On Wednesday, June 5th 2019, we held our third annual Student Showcase where our 9th and 10th graders showcased their final projects -- Grade 9 developed a marketing and advertising campaign for Merit and Grade 10 created a Merit Product collection.
Videographers: Kyle Morgan and Desmond
INTRODUCTION
Each year our 9th and 10th grade FATE cohorts participate in an end-of-year capstone project where they put their skills in business, entrepreneurship, marketing, and design-thinking to practice! Five 9th grade teams were asked to create a Marketing and Advertising Campaign for Merit (our cause-based fashion brand) which included a 60-second commercial, a print advertisement, and a 5 minute pitch. Our 10th graders were split into three teams and developed a Merit Product Collection. These collections go on display at the Student Showcase and the team with the most pre-sales has their collection produced in full.
Grade 10: Create a Product Collection for Merit
This year, our seasoned 10th graders were put into 3 project teams to work on their Grade 10 Capstone Project: Designing a Merit Product Collection.
Excellent 6
About the Collection: Our goal is to encourage a culture of uniqueness. Through our clothing line we want to expand your confidence, and mindsets so that you can truly be in your comfort zone. We are a collective group of individuals that will have you embrace your differences. We are young entrepreneurs from Detroit who have spent the past couple of months creating this clothing line for Merit. We’ve noticed that most people are “followers,” which has motivated us to create this collection to inspire a unique community. We truly believe you can be different.
Black Legions
About the Collection: To reclaim a once hateful group name, Black Legion aims to inspire the people of Detroit to make a positive change within the community. We are a team of young black entrepreneurs that believe in our history to guide us into the future. The future will see your progress by what you do today.
Brainstorming Head Lice
About the Collection: Detroit is the rose that grew from the concrete. Detroit is self-made and never afraid. The City has always rebuilt itself and came out stronger than before. We believe that Detroit is a very inspiring part of the world. Detroit is creative. resilient and made of steel. Grittiness encapsulates the Spirit of Detroit. Our Home.
To come up with their final designs, each team developed a theme for their collection, created design concepts, and worked alongside graphic designers to create the products you see today! We had some incredible project partners this year which included Carhartt, Shinola, Creative Solutions Group, and Tait Design Co.
- Carhartt
During the Carhartt workshop, our students spent the day in their newly renovated design center and learned about designing for a consumer and spent time fleshing out their collection themes. It was the perfect venue to be creative!
- Shinola
We had the opportunity to take our students to the Shinola Headquarters where each team was partnered with a Shinola graphic designer / creative. During this workshop, teams began to identify core components of their designs such as the aesthetic, design concepts, design elements, and colors. Shinola also partnered with us to produce a Merit backpack for each team which was customizable based on their collection theme!
- Creative Solutions Group
This was our second year partnering with Creative Solutions Group (CSG) to create physical sales displays for the Student Showcase! Prior to the event, each team visited CSG to design the large poster on display next to each collection booth!
- Tait Design Co.
In the spirit of designing for a consumer, we wanted to give the students a taste of what goes into visual design and production so we partnered with Tait Design Co.! We had a two-part workshop series where students first learned more about the company, the design process, and how products are made which was followed by a workshop where each student could design and make their own yo-yo!
Who Was Crowned The Winner???
During the 2019 Student Showcase, the Grade 10 teams had their products on display for pre-sale and interacted with a variety of customers! The goal was not only to showcase their creativity and hard work - but to get the most presales. It continues to be one of our FAVORITE moments to watch our 10th grade students interact with customers and share their passion for their collections! One of our Grade 10 students - Nachaela Trice - would greet every single customer with such incredible enthusiasm, asking: “What does Detroit Grit mean to you??”. 
While there were 3 incredible collections, only one team was selected as the winner based on the most pre-sales from June 5th - June 21st. In addition to a cash prize, the winning team’s collection will be available in full on Merit’s website. What’s so exciting about the Grade 10 project is that the winning team is chosen by YOU!! And finally, our winning 10th grade team was…...
EXCELLENT 6 - “Encouraging A Culture of Uniqueness”
The “Encouraging A Culture of Uniqueness” collection sold over a 100 products! You can view and purchase from their collection online at meritgoodness.com!
We want to give a special thanks to our Grade 10 Project Partners which include Carhartt, Shinola, Creative Solutions Group, and Tait Design Co., and our Graphic Design team! Shout out to:
- Martyna Alexander
- Darrin Brouhard
- Dan Brouse
- Susie Craft
- Ben Ewy
- Audrey Elkus
- Grace French
- Skyler Holt
- Agnieszka Masunas
- Monica Mitevski
- Jay Moore
- Ndubisi Okoye
- Larry Swint, Jr.
- Matt Tait
- Kori Valentine
Both our 9th and 10th graders completely blew us away with their marketing and advertising campaigns and product collections. We are so proud!
Photo Credit: Allison Farrand & Erin Kirkland