Whilst working at architecture practice Freehaus, me and the team were commissioned to create the brand identity, signage, wayfinding, and the interior architecture for a new youth hub in Wood Green.

The London Borough of Haringey launched a new youth hub in Wood Green, providing vital services in a space designed to support young people’s development and help them prepare for their professional lives.

The much needed facility offers activities such as music and film production, coding and web design, cooking training and mental and sexual health support.

Central to the brief was the engagement and co-design of the name and brand identity with a group of local young people. The aim was to achieve a result that they would be proud of and to create opportunities for cultural capital exchange.

To ensure the project resonates and is accepted by the local community, participation, engagement and co-design have been crucial to the process.

For several weeks we worked with a group of local young people - listening to their stories, asking them what Wood Green means to them and how a new youth hub in the area would look and feel for them.

Through a series of design workshops, the young people shared their thoughts and creativity to co-produce different options for the name, logo and colour palette for the new youth hub. These options were put to test through a public survey that directly influenced the stakeholders decision.

The co-created brand was then refined and implemented on signage, wayfinding and branded materials.

These workshops and the ways in which we worked not only allowed for meaningful participation but also brought learning opportunities for young people.