Talented young designers from across Yorkshire competed in the 7th annual SH! Awards held recently at The Loft in Leeds.

A record breaking number of entries in the advertising, design and digital categories flooded in from across Yorkshire colleges and universities, with finalists shortlisted by a panel of judges from some of the most well-known agencies in the industry including Swamp, Brahm, Elmwood, Thompson, Iris Associates, B&W Studio, Numiko, Made by Pi and twentysix.

After agonising over the decision, Chris Kemm from the University of Huddersfield was pronounced the overall winner and awarded a 6 month placement at Swamp, Brahm’s digital arm for his Status 2.0 art installation which maps emotions online.

On winning the award, Chris said: “I am thrilled to have won this year’s SH! Awards. Meeting the right contacts and getting a foot in the door is so important to students, the SH! Awards are a superb opportunity to meet so many key people from the creative industry. It’s fantastic that my hard work has paid off and I’m really looking forward to starting my placement at Swamp.”

Julie Hanson, Director at Brahm commented: “All the judges at this years SH! Awards commented on the high level of creativity and high standard of execution of work from each of the finalists in all three categories. All the entries proved a credit to their universities and colleges as well as the individuals themselves. Plans are already afoot to make the Awards even bigger and better next year.”

Other winners included:

Digital
1st – Chris Kemm – University of Huddersfield
2nd – Adam Foster – University of Huddersfield
3rd – Matthew Tweddle – University of Leeds

Advertising
1st - Josh Dando & Steven Dodd – University of Lincoln
2nd - Terri Coates & Lucy Kenyon – University of Lincoln
3rd - Jenny Carter & Karl Fearnsides - Leeds College of Art & Design

Design
1st – Thomas Lovell – University of Lincoln
2nd – Christopher Goodwin – Leeds Metropolitan University
3rd – Scott Waring – University of Sheffield

Along with promoting hot new talent in Yorkshire, the scheme also aims to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation. This year the event raised over £1000 thanks go to the generous support of the sponsors which include Leeds City College, Harrogate Printing Ltd, Cake, Imageco, Robert Horne Group and GFSmith as well as everyone else who worked to make the event a success.