The overarching artwork theme for WoD’s rebrand responded to a simple question, often asked in the RMIT Communication Design program —

How can we find ways for students and industry to engage with each other? Or in academic speak, how can we encourage reciprocal knowledge sharing between emerging and existing designers?

Using a visual pun for extra giggles, we developed an activity that enabled students to meet design practitioners in their workspaces and share moments together as they exchanged wads of work. The work would then be developed into artwork for the series — connecting emerging and existing designers through a shared love of design work and a visual narrative that existed because of their encounter.

Wads were starting to be collected… and then COVID‑19 hit.

Plans for personal encounters and the fancy Capitol Theatre venue were no longer an option. With a quick change of gears and careful attention to tone, Public Journal developed a revised communication strategy — moving the series to a virtual format and leveraging off the new shenanigans of iso-life.