A COWIE student has created an interactive animation designed to combat poverty after being inspired by the work of the Poverty Alliance.

James Meek, an HND Digital Art and Culture student from City of Glasgow College, researched the work of the national charity as part of a project for his end-of-year-show.

James created an interactive animation after researching the Five Giants of the 1942 Beveridge Report - want, disease, squalor, ignorance and idleness.

The 21-year-old, who attended Bannockburn High School, said: “I wanted to show how the five giants have changed from the 1940s until the present day.

"I created an interactive animation which begins with an introductory video and at the end has a menu that allows the user to click on which giant they want to learn more about.

“A video then plays about that giant and shows what the situation was like in 1942, through facts and figures.

"It then explains what the situation is like today, such as disease incorporating more issues around mental health than it had previously.”

“I want to try and get into an animation degree course eventually and my time at City of Glasgow College has been very helpful.

"I am taking a year off but would like to go to either Dundee or Abertay universities to do a digital arts course and continue what I learnt at City of Glasgow College.”

A presentation by sociology students at City of Glasgow College on the social, economic and political theories underlying poverty prompted James to get help from the Poverty Alliance and digital media company ISO Design to bring her idea to fruition.

The Poverty Alliance policy and campaigns assistant, Rachel Thomson, said: “With poverty in Scotland being such a pressing issue, it was encouraging to see students use the Poverty Alliance’s work in their projects.

"The projects were hard hitting and portrayed a realistic image of what it’s like to experience poverty in Scotland.

“Many current issues were raised in the work such as low wages, benefit sanctions and homelessness and the use of lived experience of poverty within many of the projects was inspiring to see.”

Dianne Barry, of Digital Art and Culture at City of Glasgow College, said: “This project was designed to give our students the chance to create something completely different, as they will be expected to work on a whole range of projects when they go on to work in the industry.

"All the students embraced the valuable feedback that was given to them from ISO Design and, as a result, the work they have created for the end-of-year exhibition is incredible.”