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Addison Kemp

Geelong High School, East Geelong
Wathaurong Wadda Wurrung Country

Book cover featuring an illustrated girl with long red hair, wearing blue and white. A blue cat floats above her head. — *Lost & Found* by Addison Kemp. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Lost & Found

graphic Novel

Lost & Found explores grief, change and healing through a coming-of-age lens. Adi, a young girl facing loss and moving house, learns that those we love never truly leave. Blending magic realism with relatable themes, this story offers teens a safe space to process emotions. Featuring digital illustrations, a symbolic colour palette, and a heartfelt narrative, it fosters empathy and hope while gently guiding readers toward understanding and embracing healing.

Jade Scolaro

Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Hardback recipe book whose cover features a round bowl of biscotti, on a marble surface. — *La Dolce Vita* by Jade Scolaro. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

La Dolce Vita

cookbook

La Dolce Vita is a cookbook that follows the journey of my Nonno's life as he moved from Italy to Australia. The book is broken up into four chapters, starting with his life in Italy, through his journey to Australia, followed by life in Melbourne, and finishing with his life in retirement. Along the way it includes some of his favourite biscotti recipes for readers to explore and indulge.

Nellie Barwick

Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Hardback book whose cover features an illustrated tree with a thick, twisted trunk surrounded by green foliage. — *Faded* by Nellie Barwick. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Faded

children's book

Faded is a children’s book intended to assist children with processing grief and loss. Through the whimsical narrative and characters inspired by Beatrix Potter and Shaun Tan, it portrays the journey of grief while providing comfort and solace. The book is illustrated in watercolour and coloured pencil, which begins in full saturation but over time desaturates to monotone and greyscale to symbolise grief’s encompassing nature. The colour returns, although greyscale is still prevalent, representing how grief never fully leaves us, it simply fades into the distance.

Emilia Perry

Prahran High School, Windsor
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Illustrated book cover depicting a young man and woman standing on a water tower platform at night. A barn and a moonlit sky are in the background. — *Prom 34* by Emilia Perry. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Prom 34

Graphic novel

Prom 34 explores the transition from adolescence to adulthood through a relatable event – the prom. It is aimed at students experiencing a similar time so that they can connect and find enjoyment in the piece. The story follows a snapshot of two students taking a moment, uncovering any lingering fears and concerns regarding change, illustrated in a comic-book style to reflect the graphic novels I've taken inspiration from. The dark blue and green palette creates a sense of nostalgia evoking heartfelt sentimentalism.

Lulu Dumergue Smith

Footscray High School, Footscray
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Illustrated book cover shows a young person with shoulder-length hair, wearing a black outfit and red sneakers, standing on grass with arms crossed. A cat walks nearby. — *Petrichor* by Lulu Dumergue Smith. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Petrichor

Graphic novel

Petrichor is a graphic novel that reflects on the emotional complexities of leaving adolescence behind and embracing adulthood. Seeking inspiration from Tillie Waldon’s novel Are you Listening?, it blends coming-of-age with vivid colour to evoke empathy and nostalgia. Aimed at readers aged 18–25 years and older, it follows Kaya, a young woman confronting homesickness and the desire for independence, who is challenged by a mysterious cat only she can see.

Jaida Cohen

The King David School, Armadale
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Illustrated book cover featuring two characters: one has red curly hair, a black jacket, and star earrings. The other has blue skin, three eyes, and a cape. — *Jayce & Xeno* by Jaida Cohen. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Jayce & Xeno

Graphic novel

Jayce & Xeno is a graphic novel that follows Jayce, an ordinary girl, whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Xenolith, an alien. The story of their blossoming friendship is a spin on the slice-of-life genre, using comedy and a dark twist to both entertain and evoke an emotional experience. Inspired by the manga and graphic novel formats, my aim was to use digital processes to create a visually appealing work embodying manga and graphic novel codes and conventions.

Claudia Bellsmith

Melbourne Girls' College, Richmond
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Open book displays an illustrated underwater scene with a large seashell surrounded by small fish. — *Sid and the Unexpected Guest* by Claudia Bellsmith. Top Designs 2025. Photograph by Nicole Cleary, courtesy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

Sid and the Unexpected Guest

picture book

My intention for Sid and the Unexpected Guest was to create a simple, engaging story that encourages its target audience, young children, to treat those around them with kindness despite their differences. The heartwarming picture book uses vivid and immersive hand-painted original watercolour illustrations that accompany its beautiful story of an unlikely underwater friendship. I predominantly sought inspiration in the children’s picture books written and illustrated by Pamela Allen, which feature the same whimsical, hand-illustrated style seen in my product.