Over the past couple of years, we’ve been teaming up with Kemnay Academy to support their Graphic Communication students with their coursework.
The collaboration was sparked by Rhiann Gibson, Design & Technology Teacher at Kemnay Academy, who was keen to give students something beyond the classroom: a genuine, real-world creative experience.
Most recently, we looped in our brilliant client The Pig’s Wings to help set an exciting live brief tailored to SQA guidelines:
• A printed specials menu
• A wall-mounted digital screen design
We shared real brand assets, written content and project parameters — just as we would prepare internally at the start of a project.
Students visited us in the studio and spent time at The Pig’s Wings restaurant too. Getting them out of school and into working creative environments makes a huge difference.
They start to absorb the project properly — understanding tone of voice, audience, atmosphere, constraints and commercial realities. It helps them develop not just design skills, but judgement and confidence.
Creativity beyond the Rules
The outcomes this year were incredibly varied. Some students stuck tightly to the brand guidelines. Others pushed things further — testing boundaries, experimenting and in some cases inventing a few new rules of their own.
That range is exactly what makes it exciting. Seeing young creatives interpret a live brand in their own way reminds us why we do what we do.
As Marcos Sasso from The Pig’s Wings puts it:
“It's so cool to see young creatives having fun and working with our brand. Such an honour. It gets you thinking doesn't it? We love the outcomes and hope everyone enjoyed the project!"
For us, projects like this matter. They bridge education and industry. They give students a clearer understanding of what working in design actually feels like. And they remind us that creativity thrives when it’s given something real to respond to.
Big thanks to Rhiann and all the students at Kemnay Academy for bringing such great energy and enthusiasm to the project.
Rhiann's feedback:
"This project has really brought the subject to life for my students, getting some real world experience at this stage of their education is just so important. Getting to soak up the creativity from Fine Day and the amazing branding they have put together for The Pig's Wings created a really interesting and exciting project that the students really enjoyed working through, and the time and support the team gave us was so valuable. When it came to the students' SQA Assignments at the end of the year I could clearly see the benefit that the whole experience had brought to their coursework."
Euan's feedback (pupil):
"I really enjoyed the design task as it was more engaging due to the real world products the designs were being based off. I think more learning like that would make my subjects at school very enjoyable."
