Award of Merit:

Design IS: for Port Melbourne Secondary College brand strategy and design

Design IS: a Melbourne-based, branding and graphic design consultancy, providing strong conceptual thinking, timeless and effective design solutions, accountable project management and a comprehensive understanding of production techniques. 

Ian Scott is Principal and Creative Director of the business. With a unique array of experience in branding, packaging, websites, publishing, exhibitions, photography and advertising, I bring an holistic approach to creating and managing design. I enjoy working closely with clients to create and redefine their brands, ensuring they stand out in the crowd, build strong and enduring connections with their audiences and help grow their business. I am passionate about pushing the boundaries of design and exploring new ways to offer clients a distinct advantage. 

I am also a strong believer in human-centred design thinking and I try to ensure end-users are involved in key stages of the process in every project. With some clients this can be a challenge, but in major branding projects, I believe it is critical to brand adoption and the project’s success. 

Collaboration is fundamental to the methodology of Design IS. Multi-disciplinary teams and a strong support base of suppliers are essential to meet many of my clients project needs. Additional talent regularly includes writers, photographers, video producers, animators and web-developers. 

Design IS: has a strong base of clients, largely from the food and wine, education, social service and industry sectors. I have gained a thorough understanding of the education sector through my consulting work for Swinburne, RMIT and Curtin Universities, Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School and Albert Park College. In addition to this, I provided pro bono design services to a local primary and secondary school for 13 years, which included school rebranding, event branding, management and promotion. 

With over 30 years in the industry, I have shown my commitment to furthering design through the support I have given our leading industry bodies representing graphic designers. After an enjoyable four years on Council for the Australian Graphic Design Association, I switched allegiances, because of a growing passion to work with designers of other disciplines. I spent six years on the Victorian State Council of the Design Institute of Australia and held the office of State Secretary for one of those. In 2010, I was awarded a Fellowship of the DIA, for services to the industry.

About the Project

Port Melbourne Secondary College is a new, state-of-the-art public school with innovative learning environments and a focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, design thinking and real-world problem solving. 

The school was designed by Billard Leece Partnership, who had been working on the project for two years, when Design IS: was commissioned in July 2021, to develop the brand strategy and design. At this time, the location was a muddy building-site, with on-site collaboration made difficult by the Covid Pandemic. The School Council had yet to be appointed and the Education Department had left full responsibility for branding with the Principal. Having worked with Design IS: on projects at her last two schools, we had already established a strong working relationship, which no doubt made the job easier. 

I was acutely aware of the need to marry the brand design with the ground-breaking architectural design. This meant an understanding the architects concepts and aspirations were an important place to start the brand strategy. Importantly, the physical aspects of the building design, such as colour, shape, texture and layout would need to be taken into consideration with the start of the design process. 

Being a local government school, for a specific community, the brand needed to convey a sense of place, in a place that is currently undergoing substantial change. It was important to gain a good understanding of the indigenous culture and more recent history of the area, as well as current uses, issues and future plans. The Fishermans Bend Precinct, where the school is located, contains much of the state’s dockyards and has been an area of heavy industry for generations. In addition, the State Government’s vision for Fishermans Bend is to transform it into a major technology/innovation hub, combined with a significant residential zone. 

In designing the brand for this type of project, a broad variety of applications and media needed consideration – from large format building signage, through to printed and digital promotional materials and uniforms. Applications at small scale need to have clarity and when super-sized, not appear heavy or clumsy. 

A school’s uniform is undoubtably their major brand touchpoint and the most distinguishing part of their brand. Partnering with an experienced fashion consultant, and a cohort of senior student advisors, set the team for designing the schools summer, winter and sport’s uniforms. It was important to have the Principal heavily invested in this part of the brand project, so that her vision and need for wearable, practical elements be central to the design process. To promote diversity and inclusivity, we kept the uniform designs as simple and interchangeable as possible. All elements of the school uniforms and sports outfits can be worn by anyone, irrespective of gender identities, with varying cuts to suit body shape.

Category: Interact

Designers and Project Team:
Ian Scott, Design and strategy
David Mandara, Assistant strategist and writer
Felicity Bath: Fashion consultant