Back to Blackburn
Bec Morris
Creative Director and Brand Consultant
A full circle moment, back where my design journey started.
Last week I went back to Blackburn College to set a design brief for the first-year graphic design students — and honestly, I’m still buzzing from the experience.
The course has moved buildings since I was there (gone are the 1970’s blocks, replaced with typical glass boxes) so at first it felt unfamiliar. But as soon as I walked into the classroom, I saw the same posters that lined the walls when I studied there back in 2007: The Haçienda, Saul Bass, Happy Mondays. You could instantly tell why I’d felt so at home on that course. It was full of the things that shaped my taste as a teenager — design and music.
When I told the students I’d been there in 2007, their faces were a mix of awe and horror. Apparently, to them, 2007 is practically ancient history. I, of course, was appalled.
The students were brilliant — curious, switched on, and completely engaged. During my talk they asked thoughtful questions, not just about design but about the bigger picture: What to do when you feel stuck? How do you stay motivated when you’re ready to give up? When I briefed them on their project, they were all scribbling notes and genuinely listening. It was such a refreshing energy to be around.
The brief I set was for a mental health charity. Their task: to design a logo, colour palette and social media post that captured the organisation’s warmth and approachability. We talked about who the charity helps, their tone of voice, and how design can completely shift how a message is received. I stressed that it shouldn’t feel like an NHS waiting room poster — it needed to break the stigma, feel human, and invite people in.
My favourite part though was simply chatting with them. We laughed, we talked about creative careers in a really honest way, and I felt completely at ease in the room — largely thanks to the students themselves, and to Sue, who still runs the course.
That course gave me the best possible start in my career. Sue was the one who taught us the value of hand-rendered design — Letraset, drawing, collage, screen printing. She believed that design should start with your hands, not a computer. It’s the reason I fell in love with the tactile side of design, and why it’s still at the heart of how I work today.
Walking back into that space felt full circle. It reminded me just how much of what I do now was shaped by those early lessons — about process, about creativity, about finding your own way of seeing the world. I’m heading back in a few weeks to critique their work and give them some pointers, before judging a favourite before the end of the year.
