In early August, the top consumer brand and packaging design team from leading brand and design agency Hulsbosch hosted by invitation a presentation at the Billy Blue College of Design in Sydney. International award-winning Grace Brown, Design Director, and Olivia Walton, Senior Designer at Hulsbosch welcomed an audience of up-and-coming talent at the prestigious design school’s annual Career Talks series.

The students were encouraged to forge a career in design mindful that what we know today, might almost be unrecognisable in the next decade. With a bright but uncharted future ahead, it is their abilities to be flexible and open anchored by their exceptional training that will have a maximum impact not only on their careers but on the industry.

Together, Grace and Olivia heighten the message of critical leadership development, telling their story for the next generation.

From our experience breaking into the industry, we know how valuable it is to hear direct from the industry, and we wanted to ensure the legacy of packaging design carries on into the next generation of designers and creative thinkers.

We were both in these students’ shoes at the beginning of our career and remember how daunting it was starting out. We wanted to impart some knowledge to help their journeys start in the right way.

Our stories are different, but we both grew up with a love for creativity. Grace is an Alumni from Billy Blue College and grew up on the Central coast in NSW, and Olivia is born and bred in Northern England, then made the leap of faith over to Australia three years ago. 

It signifies we can all have different journeys to travel, but with the right attitude, hard work and determination we can reach our potential and have amazing opportunities for whichever creative path you choose. 

Along with this, in a digitally driven age, we wanted to reiterate how imperative it is to see the ongoing value in creating a physical connection and instant engagement with consumers with a brand in the hand. It’s emotive, persuasive, and powerful.

At University or College, you don’t often get exposed to the real-world realities of the industry until you have graduated, so its invaluable for the students to experience and get a better understanding of what happens in a studio, and to help reduce fear and anxiety of the unknown.  

“Our relationship with Hulsbosch enhances our student’s learning experience, sowing seeds of inspiration and providing opportunity for real-world experiences and interactions that help shape our future graduates.” Nathan Scoular, Academic Director, Industry at Torrens University / Billy Blue College of Design – https://www.torrens.edu.au/billy-blue-college-of-design

From our real-life experiences, we showcased our client work featuring case studies from Coles, Kimberly-Clark and McPhersons. Through a step-by-step life cycle of a project, we revealed to the students all the stages that are involved in the process of creating new brands to market. 

This gave the students a realistic understanding of all that is involved in creating a brand from start to finish – and all the varying levels and different roles that are needed.  

We don’t get to work on one project a semester and muck around with it, in a commercial design studio we need to have a project completed to meet production timelines and client expectations. We juggle multiple projects at any one time, willing to be agile, flexible and able to work at pace. 

Nathan Scoular continued “From industry guest presentations to live brief projects, from portfolio review sessions to internship placements, we value the ways in which we can partner with industry.

In these ways we provide our students with opportunities to be inspired, to discover career pathways into discipline areas not previously considered, and to experience — in tangible ways — the relevance and currency of their learning. Successful learning doesn’t occur in a vacuum.”

Now in its 15^th year, Hulsbosch offers an annual student and graduate internship program that is tailored to participants learning and progression, with their future development and career path in mind. For more information email: info@hulsbosch.com.au

Left to Right:
Paul Devonshire, Lecturer at Torrens University / Billy Blue College of Design
Lisa Molloy, Lecturer at Torrens University / Billy Blue College of Design
Olivia Walton, Senior Designer at Hulsbosch
Nathan Scoular, Academic Director, Industry at Torrens University / Billy Blue College of Design
Grace Brown, Design Director at Hulsbosch