The Anti-Knife Campaign Competition invited students to create impactful campaigns, designed to address the serious issue of knife crime and encourage positive societal change.

Helen Nowell, a University Teacher in Graphic Design, organised the competition in response to the 2023 Nottingham attacks.

The brief asked students to tailor their campaigns to different audiences, each with a specific angle on addressing knife crime. Some students focused on convincing government officials to enforce stricter knife control laws or to reallocate funds to support community activities for young people in underprivileged areas. Others targeted young individuals who might be vulnerable to the influence of knife crime or focused on informing parents about the risks their children might face. Students were encouraged to use visual communication, through illustration, storytelling, photography, or copywriting, to design campaigns that could resonate deeply with their chosen audience.

The winners of the competition were as follows:

• 1st Prize: Dan Hatfield
• 2nd Prize: Niall Corcoran
• 3rd Prize: Elena Inch
• 4th Prize: Joseph Smith

Dan Hatfield’s winning entry was called ‘Patch the Slash’, an original take on health preservation. His campaign addressed how uneducated young people are in treating stab wounds. Dan intends to donate his winnings to the Ben Kinsella Trust, an anti-knife crime charity set up in memory of Ben, an aspiring graphic designer, who was stabbed to death at 16 years old.

Niall Corcoran commented on his project ‘Having experienced the impact of knife crime first-hand in my youth, I became all too aware of the dangers many young people faced. My project ‘Think Life Not Knife’ was a chance to confront past traumas, channel my skills into meaningful social change and encourage young people to choose life over violence.’

Post competition, a notable early opportunity has already arisen from Bruce Houlder, a former Deputy Lord Lieutenant of London and editor of Fighting Knife Crime (London) magazine. He has expressed interest in featuring the student campaigns in the January 2025 issue.

The judging panel consisted of four Loughborough alumni:

• Jess Shaw, a Design for Social Value Award winner, currently working for Gymshark.
• Kaia Dendaluce, who won a Wood Pencil award at D&AD and works for Hundred Studios in Belfast.
• Georgia Smith, an Innovation Award winner now working for IBM.
• Helen Nowell, a part-time university teacher in Graphic Design and recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Enhancing the Student Experience in 2024.

The project was also supported by Jacob Dunne, Community Ambassador for Nottingham's Violence Reduction Unit, and Nigel McCrery, former Murder Squad Detective turned writer of BBC’s Silent Witness. McCrery gave an online lecture to students, sharing insights from his time as a detective and writer to underscore the gravity of the subject.

The Anti-Knife Campaign Competition was also supported by Professor Emily Keightley, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Vibrant and Inclusive Communities, Professor Rebecca Cain, Acting Dean of the School of Design and Creative Arts (SDCA), Julie Turner, Acting Operations Manager for SDCA and the SDCA’s EDI committee. This project aligns with the University's commitment to foster socially responsible and impactful design.

Through their creative work on the anti-knife campaign, these students are helping to tackle a pressing issue today. As their campaigns reach new audiences, the designs could have a lasting positive impact, inspiring both awareness and action against knife crime nationwide.