Author: Emily Smith

When Marc Austin from the University of Wolverhampton asked us to judge a national poster design competition, we didn’t need to think twice. The ‘Be Who You Want to Be’ brief had drawn over 200 entries from Level 3 creative students right across the UK. That’s 200 young designers putting themselves out there, taking a risk, showing what they can do. Marc and his team at the School of Creative Industries had the unenviable job of narrowing it down to a shortlist of 30 for us to judge. Even at that stage, every single piece had something that made us pause and take proper notice.

This afternoon, Dan, Rebecca, and Emily headed back to the George Wallis building in Wolverhampton to present the first prize to a brilliant student from Shrewsbury College whose work genuinely stopped us in our tracks. Choosing just one winner from that shortlist? Tougher than we’d bargained for.

Judging poster design competitions like this isn’t just about picking our favourite. It’s about giving students that first proper taste of industry recognition – the moment when their work stops being just another graded assignment and becomes something genuinely celebrated by working professionals. That shift matters more than you might think. It’s the difference between “I’m studying design” and “I’m a designer.” Every entry we reviewed deserved recognition. A bold colour choice here, a clever conceptual twist there, a confidence in execution that made us lean in and look closer. The standard was genuinely impressive.

Walking back into the George Wallis building always feels like coming home for us. The energy in those studios, the creative chaos pinned to every wall, the next generation of designers figuring out their voice and finding their feet – it reminds us exactly why we got into this industry in the first place. Supporting young creatives isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s essential. These students are the future of design, and competitions like this give them a platform to shine long before they’ve even graduated or built their first portfolio.

To everyone who entered: you’re already designers. The fact that you put your work forward, that you took the brief and ran with it, that you created something from nothing – that’s what makes you a designer, not a qualification or a piece of paper. Keep pushing, keep questioning, keep making work that genuinely matters.

To Marc and the brilliant team at the School of Creative Industries: thank you for including us in something this special. Initiatives like this are exactly what the creative community needs more of.

And to our winner from Shrewsbury College: huge congratulations. Your poster wowed us. We genuinely can’t wait to see what you create next!

We took our lucky cat mascot to the Business Funding Summit yesterday. What started as a bit of fun turned into dozens of proper conversations with business owners at completely different stages of their journey.

The sheer range of talent in one room was brilliant. Every stall we visited, every conversation we had, felt completely different from the last. One minute we’re talking scaling strategies with someone who’s already conquered their market, the next we’re hearing about a brand-new venture that’s just finding its feet. The common thread running through it all? Everyone’s trying to figure out the next right move for their business. We get that. It’s what keeps our work interesting.

West Midlands business networking events like this remind you just how packed the region is with people doing genuinely interesting things. The unexpected connections are what make it worth showing up. Those “oh, you do THAT?” moments when you realise the person at the next table has solved the exact problem you’ve been wrestling with. Or when you discover a local manufacturer who’s been quietly innovating for decades. These aren’t the conversations you have scrolling LinkedIn at your desk.

Our lucky cat became an accidental icebreaker. Turns out, a bright orange mascot is excellent for starting conversations you might not otherwise have. Business funding summits can feel a bit formal, but when you’ve got a grinning cat photobombing serious discussions about investment readiness, the whole atmosphere shifts. People relax. Real conversations happen. That’s when the good stuff comes out.

Thanks to Business Growth West Midlands for putting the event together. If you’re a West Midlands business owner wondering whether these networking events are worth your time, here’s our take: show up. Bring business cards. Bring curiosity. Bring your lucky cat if you’ve got one. The connections you make might surprise you. The businesses you meet will definitely inspire you. And you’ll leave with a reminder that the Black Country and broader West Midlands region is absolutely buzzing with ambitious people building brilliant things. Good to connect with so many of you.

Storm Claudia picked the perfect night to absolutely batter Wolverhampton. Wind howling, rain horizontal, and there we were at the Molineux Sleepout, trying to remember why we’d volunteered for this. Turns out the answer is simple: because homelessness doesn’t stop for bad weather, and neither should we.

The team at Eighty3 joined hundreds of others sleeping rough at Molineux Stadium last night to raise money for The Wolves Foundation and The Good Shepherd. Thanks to our incredible sponsors and supporters, we raised £872 in just two weeks. Not a fortune, but every pound goes directly toward tackling homelessness in Wolverhampton, and that matters. Every donation came with messages of encouragement, shares from people who couldn’t make it but wanted to help, and that quiet Black Country solidarity that shows up when it counts. You lot are genuinely amazing.

Here’s what a charity sleepout actually feels like: cold, obviously. Uncomfortable, definitely. But also strangely grounding. Spending one night outside in a storm gives you about five minutes of perspective on what rough sleeping actually means for the people doing it every single night, through every storm, with nowhere to go when the sun comes up. We got soaked through, we’re absolutely knackered today, but we went home this morning. Not everyone gets that option. That’s why events like the Molineux Sleepout matter. They’re not just fundraisers. They’re reminders.

The atmosphere last night was something special, storm and all. Seeing so many people from across Wolverhampton and the wider Black Country community turn up and stick it out together, that’s what this region does best. We show up for each other when it matters, whatever the weather literally throws at us. Massive respect to everyone else who braved Storm Claudia with us. We were all in it together, and that kind of collective stubbornness is peak Wolverhampton.

Thank you to everyone who donated, shared our fundraising page, or sent encouraging messages. Thank you to our sponsors who made this possible. And thank you to The Wolves Foundation for organising an event that actually makes a difference to people who need it most. We’re proud to have been part of it, proud to stand alongside our community, and very much looking forward to drying out properly. Your support has made a real difference.

Yesterday morning we traded our desks for a spot behind the tills at Brierley Hill Asda, selling poppies and chatting with shoppers. No design briefs, no client calls, just us and our local community doing something that actually matters.

There’s something grounding about stepping away from the screen for a day. Don’t get us wrong, we love what we do. Design work is brilliant. But spending a morning face-to-face with the people who make up our town, hearing their stories, seeing them stop to remember and contribute, that hits differently. No deadlines breathing down your neck, no pixels to push around, just genuine human interaction and the chance to give back in a small way. We came away buzzing.

Being a Black Country design agency isn’t just about having a Brierley Hill postcode. It’s about actually being part of the community we work in. Showing up when local causes need volunteers. Supporting the people and businesses around us. Staying connected to what makes this area tick. Yesterday reminded us why we’re so proud to be rooted here. The warmth, the generosity, the willingness to stop and chat even when you’re just nipping in for milk. That’s pure Black Country.

Every poppy sold, every donation dropped in the tin, every story shared, it all adds up. The Royal British Legion does incredible work supporting veterans and their families, and getting to play a tiny part in that felt good. Proper good. We’ve always believed that businesses should be active members of their communities, not just entities that exist in them. Yesterday put that belief into practice, and we’re already looking forward to doing it again.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our till at Brierley Hill Asda yesterday. Thanks for the donations, the smiles, and the reminder of what community actually means. Thanks to Asda for hosting us and to the Royal British Legion for the work they do year-round. And thanks to the Brierley Hill community for being exactly what it is: brilliant, generous, and proudly Black Country. These moments fuel everything we do.

Some evenings remind you exactly why you do what you do. Last night was one of those for us.

Dan and Rebecca attended the Wolves Foundation Gala Dinner 2025, celebrating the incredible work the Foundation does across the Black Country. We were invited thanks to our involvement in the Molineux Sleepout campaign and our connections through The Black Country Chamber of Commerce. What we didn’t expect was a proper full circle moment that left us a bit emotional, if we’re honest.

The evening was packed with inspiring stories about real impact happening right here in our community. We had the chance to meet some of the Wolves men’s and women’s first team players, which was brilliant. But the real highlight? Rebecca got to chat with John Richards, the absolute legend who gave her her very first graphic design job all those years ago. Talk about coming full circle. There’s something special about attending an event celebrating community work, representing a business you’ve built, and bumping into the person who started your entire career. We’re not crying, you’re crying.

The Wolves Foundation isn’t just doing good work for the sake of a press release. They’re genuinely changing lives across Wolverhampton and the wider Black Country every single day. Youth programmes, community initiatives, support for vulnerable people, it’s all happening because they show up and do the work. Being part of that story through our design contributions fills us with genuine pride. When you align your business with causes you actually believe in, work stops feeling like work. It becomes something bigger.

Supporting organisations that make real change in your community isn’t just good ethics. It’s good business, good for the soul, and it creates connections that last a lifetime. We understand how easy it is to get buried in deadlines and client deliverables and forget the bigger picture. But moments like the Wolves Foundation Gala Dinner snap you right back to what matters. The people sitting around those tables last night, the stories being shared, the impact being celebrated, that’s what community looks like when it’s working properly.

These events also remind us why we’re so committed to helping Black Country businesses succeed. When local businesses thrive, they can support local causes. When local causes get support, they can help more people. When more people get help, communities get stronger. It’s all connected, and being part of that cycle is exactly where we want to be.

Massive thank you to Laura Cahill for the invite. We’re genuinely honoured to be part of this journey with the Wolves Foundation. And to everyone involved in making last night happen, you’ve created something special. Here’s to more full circle moments, more community impact, and more evenings that remind us why showing up matters.