A York-based graphic design agency has been commissioned to help students expand their understanding of working in the creative industries.

LazenbyBrown, based at the Fishergate Centre in the city, will select a team of students at York St John University for the project.

It will involve numerous disciplines, including graphic design, photography and dance.

The outcome will be a huge exhibition, probably at the university's refurbished chapel, which will be the base for the Centre For Excellence In Teaching And Learning (C4C CETL) next year. The process will be funded by a "creative fellowship" from the C4C CETL.

Co-directors Mat Lazenby, 30, and Gary Brown, 36, are not the only ones to receive a Creative Fellowship from the C4C CETL. One has also gone to dance producer Jayne Greenfield.

Mat said: "We are genuinely excited about the prospect of collaborating with students at staff at York St John University.

"I am sure that we will be learning as much from the students as they will be learning for us. That is what is so exciting about the creative arts. It is a journey of discovery.

"We will be seeking the co-operation of a paper company to become involved in publishing a coffee table book, chronicling in words and images the journey we will have taken."

Susan Orr, deputy dean of the university's faculty of arts, said the fellowships provided "a real opportunity for students to gain insight into the professional creative process".

She said: "The students will experience a new way of learning that comes from debating and exploring creative ideas with professional practitioners."

Mat said: "Far from interfering with business, the fellowship will be an inspiring process, which will keep our creativity fresh and alive to the benefit of our existing clients."

LazenbyBrown was launched by the two men in September 2005.

Since then, it has been consistently profitable, as new clients have sought the company out.

They include York law firm Harrowell Shaftoe, Business Link York And North Yorkshire, brewers Theakstons and Scottish & Newcastle, Kirklees Council and York-based Customer First.