Has the city that we live, work or play in, lost its mojo? Is it time as design practitioners to re-imagine Melbourne and create a ‘new magic’ that will transform our city to be more inclusive, more experiential, more progressive, even… just a lot more fun? Yes it is. Welcome to Make your Mark - Melbourne.

In this studio you will investigate how brand identity and visual language can influence the way we think, feel and behave about a product, service, space or even an entire city.

By putting the customer at the centre of our thinking, you will have the opportunity to develop and create, via a proven process, your own unique ‘brand’ located within our city.

Think - Transform a laneway or carpark into a creative event space, convert an abandoned warehouse into your collaborative studio, remodel an empty shopfront into a pop up food outlet or maybe even revolutionise a lonely park bench into a social gathering space for the likeminded.

This studio will only be limited by your own imagination. It will help you develop your own unique ‘creative direction’ and Make Your Mark on Melbourne and beyond.

The studio is built around a culture of trust, collaboration and curiosity, with an emphasis on design thinking, especially ideation and strength of concept.

The studio will also provide first hand ‘real world’ insights and tips about the industry to help you forge your creative path. You may even find your ‘operating rhythm’ to help with time management.

We will also explore past and current design trends and personalities, locally and internationally, discovering, who and how, have made a difference in their field.

One to one support, group discussion, project collaboration, developing confidence through presentations and sharing of ideas will all form a part of the engagement platform.

You will have the opportunity to get ‘out and about’ to explore the unique qualities and surroundings of our city and discover the opportunities for transformation.

Following a process of ‘Discovery, Creation and Activation’ you will develop and create your unique brand offering that will bring your selected part of Melbourne to life. Using various design, advertising and environmental communication and media, tell your engaging brand story to attract your audience and make your mark on Melbourne.

Studio activities include: Group collaboration design and research exercises, presentations of findings and project progress and the discovery of your unique space.

The semester will be broken into 3 parts:

PART 1 - MY HOOD  

Collaborate with your team and create an awareness campaign of an inner city suburb to showcase to the rest of the world.

PART 2 - MY MELBOURNE 

Find your space, create your brand ID and communication / media that attracts your targeted audience…and make your mark on Melbourne.

PART 3 - SKO

It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be. By Paul Arden