Student President Campaign

After running unopposed for Student Governor last year, and really enjoying my involvement in the Union, I wanted to run for Student President as I thought it would be the perfect role for me, and I'd love to work in a slightly alternative creative position for a year.

I based my campaign off my previous years one in the hope people would remember voting for me before, but wanted to give it a change. I was going to stick to my 'shape your uni' tagline, but a couple of days before I launched my campaign, NSS made a 'shape your uni' campaign with similar imagery, so I dropped the tagline and just went with the simple imagery I had made.

I asked a Graphic Design student for help designing my poster, which was quite a big step for me, as I usually like to do as much as I can myself, but he did a really great job and I know I couldn't have done anything as professional as what he made for me.

Since I only had a £5 budget I needed to be creative with my resources. I screen printed around 50 7"x7" posters. I asked for feedback from my course mate Marnie, and decided to different amounts of elements on each, meaning I had 12 different design outcomes, from just one original design. This meant that there was variety across the university, whilst still having the same underlying theme, which helped build on my visual identity.

I also created propaganda, which was the most successful part of my campaign. I made a screen printed t-shirt, 100 limited edition mini screen prints, and around 100 wooden screen printed badges. I started with the badges, but could only make a small amount due to funds, so branched out into screen prints too. I printed around 20 per sheet and cut them up after to save on time, but since I was rushing I had to discount a lot of them, and ended up with only 100 acceptable copies. I wasn't sure that I would distribute all the screen prints, as they have less of a purpose than the badges, but I was able to give away all of them using the turnstiles by the entrance.

I think the success of these was down to how they didn't explicitly say anything to do with voting, so people were more likely to pick them up and keep them because they liked the aesthetic of them, then read the attached info about me and my campaign. Plus, everyone loves free stuff.

I also used my social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram to post regular updates on my campaign and urging people to vote for me.

I also has to be part of the Hustings, where I sat as part of a panel in front of the uni and spoke about why I would make a good Student President. Despite the microphone not working too well, it was still a great experience, and although I felt so nervous, I really achieved what I wanted and felt that I gave a good impression of who I am.

This whole experience taught me a lot about how to build and implement a successful campaign. It also built my confidence in showing my work, as I had to plaster my work all over the uni for my peers to see, and from the positive feedback I've had, I feel that I did it not too 'in your face' but also made sure my presence was felt, which I feel can be key in many campaigns.