The kids are alright

Anyone who visited the offices of branding and marketing consultancy Tag on Friday could be forgiven for thinking a child labour policy was being rolled out.

It was a one-off for the Children’s Commissioner for England’s Takeover Day, a coordinated national project which has been running annually since 2007, to give children practical work experience.

The Cambridge-based consultancy has worked with local charity Young Lives, to bring in a group of 15-year-olds from Cottenham Village College and engaged them in brand design.

Young Lives provides support services to voluntary and community organisations working with children and young people.

Tag account director Simon Wheeler says that following a branding introduction from company directors, students were asked to critique the Young Lives brand before being engaged on a live project to redesign the charity’s funding pack. 

Forming a focus group, the young people were asked to consider the targeting of the pack – which looks to raise funds from adult donors and to get young people involved.

Wheeler who says the focus groups views will inform further design says, ‘They were really fired up by it and felt listened to and taken into account.’

Meanwhile yet younger children were put to work by ad agency Saint at Internet Week Europe on Friday.  The ten-year-olds were brought together to draw their impressions of the internet.

Kid’s visions of the internet are being pitted against those of creative industry experts and illustrators to see who is more imaginative and indeed if anyone is capable of drawing the internet.

Voting is now live at www.canyoudrawtheinternet.com.