WIL Australia's rebranding journey

Student Perspectives

As a team of students working at Swinburne's onsite design studio the Bureau, we have had the unique opportunity to contribute to the rebranding of work-integrated learning Australia, playing an active role in shaping its new identity. This experience has strengthened our professional capabilities and deepened our understanding of real-world project execution.

The project began with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation across the team. Charlotte was particularly motivated by the opportunity to work with an organisation that understands the importance of work integrated learning. Tyler echoed this enthusiasm "To hear that an organisation like WIL Australia was putting its trust into a WIL workspace to take it into a new era of innovation and collaboration was truly inspiring" For Elena, initial nervousness quickly transformed into confidence through client interactions. They treated our team as professionals and were very friendly and courteous," she reflected."Being able to justify my design decisions and explaining the thought behind the concepts was key." This professional treatment was particularly meaningful when the organisation selected Tyler's logo design, which he described as "a real sense of accomplishment and reinforced my confidence in my creative abilities. Charlie found the feedback process particularly valuable: "Over numerous Zoom/Teams meetings we were able to attain constructive feedback and work to best fulfil the goals of the WILA board. This process showed how even our short time in a WIL program had advanced our professional capabilities" 

The project has helped each team member grow in different ways. Charlotte gained insightinto how brand redesigns and campaign strategies are realised, while Elena developed stronger presentation and teamwork skills. Tyler enhanced his communication abilities through stakeholder interactions, and Charlie learned the importance of thoroughly explaining design processes. Looking ahead, the team feels better prepared for future professional challenges. As Charlie noted, "I feel more capable dealing with real clients and can work on my communication skills to make the process even more smooth and streamlined." This sentiment was shared by Tyler: "I feel much more capable to take on more challenging projects and contribute ideas with greater assurance."Our journey with WIL Australia has demonstrated the power of work-integrated learning in practice. We are proud of our contribution to WIL Australia' s next chapter and excited to see
how this rebrand strengthens the connection between education and employability, just as this experience has done for us.

Students
 

Charlotte Cumming	Charles Boyle-Bryant	Tyler Lazarro	Elena Axiomakarou

Employer Perspective

As Director, I manage the Bureau as a professional design studio with a considered WIL overlay, taking on design projects for both internal Swinburne clients and external businesses and organisations. I think that our designs are right up there with the best of our industry colleagues and try to build a culture among the team to reject anything that is not. While my design team are technically still students, I view them all as staff. This thinking means they very quickly shed their student personas for that of the professional design staff they need to be. While the students start their placements with a lot of creative talent, it can be quite a task to help them wrangle that into a professional practice. For example, their approaches to presentation can range from being a nervous wreck through to coming across as laconic. Other skills such as writing a return brief, estimating the hours and fees for a project, negotiating and documenting client changes and so on all improve with experience, time and guidance. 

At the Bureau, the level the students are working at, and the calibre of work they are provided with, would normally be given to much more senior staff. And the WIL overlay – intentional, considered, accelerated – brings a depth of learning to their experience that could take years to achieve in an external industry scenario. It is extremely rewarding for me personally to see their growth and know that they will be finishing their placement with the skills, mindset and talent needed to make it in industry – not to mention some fantastic folio pieces, including the new WIL Australia brand and
identity.

Alex Tyers
Bureau Director, 2023-2025
Swinburne University,