Vocational Education Animation students are brightening up RMIT's digital learning environment with creative banner designs for Canvas

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Vocational Education Animation students are brightening up RMIT's digital learning environment with creative banner designs for Canvas

In collaboration with RMIT's Education Technologies team, students from Vocational Education Games and Animation (VEGA) courses have designed and developed engaging banners to go on Canvas as part of an initiative to make digital learning spaces more connected with RMIT's community identity.

To help make RMIT's digital learning spaces feel more engaging and welcoming for students, VEGA students were inspired by the theme ‘It takes a village’ to create visuals that evoke warmth, collaboration and inclusivity for those who use Canvas.

Creativity to improve student learning

RMIT students consistently report that RMIT's digital learning environment feels flat, less vibrant and diverse compared to their on-campus experiences.

Peter McDonald, teacher of Screen and Media courses in the College of Vocational Education, asked his VEGA students to create banners that will improve students’ connection to RMIT by helping make Canvas courses feel more welcoming and visually engaging.

“The project was a direct opportunity to create content for students, by students,” said Peter.

Work integrated learning to gain real-world skills

The collaboration with the Education Technologies team created an exciting opportunity for the project to be part of assessments and class content and provide students with hands-on insights into developing design projects with real-world outcomes.

“Projects like these are so important for students looking to gain skills and experience within an ever-changing digital media industry,” said Peter. “The benefits of working directly with the Education Technologies team at RMIT were paramount to the success of the student outcomes.”

The project gave these students the experiences of creating animations and design content in response to a professional brief and directly engaged with the Education Technologies team on a client-artist basis.

“It was exciting to collaborate with the team and the feedback given during the meetings was really helpful,” said Mandy Yap, one of the students who participated in the project.

Another student Alvin Ho reflected on the professional and personal development benefits from working with the Education Technologies team on this project.

“It was a good opportunity to experience what working with clients in the field would be like,” said Alvin.

Alvin sitting with computer screen with design

Alvin Ho working showcasing his banner design in class

Ongoing collaboration for real-world outcomes

Projects that provide students with hands-on immersive experiences such as these are utilised throughout vocational education courses at RMIT, particularly in practical courses such as animation and design.

Another student who took part, Lauren Hunter, said that the experience broadened her perspective about how art and design can collaborate with other areas such as technology and education.

“This project was all about drawing on the crossover between art and tech that my experience in the VEGA program has been all about,” said Lauren.

Lauren showing her banner design on computer screen

Lauren Hunter showcase her banner in class

With hopes for this initiative to become an ongoing annual collaboration for the VEGA students, the VEGA team see collaborations such as these as valuable learning experiences for students to learn about the growing digital media landscape.

“I am always keen to reflect industry trends within my courses,” said Peter.

“This was a perfect fit and I hope it's an opportunity we can continue to provide for future students to come.”

The initiative hopes to achieve a positive lift in student ratings of visual vibrancy and gain positive comments from students and educators about the warmth, creativity and relevance of these new designs.

The Education Technologies team selected a total of five student designed banners with the intent to implement them onto Canvas by Semester 1 2026.

See the banners below.

Illustration of planets GIF

by Mandy Mun Yee Yap

Illustration of village GIF

by Alvin Ho

Illustration of robot GIF

by Lauren Hunter

Illustration of people holding pencils GIF

by Vinh Phat Chi

Illustration of students GIF

by Sofia Sitompul

12 November 2025

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