Bright Awards
Design and Creative Media Competition
Courtesy of Billy Blue College of Design at Torrens University Australia, the Bright Awards Design and Creative Media competition highlights emerging talent across secondary schools in Australia.
Overview
The Bright Awards spotlight the fearless creative talent of Year 10, 11 and 12 students across Australia. Celebrating rising designers and creative media moguls, this competition from Billy Blue College of Design puts future game-changers on the map. Whether you're just discovering your spark or ready to flaunt your skills, the Bright Awards give you the chance to get noticed by industry legends. And with cash prizes for students and schools, it's all about fuelling those creative dreams from the ground up.
Meet our 2025 winners
Be inspired by our 2025 Bright Award winners. Find out more about their submissions on our blog.
Categories and prizes
What’s on offer? By entering the Bright Awards competition, you could win:
- A Category Finalist spot, earning yourself $1,000 plus a complimentary Creative Cloud licence* from Adobe (valued at $1,055).
- All Category Finalists are then put forward, where one could win the Pinnacle Award in Creativity & Innovation Excellence earning a 50% scholarship* to study design and creative technology, and $5,000 for your school.
The Bright Awards are not just about the fame and kudos – although that can be great - but are about taking that first step towards a career in design and creative technology.
We're looking for original ideas, demonstrated research and planning which results in a quality submission. We would love to see how your creative submission has been considered from a social, environmental or economic perspective too.
All category finalists will be in the draw for the Pinnacle Award in Creativity & Innovation Excellence.
Categories:
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Architecture & Interiors
Criteria
We’re looking for work that represents you as a future Interior Designer or Architectural Technician. This could include interior or exterior spaces, furniture, artefacts, digital or physical environment concepts. Work completed as part of your Y10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create your vision of a space, or place. Where possible emphasize how your vision solves a societal challenge or environmental issue.
Judges will look at the aesthetics of your design ideas (what it looks like visually), the research and development processes you've used, techniques used, your creativity, spatial awareness, an understanding of the elements and principles of design, and presentation applied.Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on the originality of the idea, how the idea addresses a social, environmental or economic issue, how you demonstrate preparation and planning in your work, and the overall quality of your submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Suggested submission pieces may include concepts, sketches, illustrations, mood boards, models, pictures, videos, technical documents, plans or conceptual renders. -
Creative Media
Criteria
This category celebrates creative exploration across media production, film, 3D design, animation and interaction design. You may wish to design a media campaign, website, app, interactive experience, installation, short film, motion graphic piece, 2D or 3D animation, or mixed media concept. Work completed as part of your Year 10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create your vision of a story, animation, interactive experience, installation or digital media concept (e.g. an app, website, short-form motion piece or experimental media work). Judges will assess the aesthetics of your design (visual impact and style), research and development processes, technical execution, creativity, user experience considerations, understanding of the elements and principles of design, and overall presentation.
Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on the originality of the idea, how effectively it communicates a message or addresses a social, environmental or economic issue, the evidence of preparation and planning, and the overall quality of the submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Suggested submission materials may include concepts, sketches, storyboards, design development documentation, wireframes, style frames, illustrations, 2D or 3D animations, videos, installation documentation, technical documents, .mp4 files, or YouTube links. -
Fashion Design, Marketing & Textiles
Criteria
We’re looking for work that represents you as a future fashion leader, a designer, entrepreneur, or marketer. This could include business concepts, garments, accessories, textiles, merchandising, digital or physical fashion. Work completed as part of your Y10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create your vision of a fashion collection, fabric, garment, design technique, business model, experience, brand, or campaign.
Judges will look at the aesthetics of your design ideas (what it looks like visually), the research and development processes you've used, techniques used, your creativity, material awareness, audience awareness, an understanding of the elements and principles of design, and presentation applied.Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on the originality of the idea, how the idea could address a social, environmental or economic issue, how you demonstrate preparation and planning in your work, and the overall quality of your submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Suggested submission pieces may include concepts, sketches, illustrations, mood boards, models, pictures, videos, technical documents, campaign ideas, range plans or conceptual renders. -
Gaming
Criteria
This category is dedicated to game design, development and interactive play experiences. You may design a game concept, playable prototype, character, environment, level design, game system, or develop a complete game demo. Submissions can be for console, PC or mobile. Work completed as part of your Year 10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create your vision for an original game experience. This may include gameplay mechanics, narrative, world-building, character design, systems design, or a playable demo. Judges will evaluate gameplay innovation, creativity, user experience, technical execution, visual and audio design, research and development processes, understanding of game design principles, and presentation.
Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on originality, gameplay thinking, how well the concept addresses player engagement or a broader social, environmental or economic theme (if applicable), evidence of planning and iteration, and the overall quality and clarity of the submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Suggested submission materials may include concept art, character and environment designs, game design documents (GDDs), rule sets, prototypes, playable builds, videos of gameplay, technical documentation, .mp4 files, YouTube links, Steam links, or conceptual renders. -
Photography
Criteria
We’re looking for images that showcase your photography skills. Photographs can show anything: architecture, landscape, nature, portrait, still-life, street photography… you name it, we’ll accept it. Work completed as part of your Y10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create a series of images that showcases the type of photography career you wish to pursue.
We’ll be judging your work based on your creativity, the composition of the shots or ideas, and the story or narrative behind them.Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on the originality of the shots, how your concept could address or showcase a social, environmental, or economic issue, how you demonstrate preparation and planning in your work, and the overall quality of your submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Please supply at least 3 images, with a maximum of 5. Suggested support submission pieces may include concepts, sketches, mood boards, video, folio, and images. -
Visual Arts
Criteria
This category is open to all aspects of graphic and communication design including motion graphics, print or digital design. You may wish to design a poster, an illustration, a logo, a magazine concept, a font or typeface, packaging concept, a merchandising idea, web design, or a marketing campaign idea. Work completed as part of your Y10, 11 or 12 studies can be submitted.
The Brief
Create a visual design concept or finished design.
Judges will look at both the aesthetics of your design ideas (what it looks like visually), the research and development processes you've used, techniques used, your creativity, user experience considerations, an understanding of the elements and principles of design, and presentation applied.Entry Requirements
Entries will be judged on the originality of the idea, how the idea could address a social, environmental, or economic issue, how you demonstrate preparation and planning in your work, and the overall quality of your submission. Within your entry, you must provide a 100-word rationale of the background for your submission.
Suggested submission pieces may include concepts, sketches, illustrations, motion graphics, .mp4 files, finished artwork in print or digital form.
Meet our judges
Professor
Agnes Bosanquet
Melissa O'Brien
Dr
Dan Staines
Russell Ponting
Dr
Rachel Lamarche-Beauchesne
Tristan Bunn
Elicia Simon
Dr
Nandini Sidnal
Daniel Staebe
