Our Design students have been helping those who are themselves helping others.

Trade Aid is a social enterprise that gives artisans around the world a hand up, not a hand out. Their supply chain ensures that the producers receive fair payment for their work. Trade Aid have been working with three teams of our Design students to identify and develop new and more effective ways to tell the stories of these producers.

• One team reimagined price tags, seeing them as an opportunity to tell consumers more about where the product was made and by whom. One idea used the origami fortune teller game to entice greater user interaction and memories of childhood.
• Another group of students came up with a world map rewards system and an idea for an online quiz game, which would result in donations to Trade Aid makers around the world.
• The third group suggested a monthly zine, which could be used to promote local events as well as telling product and producer stories. These zines, which included a poster on the reverse, could be both educational and collectable items.

These ways of establishing connections between consumers and producers would complement and connect to the information already available on Trade Aid's website by using QR codes. Trade Aid appreciated the students' ideas and prototypes which will be considered for implementation.

• Work with our Communication, Fashion and Product Design students