A City of Bristol College student has received a prestigious award in recognition of her exceptional and creative entry in this year’s Harleys Design Award.

College student Marcela Ramos won the award with her ‘Plaster Man’ concept. Marcela was inspired by MTV’s illustration style and geometric shapes, which helped hit the target demographic required for the competition.

The Harleys Design Award was started back in 2000; the award is now in its 11th year and is open to students at City of Bristol College. This year, Harleys introduced a live brief in conjunction with St John Ambulance. The brief was to design an identity for the ambulance service’s StreetSafe campaign. The prize was a two-week work experience internship with Harleys to develop, produce and deliver the final concept to St John Ambulance.

Launched in March 2010, StreetSafe is a collaborative project between St John Ambulance and the Great Western Ambulance Service. The project provides a treatment facility in Bristol city centre every Friday and Saturday night. The project offers a reassuring presence to members of the public and reduces the number of hospital visits for minor incidents.

Daryl Codrington, Lecturer at City of Bristol College, commented: “Marcela was up against some stiff competition and we are delighted that she took the top prize. She is a deserving recipient of the award and it’s great to have this opportunity to acknowledge her success.”

Marcela, who is studying a Foundation Degree in Graphic Design with Interactive Multimedia, commented: “Learning how to work to a brief, put a brand together and deliver a solution that a client would be happy with was a great learning tool for me.”

Ken Hale, Creative Director at Harleys, commented: “The Harleys Design Award allows students to gain valuable, real-life experience of what it’s like to work within a design agency. This year’s competition was tough, but Marcela certainly impressed the panel of judges on all counts with her innovative design.”

Find out more about City of Bristol College’s Graphic Design courses.