Kirklees student lands top award thanks to autism films

Lydia Haigh received a coveted Wood Pencil at the Design and Art Direction’s New Blood Awards.

Lydia, who has just completed a BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art for Design at Batley School of Art, created a series of short films for the National Autistic Society called Too Much Information.

She chose to tackle the society’s brief to create a film challenging the stereotypes and stigmas of autism and show the real people behind the label.

Her submission was one of only 12 winners selected internationally to receive a pencil award.

“I’d done a bit of film previously within my course, but I wanted to challenge myself,” said the 21-year-old.

“The subject matter was something that I was really interested about and wanted to learn more.

“I did a lot of research with people with autism and friends and family to see what kind of things they wanted to see in a campaign.

“Many had found previous campaigns to be a bit dismal and miserable.

“I wanted to make sure mine was informative and fun.

“The films are trying to make viewers who don’t understand, or do not have a connection to autism, better understand the condition.”

To view Lydia’s films, visit bit.ly/2v2QFeL.