It's not enough to simply make something look good, it needs to speak to the target audience and get a response.
(Left) I knew that high school students wouldn't be too interested in a university flyer, but I was confident they like selfies. In a time before SnapChat filters, I created a flyer that had a higher chance of being noticed, with the key information on the back of the moustache.
(Right) Murdoch University was the location of a pop-up summer outdoor cinema. Parents might need a little help to convince their teen to come along to a university information night. I utilised the screening of the latest Star Wars film by offering the first 100 attendees a free ticket to the movie that was screening directly after the information night.
Instead of asking for a poster, ask for a solution to the problem.
While at Murdoch University, I was tasked to design a poster to announce Earth Hour. As I walked around the campus, I realised that the notice boards were already crowded information and a poster about Earth Hour would not stand out no matter how good it looked. I suggested cleaning the message into the walls and floor around campus, which was more environmentally friendly than printing a bunch of posters. Sadly this idea didn't go ahead and the above images are photoshop mock-ups.
How can we take this idea further?
While working at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls, I was asked to "find some printable colouring in sheets on the internet to have for the young kids who join the School tours". This could have taken me 5 minutes, however, my brain saw an opportunity. Instead of some plain colouring sheets, I created a custom branded activity book, complete with colouring in, word puzzles, and an inspiring short story to get the potential new students excited about joining St Hilda's.
This concept was so popular that I created a video version of the story to promote the St Hilda's Discovery Days.
