The Junior Design Factory is a working design studio run by children

The Junior Design Factory (JDF) is a flagship programme at Creative Briefs for children who ‘learn differently’ to gain practical experience in the creative industries. JDF is tailored to support neurodiverse children, providing an inclusive environment where their unique talents are recognised and nurtured.

Portfolio of work completed by JDF members

  • Colorful illustration of a dragonfly with wings in rainbow colors, including green, blue, purple, orange, red, and yellow, set against a transparent background.

    Dyslexia Street Book

    Children translated their own experiences of dyslexia into illustrations and poems to create 2 unique and immersive ‘books’.

  • Red delivery van with colorful rainbow graphic and cartoon girl with headphones on the side, featuring the logo 'connexin' and text about design and a young creator.

    Connexin Van

    Connexin set the Junior Designers a brief to turn their winning ‘Van Wrap Competition’ entries into a print-ready design for their specially commissioned vans.

  • Logo of Colchester Zoo, a stylized giraffe, and text indicating they are winners of the STEM Design Challenge.

    Colchester Zoo

    The Junior Designers created a visionary ‘Zoo of the Future,’ focusing on the redesign of the Mixed African Paddock and were named as winners of the STEM Design Challenge set by the Zoo.

  • Logo featuring stylized green initials 't' and 'h' with the text 'The Williams Family Fund' beside it.

    The Williams Family Fund

    The Junior Designers created a logo for a charitable organisation

  • A black fishing boat hull shape with the words "HULL IS THIS" embedded in the design.

    Hull Is This

    The Junior Designers designed the logo for a local media platform.

  • Logo with the words "Dyslexia Sparks." The word "Dyslexia" on the left in black and upside down, with a stylized brain illustration in the middle. The brain is half black and white, half orange, with lightning bolts and connecting lines.

    Dyslexia Sparks

    The Junior Designers created a brand identity for a local dyslexia charity.

  • Children dressed in animal costumes, including a tiger, bear, panda, and a child in a panda costume, standing outdoors with green grass and leaves, with a blue background and text that says, 'Everyone's Welcome MKM even if you're not a Tiger!'

    MKM Family Stand

    The Junior Designers came up with design concepts for the new Family Stand at The MKM Stadium - home of Hull City Football Club

  • Colorful decorative sculpture of a puffin bird with an orange beak, colorful striped body, and orange feet.

    Puffins Galore!

    The Junior Design Team produced a winning design for the Yorkshire Puffin Trail

  • Illustration from a children's book showing a large boat with eyes and a big smile, surrounded by many colorful cartoon turtles.

    The Ship That Got Stuck!

    The Junior Designers helped write and illustrate a book, based on the true story of the Ever Given Boat that got stuck in the Suez Canal in 2021.

  • Computer screen with a skateboard and a dinosaur toy, surrounded by floating guide pages about crafting and animal activities.

    Design Tasks for Kids

    The Junior Designers created a website for Dinostar - Hull’s Dinosaur Museum, as a way of keeping dinosaur fans engaged during the UK national lockdown.

Real World Experience

Junior Design Factory gives children a genuine understanding and hands-on experience of working in the creative industries.

Here’s why:

Real Client Projects:

Children work on design briefs from actual clients, experiencing real-world demands, expectations, and feedback just like professionals. This allows children to make meaningful contributions to their communities and see the tangible impact of their work.

Creative Control:

By taking full creative control over their projects, children learn the decision-making process and the responsibilities involved in bringing a concept to life.

Professional Guidance:

With mentorship from industry professionals—designers, illustrators, marketing experts, and photographers - children gain insights into various aspects of the creative industry, learning best practices and industry standards.

Presentation Skills:

Presenting their design proposals to clients enhances their communication skills and teaches them how to effectively pitch ideas, an essential part of the creative sector.

Overall, this approach immerses children in the creative process and equips them with practical skills and experience that are directly transferable to all careers.

How do children join The Junior Design Factory?

After completing Explore and Bronze Arts Awards with us, children are invited to join The Junior Design Factory, with online sessions that attracts young creative talent from across the UK. These sessions offer an enjoyable, accessible, and engaging experience for children to continue their creative journey. We continue to integrate Arts Award units into JDF activities to empower participants, meaning the children can:

Work Towards Silver and Gold Arts Awards:
Progress through higher levels of Arts Awards, gaining advanced qualifications.

Become Ambassadors and Mentors: Develop leadership skills by assisting with programme delivery and mentoring new participants.

Work on live design challenges from real clients!

Meet The Design Team
Flowchart illustrating arts awards progression from Explore Arts Award at entry level to Gold Arts Award at level 3, including levels and GCSE equivalents. Arrows indicate sharing knowledge and progressing through stages.

Submit a Design Brief to The Junior Design Factory

To collaborate with The Junior Design Factory, simply email us with a short outline of your design brief.

A member of our leadership team will get in touch to discuss the details, finalise the brief, and discuss design fees.

If your project is suitable, our talented young designers will take it on, bringing fresh and innovative ideas to life while gaining valuable real-world experience.

Junior Design Factory Press Release