A Colour-Filled Day at New Designers 2025
It was an early start on July 3rd for the SDC team as we headed to London for one of our favourite events of the year – New Designers! We made our way to the buzzing Business Design Centre to support our amazing members in picking this year’s winner of the SDC Colour Prize. And trust us – it was no easy task!
If you’re not already familiar, New Designers is the go-to event to check out the UK’s freshest emerging design talent.
For the past 40 years, it’s been giving over 2,500 grads each year a platform to show off their ideas – from fashion and textiles to product design, furniture, illustration, and beyond. The show runs across two weeks, with different creative disciplines featured each week.
Representing the SDC were the brilliant Linda Hodgson and Jane Duncan, who generously gave up their time to help select a winner for our Associate Prize – focusing on all things textile and colour. They were on the lookout for designs that used colour in a beautiful, original way, while also paying close attention to the materials, dye choices, and the sustainability of the work. Sounds easy? Not even close. Imagine trying to narrow down a winner from over 300 graduates, spread across 30+ universities… in just 3 hours. Yep, it was intense!
As Linda and Jane got stuck into the judging, the rest of the SDC team were busy chatting to grads, hearing about their work, and spreading the word about everything we offer – bursaries, webinars, short courses, conferences, networking events, and loads more. It was also a great chance to catch up with some of the tutors from the institutions taking part.
After seeing so much amazing work – seriously, the talent on show was next level – the judges finally agreed on a winner…
Big congratulations to Aimee Rayner from Swansea College of Art! Aimee’s work, inspired by her experiences working in NHS hospital wards during the pandemic, stood out for its emotional depth, sense of community, and a stunning colour palette that really caught the judges’ eyes. Her designs beautifully weave together care, creativity and a thoughtful use of colour.
As this year’s winner, Aimee will be featured in The Colourist online, join us at our celebration dinner in Chester, and receive a year’s free membership to the SDC – a brilliant way to kickstart a career in the world of colour and textiles.
We’re so excited to follow Aimee’s journey – so stay tuned to hear more about her work and what she does next!
Photography – Sam Frost