MDS announces winners of annual Bright Awards – Macleans College named Bright School OTY

The Media Design School would like to announce the winners of their annual Bright Awards – celebrating the most creative secondary school students in New Zealand.

Media Design School’s annual Bright Awards, which recognise and celebrate up and coming creative talents from secondary schools around the country, have been announced, with Auckland’s Macleans College taking top honours – named Bright School of the Year.

The second annual Bright Awards sought out digital design submissions from Year 11-13 students to showcase and celebrate their creative nous in digital design and technology. Macleans College was awarded Bright School of the Year for best demonstrating its ability to produce talented students in the fields of digital and traditional design.

More than 150 submissions were received across almost 70 secondary schools, with winners handpicked in five award categories that included animation, graphic design, games, web and interactive, and photography. The category winners came from Auckland’s Epsom Girls Grammar, Elim Christian College, Hobsonville Point Secondary School, Macleans College, and Hagley College in Christchurch.

Each student who took out a category was awarded two major cash prizes: $1,000 for themselves and $3,000 for their secondary school to put towards further nurturing their students’ creative digital abilities.

Says Jim Murray, head of judges at Bright Awards and lecturer at Media Design School: “The creative work on display from the 2018 Bright Awards shines a light on the exceptional talent emerging from schools across Aotearoa.

“Themes ranging from identity, hybridity, environmental waste and science fiction have been explored, it’s clear that these young creatives are comfortable with taking on contextual and technical challenges.

“None of the work on display would be possible without the support of the teachers and schools who challenge and inspire these students. If this is a sample of the emerging creative talent across New Zealand, then we have a bright future ahead.”

To view the winning works, visit https://brightawards.co.nz.