Why Media? Advocacy, Assessment & Reflection

For my media advocacy product, I wanted to create something that showcased some of the very skills that the subject itself offers. Even though graphic design is its own discipline, visual communication is an integral part of Media Arts. I also wanted to present Media Arts as a creative, hands-on, and collaborative subject that feels relevant to the digital world students already live in. To do this, I created both a promotional poster and a supporting brochure, with each product serving a different but complementary purpose. The poster functions as an immediate visual hook during electives night, while the brochure provides students, parents, and carers with more detailed information about curriculum content, industry pathways, and the broader educational value of Media Arts. This multimodal approach reflects curriculum understandings that audiences engage with media works differently depending on purpose, context, and access to information (ACARA, 2022).

I used the key Media Arts concepts explored throughout the trimester, particularly representations, audiences, media languages, and media technologies. Using collage-style photography, bold typography, and high-contrast colours, I attempted to show that Media Arts is dynamic, creative, and social, while also appealing to younger students who are used to eye-catching digital media aesthetics. Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) argue that colour, composition, and typography communicate meaning similarly to written language, which influenced my use of strong visual hierarchy and contrasting colours to create an energetic and accessible design.

I also took inspiration from the unit's weekly discussions surrounding media literacy, creativity, and student voice. Instead of simply promoting technical production skills, I wanted to present Media Arts as a space where students can tell their own stories, explore identity, and critically engage with representation and meaning. Buckingham (2003) argues that media education should help students understand how media construct values, identities, and perspectives. This influenced my decision to incorporate curriculum terminology directly from the Australian Curriculum: Media Arts v9.0, including references to "media arts concepts," "representation," "audiences" and "responsible media practices," so the brochure would align with the language and priorities of the curriculum framework (ACARA, 2022).

I went through several drafts during the design process. My earlier versions contained too-heavy textures, dense text blocks, and too many graphic effects that made the products feel cluttered and difficult to navigate. After reflection, I removed and/or replaced unnecessary visual elements, refined spacing, and focused on readability and hierarchy by substituting text with images and increasing the size of some pictures. Lupton's (2011) take on graphic design and organisation influenced me to simplify and refine the layouts.

Eventually, I realised the poster could not hold both visual engagement and detailed information simultaneously, so I created the brochure as a companion piece to contain more details without overwhelming the poster itself. This process reflects AITSL Standards 2.1, 2.2 and 3.2 through accurate curriculum knowledge, purposeful content organisation and communication of the effective teaching strategies offered in Media.

The feedback I received gave me useful insight not only into my design decisions but also into the potential reach and applicability of my advocacy product. The comments were overwhelmingly positive, especially surrounding my use of media-specific language, the visual coherence, and the ICT skills I showed in the poster and brochure. My peers liked how the colours, layout and typography showcased the creative nature of Media Arts, but also noticed how I went beyond just classroom content and included broader media literacy ideas.

The feedback also pushed me to think about what I could improve. Some comments suggested adding more interactive elements, such as connecting it to my website through a QR code, or complementing the poster and brochure with a short promotional video. This made me think about how to reach audiences across different platforms, and not rely only on physical media.

An interesting comment regarded the "meta" dimension of documenting my creative process, reinforcing that Media Arts is about experimentation and development of ideas, as much as it is about the final product. In the future, I'd like to update these promotional products with student work examples, either through QR codes or links to digital portfolios, to provide concrete, real-world examples.

Another valuable piece of feedback asked whether the advocacy product would appeal to parents and carers as much as it would to students. Reflecting on this, I wonder if I could have highlighted the career pathways section more to further reinforce real-world applicability and strong professional trajectories.

Overall, presenting my work and receiving feedback reinforced the importance of audience awareness, purposeful design, and multimodal reach in Media Arts education.