Art Graduate Designs New University Merchandise

Northumbria Graduate, Lauren Douglas, is currently a Senior Account Executive at Creative Emporium, she studied on the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree programme and graduated in 2015. Below she tells us how she has played a part in the creation of Northumbria's new branded merchandise range: 

"After studying Fine Art at Northumbria I was delighted to become an Account Manager with Creative Emporium, a leading clothing and promotional merchandising company. Little did I know that one day I would be helping to design and produce the official clothing and merchandise for Northumbria university!

I decided to study at Northumbria due to the excellent art facilities. The graduate studios, Gallery North and partnerships including BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Northern Stage, National Trust and Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums gave me a really broad and dynamic experience. It’s no surprise that Northumbria is ranked 10th in the UK for Design & Crafts in The Guardian University Guide 2020. And of course the city itself is amazing - who wouldn’t want to spend three years here.

I had originally intended to get into art galleries when I graduated but I found that, whilst I really love creative work, I wanted to be in a commercial environment. Creative Emporium was a perfect fit, allowing me to express my creativity and get much broader business experience in account management, production and marketing.

What I really love about working at Creative Emporium is that we really get under the skin of the brands we work with. We get to know them intimately and ensure that our clothing and merchandise designs are a true reflection of the brand’s DNA. The company is genuinely focused on looking after people and the environment, we put a lot of effort into recycling and being energy efficient and our production facility is carbon neutral. We have 200 solar panels which plough electricity back into the national grid - enough to power fourteen, three bedroom homes.

I am so proud to have played a part in creating the new clothing and merchandise range for Northumbria. I was involved in a lot of the upfront research and helping the team to understand what it is like to be a Northumbria graduate, as well as helping to design marketing materials specifically for the University. I love the new branded product range and I know that the quality is second to none. Creative Emporium have over 20 years’ experience of working with universities so they know a thing or two on how to make fabulous products. I can’t wait to see people wearing our university proudly and showing the world that Northumbria is a top-tier, modern, forward-thinking university."

Find out more about the new University merchandise range here.