When art teacher Carla Emery introduced her primary pupils to graphic design, there was fierce competition over who could use the computer to do the work.

Now the children, aged between 7 and 10 and from Dalton E. Tucker Primary School and Somerset Primary School, can see their work at the first Design Showcase, organised by Stephan Johnstone, a graphic designer and founder of design agency SJD World, and the Bermuda Society of Arts.

Ms Emery, who teaches art at both schools, said: “I am a graphic designer, that is my first love, and I try to explain to my students that art is more than just painting and crayons. I thought it would be a good experience for the children to showcase their work.

“In this age of technology, I thought it would be nice to introduce them to graphic design because a lot of the young children like to use computers. They were excited about it so I showed them how to manipulate the type.”

The youngsters submitted two posters in the corporate category.

Ms Emery’s pupils won the chance to have their work featured in The Royal Gazette and others were given free web support and work experience.

The Somerset Primary School pupils submitted a poster called Words of Wisdom that included quotes they had researched online, while the students from Dalton E. Tucker Primary School entered a poster called All Lives Matter featuring the names of all the children at the school printed on the shape of a hand.

Ms Emery explained: “At Somerset Primary School, we were discussing different quotes. We researched them and plugged them into the Words of Wisdom campaign. I wanted to keep it positive.

“For All Lives Matter, there was the campaign called Black Lives Matter and I thought it would be good to come up with something similar.

“Every student in the school has their name on the poster. I wanted them all to know that each one of their lives matters.

“They were so excited that they were starting to argue who was going to get on the computer. It is unfortunate that some students only have 25 minutes of art a week in school for something that is so important.”

The Design Showcase, sponsored by Bermuda Blueprinting, is the first exhibition dedicated to the graphic arts in Bermuda.

Mr Johnstone ensured that all school entrants were given an opportunity that would help to nurture their talent.

Mr Johnstone said at the awards ceremony last Friday: “The best thing about the showcase it is that all the work is mixed in together.

“You have professional agencies and then you have students who are just starting out or doing it for fun. Sometimes you can’t even tell the difference.

“Everyone had a free space to create and show off their work rather than trying to prove who is best. We did want to honour student entrants so we gave them opportunities rather than prizes.”

The school winners were Shanna Hollis, who was awarded one day of work experience with Cosmic Ltd, Keilaray Hassell and Malcishia Outerbridge, who got five hours of free website support from Supatone Innovation and Payton Raynor, who won a portfolio review with SJD World.

The work will be on display at the Bermuda Society of Arts at Hamilton’s City Hall until August 21.