ECA731 Visual Arts Advocacy Communication Product

©shanihodson

The ‘Dare to Dream Big’ campaign has been designed to inspire year 9 - 10 Visual Arts students to see the endless and exciting career possibilities that studying Visual Arts can offer.

Visual Arts plays a vital role in creative industries, culture, and personal expression. Through artistic processes, students develop critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to communicate meaning in diverse ways (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2025).

This campaign challenges students to explore the exciting futures that await them. They will learn, that by studying Visual Arts, they will develop their own artistic voice, master technical skills, and cultivate conceptual depth, preparing them for a diverse range of creative careers (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2025).

The campaign consists of a series of 'hook-driven' posters which are accompanied by a set of career focused leaflets.

The goal is to look to the classroom and beyond.

DARE TO DREAM BIG IN VISUAL ARTS

The 'Dare to Dream Big' campaign has been designed as an ongoing series, with each poster and supporting material spotlighting a different exciting subject and innovative career path.

For example, within Visual Arts, Media Arts, and Visual Communication Design, future posters could explore careers within animation, game design, fashion technology, advertising, digital storytelling, UX design, and more, ensuring students see the full scope of where the creative industries could take them.

The primary audience for this campaign is Year 9 - 10 students who are about to make their elective VCE subject choices. At this stage, students are starting to think about their future pathways, yet many may not fully understand the real-world value of studying Visual Arts at VCE level.

The purpose of this campaign is to challenge misconceptions about Visual Arts and inspire students and parents to see the subject as a legitimate career pathway. By connecting Visual Arts to dynamic industries, such as fashion, digital content creation, marketing, and product design, the campaign highlights the role of artistic practice, creative processes, and visual arts in shaping the future. It emphasises that studying the arts isn't just about creativity; it's about cultivating visual literacy, critical reasoning, and design thinking (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024), key skills that are essential for future-ready careers.

This campaign directly engages students’ aspirations, helping them make informed elective choices by demonstrating how artistic and conceptual practices can lead to meaningful and innovative career opportunities (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024).

DARE TO DREAM BIG IN VISUAL ARTS

The primary audience for this campaign is Year 9 - 10 students who are about to make their elective VCE subject choices. At this stage, students are starting to think about their future pathways, yet many may not fully understand the real-world value of studying Visual Arts at VCE level.

The purpose of this campaign is to challenge misconceptions about Visual Arts and inspire students and parents to see the subject as a legitimate career pathway. By connecting Visual Arts to dynamic industries, such as fashion, digital content creation, marketing, and product design, the campaign highlights the role of artistic practice, creative processes, and visual arts in shaping the future. It emphasises that studying the arts isn't just about creativity; it's about cultivating visual literacy, critical reasoning, and design thinking (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024), key skills that are essential for future-ready careers.

This campaign directly engages students’ aspirations, helping them make informed elective choices by demonstrating how artistic and conceptual practices can lead to meaningful and innovative career opportunities (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024).

The 'Dare to Dream Big' campaign has been designed as an ongoing series, with each poster and supporting material spotlighting a different exciting subject and innovative career path.

For example, within Visual Arts, Media Arts, and Visual Communication Design, future posters could explore careers within animation, game design, fashion technology, advertising, digital storytelling, UX design, and more, ensuring students see the full scope of where the creative industries could take them.

'DARE TO DREAM BIG' Curriculum Alignment 2.0

Designed for Engagement

The campaign is strategically designed to capture the attention of Year 9–10 students through a bold, energetic, and dynamic visual approach. The use of colour, contrast, and hierarchy ensures it stands out in classrooms, common areas, and school events, making it an engaging and accessible resource.

The text is concise and impactful, utilising a clean, modern typeface that enhances readability and balance. Large, attention-grabbing headlines create emphasis, immediately drawing students to key messages and encouraging deeper engagement. The layout strategically employs negative space to maintain clarity, ensuring students can process information at a glance without feeling overwhelmed.

By applying the Elements and Principles of Design, this leaflet demonstrates the power of art language, a core concept in the Exploring and Responding strand of the Visual Arts Australian Curriculum (Israel, 2023, p.14)

The careful arrangement of text, imagery, and form reflects the importance of composition, hierarchy, and movement, skills that students develop when designing their own creative works.

Additionally, the Presenting strand is reinforced, as this resource models effective ways to communicate ideas visually, just as students learn to present and exhibit their own artworks with intention (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024).

Messaging & Wording

The messaging and wording is intentionally crafted to ignite curiosity and challenge common misconceptions about careers that follow Visual Arts. By framing the careers as dynamic, future-oriented, and full of potential, the leaflet positions Visual Arts as a legitimate and strategic pathway.

Career descriptions are aspirational yet accessible, using language that encourages students to envision themselves within the industry. This aligns with Possible Selves Theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986), which suggests that students are more likely to pursue careers they can actively imagine themselves in.

By presenting creative careers in an engaging and forward-thinking way, the campaign fosters self-efficacy and motivation, key drivers in career decision-making in adolescents (Dunkel & Kerpelman, 2006).

The Future of the Campaign

The future of this campaign could hold exciting potential for growth and expansion, offering new opportunities to reach and inspire even more students.

In the coming phases, the campaign could evolve by expanding the range of subjects and career pathways.

Additionally, integrating digital platforms or mobile applications would enhance engagement by providing interactive content like virtual industry tours, workshops, and career day events with professionals, making the campaign more dynamic and accessible.

Collaboration with industry experts would deepen students’ understanding of various career paths and provide hands-on experiences, mentorship, and real-world insights into the skills needed to succeed in these fields.