Trying to complete a degree during a pandemic is far from ideal, but this year’s graduating class on the BA Advertising & Brand Design course at Ravensbourne University London have taken the difficult times as an opportunity to form a community.

While their final-year experiences are no better or worse than any previous graduates’, they are undoubtedly different – so, naturally, their degree showcase was reimagined to suit their times – leading to the birth of the Homemade Grads concept.

Inspired by the students’ abilities to think beyond the four walls of their homes, Homemade Grads redefines what a degree showcase can look like. Using one of our billboards in the heart of East London to link to a specially designed, interactive AR experience, the QR code pops up a gallery of student work that you can navigate through as you move around the space. Working alongside a website with exhibitions of projects and final pieces, it creates a graduate show that’s both physically experienced, and digitally constructed.

The creative thinking behind the concept is representative of the students’ incredible abilities to problem-solve and think outside the box over the past year. Out of necessity, all of their work has been “homemade” – but clearly not bound by the confines and limits of lockdowns. With learning situated online, it encouraged the class to foster dynamic relationships with each other and the wider creative community, broadening their horizons and making the best of a trying time.

We’re delighted to be supporting this medley of makers, designers, creators and writers on the streets of London, placing innovative creativity in the heart of the city – right where it belongs.