Jade Hodge
University of New South Wales
(NSW)

Jury comments: Jade demonstrates exceptional creative design skills and a deep understanding of spatial resolution, creating a breath of fresh air with her Meeting Place Ngurang project that beautifully integrates storytelling, language, ecology, and culinary heritage through biophilic design and immersive symbolism. Her work showcases a holistic and respectful design ethos with meaningful integration of Indigenous design elements, reflecting her maturity as a highly capable designer who creates calm and restorative spaces that people would want to travel to experience.

In this Jade’s course of study at UNSW , Country-centred knowledge and activities were developed by Associate Professor Bernadette (B) Hardy (Dharug Gamilaraay) with guidance from Uncle Tim Bishop (Murrawarri), Dr. Gillian Barlow (Kaurna Barkindji), Annisa Jones (Burubirangal Dharug), and Country as teacher (Dharug, Dharawal, Bidgigal, Gadigal, Wangal). Cultural knowledge is embedded in all work. In respect of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Law/Lore, please acknowledge First Nations contributors if work is shared.

Remie Collins
Sydney Design School
(NSW)

Jury comments: Remie has developed an impressive design folio with clearly articulated concepts that demonstrate exceptional creativity and technical skills, particularly her multigenerational Woven Community' project which distills complex briefs into pragmatic and comforting spaces while showcasing her strong approach to sustainability and human-centred design perspective.

Yingqi Amy Feng
University of New South Wales
(NSW)

Jury comments: Yingqi demonstrates strong user-centred design thinking with great innovative concepts like Tea Bricks, creating really beautiful outcomes with a nice, neat modernist aesthetic and thoughtful communication through her presentation boards.

Marty Whittle
RMIT University
(VIC)

Jury comments: Marty exhibited an excellent level of craft, refinement and balance in his designs, stating  you're clearly a well accomplished designer and highly employable.

Gusti Bagus Chanakya Wigneshwara
Monash University
(VIC)

Jury comments: Gusti demonstrates exceptional multidisciplinary design skills with a forward-thinking approach to sustainability and social impact, seamlessly integrating circular design principles across spatial, product, and interaction design.

Jessie Smith
North Metropolitan TAFE
(WA)

Jury comments: Jessie demonstrates strong core design skills with an excellent eye for design principles and a demonstrably empathic mindset, showcasing her ability to translate ideas into physical experiences through user-centred design that consistently emphasises empathy, storytelling, and human connection across all her work.

Sarah Smith
LCI Melbourne
(VIC)

Jury comments: Sarah demonstrates professional-level skills and outcomes with excellent depth of thinking and execution, creating interesting and unique design solutions that showcase her maturity and exceptional design capabilities.

Jessie Smith
North Metropolitan TAFE
(WA)

Jury comments: Jessie sets a high standard for visual presentation with her impressive portfolio that showcases proficiency across various design technology stacks including motion and graphic design, delivering clear and concise presentation boards that communicate her mature and human-centric design approach in a creative but practical manner.