Design studio awarded for championing student creativity

An independent creative studio has been recognised for its commitment to helping young people prepare for their future.

D5 Design was named Innovation and Creativity Partner of the Year by Oaklands College in St Albans. The award was presented at the 2025 Oaklands Training and Development Employer and Apprenticeships Celebration event at the college’s Borehamwood campus.

The event brought together Oaklands’ employer partners, apprentices and staff to celebrate the vital role that education, training and partnership play in shaping strong and sustainable futures for young people.

Specialising in science communications, D5 Design offers a wide range of creative services and solutions including graphic, website, 3D and event design. Through its partnership with Oaklands College, the studio gave more than 100 students across science, engineering and ICT courses the chance to take part in a real-world, employer-led project.

The project introduced students to advanced technologies such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality, and demonstrated how these cutting-edge tools can be used to create interesting, informative and engaging product narratives.

Students were also given the opportunity to participate in subject-focused projects, join in workshops and gain valuable and employable skills along the way, such as teamwork, communication, time management and presentation.

Rebecca Slough, Managing Director of D5 Design, said:

“We’d like to thank Oaklands College for choosing us as their Innovation and Creativity Partner of the Year.

“We’re all about sharing the relevance and impact of good creative science and technical communications – a vital tool for getting new innovations off the design table and out of the lab.

“We’ve had great fun running live briefs and workshops with the Oaklands students. This real-world experience helps them build important toolkits that will stand them in good stead in the future and get their ideas and innovations off the ground. We’re already looking forward to the next academic year.”