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Two Avondale College students have been short listed for an award at Australia's largest annual international design event.

Third-year visual communication majors Trinity Cotton and Sara Tui Miles were two of the 12 students or new graduates nominated for the Cato Partners Award in the "NewStar" competition at the AGIdeas International Design Week in Melbourne, April 28-May 1. The criteria asked for multimedia, two- or three- dimensional creative interpretations of a quote from author and motivational speaker Anthony J D'Angelo: "The mind is like a parachute, it works best when open."

Trinity and Sara created posters. Trinity's makes a political statement by showing, in cartoon strip-style, a green, plastic toy soldier parachuting into devastation. Sara's shows three silver sardine tins, two of which are sealed and one of which is peeled back revealing part of a human brain. The posters were among the entries displayed digitally on screens behind the speakers as part of the announcement of the short list.

Donna Pinter, who lectures in design studio I and II at Avondale, estimates 1600 students or new graduates could have entered the competition. "The short listing is a reflection of Trinity and Sara's conceptual creativity and of their ability to interpret a professional brief," she says. "It's exciting to know their thinking has that cut-through and impact."

The four other Avondale students who entered the competition share some part in Trinity and Sara's success. "All the students in the classes helped each other by offering constructive criticism at progressive showings," says Donna.

Avondale students have attended AGIdeas in the past, but this is the first time they have entered the competition.