HIGH school students Vanessa Hall and Lucy McCann have every reason to celebrate this weekend as the Swan Hill Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club marks its 50th anniversary.
Although the St Mary MacKillop College students are too young to hold a driver’s licence, it was their design skills and creativity that caught the eye of the car club.
Their artworks were selected to feature on the club’s commemorative badge, rally pack cover and placemat as part of the upcoming celebrations.
Jeremy Wood, the school’s arts curriculum leader, said the students knew very little about the car club before the unique collaboration.
“As the visual communication design teacher, I am always looking for real design briefs for my students to work on, so this was an exciting opportunity with a time frame that was perfectly suited,” Mr Wood said.
Year 9 and 10 students enrolled in the graphics mix course were encouraged to unleash their creativity as they worked towards meeting the car club’s brief.
“This subject is designed to introduce students to the features of communication design and the various stages of the design process,” Mr Wood said.
He said the subject acted as a precursor for the VCE visual communication design subject “and builds the foundation skills for students considering this pathway”.
Throughout the project, students were involved in all aspects of the design process as their final creations came to life.
At the end of the semester the designs were sent to the car club, with Vanessa and Lucy selected as the winning combination.
Both students said they felt proud to know their designs would be featured as part of the car club’s historic milestone.
“It’s exciting and I’m shocked to think my design is actually going to be out in the public,” Lucy said.
“This is the first time my work has been used for something like this,” Vanessa said.
Mr Wood said students enjoyed working on the project throughout the semester.
“I observed a deep sense of pride and connection from all students,” Mr Wood said.
“Given the students were extremely proud of their local heritage, their enthusiasm and final presentations were a reflection of this.”
Mr Wood said he was open to working alongside other not-for-profit groups and encouraged anyone with ideas to contact the school.
“St Mary MacKillop College would like to thank the Swan Hill Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club for this wonderful opportunity and we hope to secure more design briefs from not-for-profit organisations in the future,” Mr Wood said.
