Swinburne student wins Node Fest award for motion design
In Summary
- Swinburne wins Best Student Ident category at Node Fest for third year in a row
- Bachelor of Design (Digital Media Design) Jane Novella created an animation with the message “spread love, not hate”
- Jane Novella’s prize is an internship with motion design studio, Ranger and Fox, in Sydney
Swinburne Bachelor of Digital Media Design student Jane Novella has taken out the Best Student Ident Award at NODE Fest 2019, Australia’s premier motion design festival. It’s the third year in a row that a Swinburne student has won the award.
NODE Fest is attended by hundreds of local and international designers. The competition is highly competitive and the talented Novella has won a paid internship at high-profile Los Angeles-based motion design studio, Ranger and Fox, at their new satellite studio opening in Sydney next year.
Lecturer in digital media design, James Berrett, and Jane Novella at Node Fest 2019.
Node Fest’s theme for this year was ‘Fruity’. Novella’s motion design response is about an apple, who is also an LGBT supporter and finds love in the midst of her unaccepting society. She meets another fruit, a peach, who is also an LGBT supporter. The apple then realises that she is not alone and begins to find hope again.
Novella says the idea for her story started at a brainstorming session in a Motion Graphics Project class at Swinburne.
“After learning how the word ‘fruity’ related to the LGBT community, I wanted to make something more than just a simple fruit animation to convey a message. I researched the LGBT community in general and decided to create an animation with the message of “spread love, not hate”,” Novella says.
Motion design fruit characters by Jane Novella.
“My focus is on the character designs, environments and interaction between the characters to make sure that all aspects of my design, from the lighting and value, to the expression, are enhanced to fit the plot. I want viewers to understand the message in just 15 seconds.”
“I am so grateful for the internship opportunity from Ranger and Fox. I’m looking forward to this new experience that Node Fest and Swinburne have brought to me. I‘ll use the opportunity to learn more about the motion design industry and continue to develop my creative skills,” she says.
“I’m interested in motion design and UX. I like UX design because it challenges my critical thinking and I’m also interested in coding for web and mobile app development. I think these two majors are becoming inseparable because now web and mobile apps are incorporating simple animations for better UI,” explains Novella.
The Major Discipline Coordinator of Digital Media Design, James Berrett, says: “It’s exciting to see that another Swinburne motion design student has been recognised by such a reputable industry panel to receive this award. Jane’s motion response creatively explores the NODE Fest 2019 theme with a visually engaging design and narrative. This positive outcome is inspirational for those interested in pursuing motion design at Swinburne.”