Meet the 2025 Bright Award Winners

The annual competition champions creative excellence in secondary schools, offering students a platform to showcase their talents in design and technology and a glimpse into future career pathways.

What are the Bright Awards?

The Bright Awards are a Design and Creative Technology competition awarded by Billy Blue College of Design at Torrens University Australia to celebrate emerging talent across secondary schools in Australia.

The Bright Awards recognise up-and-coming designers and tech enthusiasts from Year 10-12, supporting the future of creative arts in high schools across Australia.

The awards are a design and creative technology competition providing students with an opportunity to show off their skills and receive highly sought-after recognition and feedback from industry experts. In addition, each category winner is awarded $1000 and a complimentary Creative Cloud licence in partnership with Adobe to help kickstart their creative dreams and careers.

The Bright Awards 2025 featured six categories:

• Architecture and Interiors
• Digital Technology
• Fashion Design, Marketing & Textiles
• Media Arts and Gaming
• Photography
• Visual Arts

This year’s winning entries spanned digital innovation, visual storytelling, and artistic craftsmanship, all reflecting a deep commitment to community, sustainability, and originality.

Vision meets action: Billy Blue on empowering young designers

Professor Agnes Bosanquet, Interim Executive Dean of Design and Creative Technology, applauded the winners for pushing boundaries and redefining what’s possible in creative education.

“We ask students to think deeply and expansively, and to consider what they create, and who they are becoming as creatives. The work we saw this year was bold, thoughtful, and full of promise.”

She emphasised the importance of real-world experience and bold thinking.

“These students took a risk in sharing their work as nascent designers. They made their learning visible. This courage is what the design industry demands, and that's what we celebrate in the Bright Awards.”

“We are proud to support students and schools through the Bright Awards. Above all, the awards are about empowering young creatives to imagine and build the future of design.”

Funding creative sparks

Each category finalist in the Bright Awards receives $1000 plus a Creative Cloud licence from Adobe (worth $1055), and the winner of the Pinnacle Award gets $5000 for their school plus, if in Year 12, they get a 50% Design scholarship.

Last year’s winning school, Oxley College used $2,000 to purchase equipment needed for film studies, and the remaining $3,000 will be used to present the “Oscar Fox Film Award”, a $300 annual award for a student in Year 10 or above who exhibits excellence in film making and storytelling.

Meet the future designers of Australia

Overall Pinnacle winner

Architecture & Interiors: Emily Carr, Year 10 at Pembroke School

Judges’ comment: “A thorough and thoughtful submission that demonstrates originality and rigorous research. “The Burrow” tiny home is socially, environmentally, and economically responsible. This is a beautifully designed solution to Australia’s housing challenges. The integration of biophilic design principles, reclaimed materials, and energy-efficient systems reflects a deep understanding of ecological and holistic architecture. The submission is rich in detail, with stunning rendered images that elevate the presentation. An appealing and future-friendly alternative to traditional housing. When can I move in?”

“A very thorough submission with thoughtful details and some stunning renders. Wow, so good!”

Category winners

Digital Technology: Jayashruthi Palanisamy, Year 11 at Chevalier College

Judges' comment: “Original, impressive, and blending both bespoke software and hardware. Demonstrates high social impact by enabling inclusive communication; integrates multiple cutting-edge technologies, including gesture recognition, speech-to-text, and emotional analysis. Outstanding work!”

Fashion Design, Marketing & Textiles: Noah Klug, Year 12 at Cammeraygal High School

Judges' comment: “The portfolio demonstrates extensive research and insightful conceptualisation while providing a meaningful social commentary on overconsumption.”

Media Arts & Gaming: Blake Alberts, Year 12 at Cammeraygal High School

Judges' comment: “Concept was solid, and implementation was clean despite the challenges. This means editing, sound, CG, and effects were done well enough that they support the storytelling.”

Photography: Calissa Macare, Year 12 at Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta

Judges' comment: “Shows excellent dedication to her craft, from planning through to execution. The student already has a strong command of both technical skills and creative expression. Calissa didn’t just capture, instead she brought them to life.”

Visual Arts: Ember Macare, Year 10, Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta

Judge’s comment: “The work demonstrates outstanding creativity and technical skill in graphic design. The recipient has produced beautifully crafted illustrations that capture both imagination and precision. Their work shows a strong understanding of design principles, including composition, balance, and colour theory, as well as a thoughtful approach to typography and typesetting. Through their projects, this student has demonstrated not only artistic talent but also the ability to communicate ideas effectively and professionally, showing great promise as they pursue further studies in graphic design.”

Commendation

Architecture & Interiors: Nina McGregor, Year 10 at Pembroke School

Judge’s comment: “Very impressive, well researched, and the physical modelling is great.”

Special thanks to judges and academics

Thanks to our judges and academic team for their expertise and support: Professor Agnes Bosanquet and Alwyn Hunt from Adobe as our Pinnacle judges. Dr Dan Staines, Melissa O’Brien, Daniel Staebe, Russell Ponting, Dr Rachel Lamarche-Beauchesne, Daniel Coelho, Dr Nandini Sidnal, Dan Staines, Ivan Kintanar, Andrew Marsh, Jacqui Casey, Tristian Bunn, and Elicia Simon, as our Category judges.

For more information

Learn more about next year’s Bright Awards, upcoming open days, and opportunities by following Billy Blue College of Design on social media.

Media enquiries: media.enquiries@torrens.edu.au