Caroline Austin 24hr Design Competition entry

Communities thrive when they are connected, purposeful and achievement-focussed. Each of these three posters is a stand-alone work demonstrating the theme of ”together we thrive”. Viewed together, they are a call to action and tell a story about how communities can achieve great things.

The posters are iconically Australian. They draw on a muted Australian colour palette and feature a recurring set of characters, each representing iconic Australian animals: a crocodile, kangaroo, platypus, cassowary, green tree frog, and bin chicken. Their audience is an expanding one - from the local street to the town to the globe. 

The first poster invites residents to a street party. It’s fun and informal and is a low effort way for the community to get to know each other (just bring a plate!) The second poster is a beach clean up event with a broader community footprint. It calls us to join up and contribute. Each of these builds to the final poster, which promotes the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Here the focus is global, but is driven by the same theme of “together we thrive”. Again, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and is focussed on having fun together.

Together these posters present a visual style that could be picked up as part of a larger campaign, with broader events. The characters are ready-made mascots with quirks and personalities that could generate broader appeal.

My creative process began with hand-drawn character designs, followed by compositional sketches for each poster. I then brought these ideas to life using Adobe Illustrator for the graphics and Adobe InDesign to add the text and finalise the layout. Through this collection, I hope to convey the enduring strength of communities-large and small-represented by this vibrant ensemble of characters engaging in meaningful activities.