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The FUTURE FWD scholarship has been created to advance equality and inclusion in graphic design education. The £30,000 scholarship provides material costs and living expenses for a student studying Graphic Design, as well as access to mentorship throughout their course and a paid internship opportunity with one of the studios who support the scholarship.

The scholarship is supported by Zak Group, Pentagram, Some Days and Fraser Muggeridge.  

The FUTURE FWD scholarship grants one student, studying Graphic Design,£30,000 over their three year course.

Future FWD

Applications for 2025/26 will open in April 2025.

FUTURE FWD has established a new scholarship with Northumbria University, in partnership with Fraser Muggeridge studio, as part of its mission to advance equality and inclusion in graphic design education.

The £30,000 scholarship provides material costs and living expenses for a student from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background who has been accepted on the BA Graphic Design course at Northumbria University. Additionally, the scholarship includes access to mentorship throughout the course and a paid internship opportunity with one of the studios.

Associate Professor Jamie Steane from Northumbria’s School of Design says, “At Northumbria we are committed to providing fair access to enriching and empowering higher educational experience for students from all backgrounds. The support from Zak Group, Pentagram, Some Days and Fraser Muggeridge will provide an incredible stepping stone into higher education for talented designers and open doors to industry, helping them to build a strong platform for success in their future careers and life ambitions.”

Fraser Muggeridge studio joins design studios, Pentagram, Zak Group and Some Days to support the scholarship for the 2023/24 academic year.


“This scholarship offers financial support during university education, and crucially also mentorship and industry experience that aims to bridge the gap towards active employment or the foundation of a studio practice. I would like to encourage all graphic design companies, at whatever size, in whatever discipline to get involved in contributing, supporting and promoting the FUTURE FWD scholarship,” says director Fraser Muggeridge.

Northumbria University is the second university FUTURE FWD is collaborating with to provide £30,000 scholarships for students from underrepresented communities. Since 2021, FUTURE FWD has also collaborated with Central Saint Martins to provide scholarships for two students, with a third scholarship recipient to be announced shortly for the 2023/24 academic year.

“We are very pleased to be extending the FUTURE FWD scholarship beyond London and collaborating with Northumbria University. We firmly believe that the design industry needs to become more inclusive and diverse and this begins with making design education more accessible to students from underrepresented communities throughout the UK,” says Luke Powell, Partner at Pentagram.

The FUTURE FWD scholarship was established and first awarded in 2021. It is an ongoing initiative with the aim to support the next generation of design students. The ambition is to fund multiple students each academic year at universities around the world. To this end, FUTURE FWD would like to partner with other design studios to enable these opportunities.

FUTURE FWD, joined by Fraser Muggeridge Studio, announces new scholarship with Northumbria University 

Design studios Zak Group, Pentagram and Some Days have come together to commit their financial support for the 2022 FUTURE FWD scholarship.

Created in partnership with the globally renowned art and design institution Central Saint Martins, the £30,000 scholarship will provide material costs and living expenses for a student from a community currently underrepresented in the industry, who has been accepted on the BA Graphic Communication Design course. In addition, the scholarship includes access to mentorship throughout the course and a paid internship opportunity with one of the studios.

Zak Group, Pentagram and Some Days have joined forces for this initiative as they firmly believe that making a more inclusive and diverse design industry begins with making design education more accessible.

For the 2020/2021 academic year, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reported that 110,025 white students were enrolled in design and creative and performing arts-related undergraduate degrees as compared to 6,395, 6,235 and 9,610 from Black, Asian and mixed or other backgrounds respectively.


“As an industry we're only as good as the next generation of graphic design talent. By joining forces with two of the field’s leading studios we hope to demonstrate our mutual commitment to making design more inclusive” says Zak Kyes, Creative Director of Zak Group.

Pentagram partners Naresh Ramchandani and Luke Powell share, “We know that our industry can be homogenous and opportunities for people to progress their careers and work in a commercial setting are limited, especially for people who are from racialised backgrounds. By being part of FUTURE FWD we want to help make the industry more diverse and accessible through the scholarship and industry experience and exposure.” 

Steve Reinmuth, Creative Director of Some Days emphasises, “Too many creative voices aren’t being heard due to the barriers of education including cost and access. We are passionate about supporting the brilliant diverse minds that will lead our industry into the future.”


“The Central Saint Martins Graphic Communication Design Programme is proud to be partnering with three industry stalwarts who share our commitment to a more inclusive future for graphic design – Zak Group, Pentagram and Some Days –  for this year’s FUTURE FWD scholarship. The scholarship is an important tool for making a needed step-change in expanding access and diversity in our field,” says Rebecca Ross, Programme Director of Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins.

Applications for the scholarship will be accepted until 23 May 2022 and the recipient will be chosen in July 2022. 


The FUTURE FWD Scholarship was established and first awarded in 2021. The scholarship is an ongoing initiative with the aim to support the next generation of design students. The ambition is to fund multiple students each academic year and to extend beyond London to more universities. To this end, FUTURE FWD would like to partner with other design studios to enable these opportunities.

Zak Group, Pentagram and Some Days unite to support the FUTURE FWD scholarship

Zak Group is proud to announce a scholarship to advance equality and inclusion in graphic design named the FUTURE FWD Scholarship, in partnership with London’s globally renowned art and design institution Central Saint Martins. Awarded to a student who identifies as Black, Asian, or from an Ethnic Minority group, the scholarship will provide full maintenance and support for the three years of their degree.

“Our industry needs to expand opportunities for underrepresented communities. As the director of a design studio, I consider it my responsibility to address this imbalance by supporting the next generation of graphic design talent. With the support of my team and our clients, we have established a scholarship to improve access to design education. We hope this will inspire more companies to do the same.”

—Zak Kyes, Creative Director, Zak Group

Zak Group is an international design practice at the forefront of the industry. The studio is renowned for giving shape to contemporary visual culture at the intersection of art, architecture, design, and fashion. Their clients include Anne Imhof, Fact, M+, Paco Rabanne, and Virgil Abloh. Asel Tambay, Art Director at Zak Group, is a graduate of Central Saint Martins.

Dr. Rebecca Ross, Programme Director of Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins said of the partnership, “BA (Honours) Graphic Communication Design is one of the top undergraduate graphic design degrees in the world, consistently producing graduates who play transformational roles. We are determined that our field becomes more inclusive and are excited that the FUTURE FWD Scholarship will help support a new generation of graphic design leaders.”

Special thanks to Barkow Leibinger and Yana Peel for their support of the FUTURE FWD Scholarship.

The recipient of the scholarship will be announced later this year.

FUTURE FWD Scholarship at Central Saint Martins

Applications for 2025/26 will open in April 2025.