Winning 1st place at
The Royal Easter Show
Transport for NSW is a government organisation that provides public transport services across New South Wales, Australia. Each year, they participate in showcasing their services through an exhibition stand at the Royal Easter Show, Australia's largest annual ticketed event.
The solution
We accomplish this by establishing a ‘journey line’ through a connected pathway that extends from the floor to the wall. As individuals engage with the space, they have the opportunity to trace this journey line not only from within the stand but also to appreciate the experience from a distance.
Exhibition design
For this project, I had the privilege of leading the creative design for Transport for NSW’s exhibition stand at the Sydney Royal Easter Show 2024. Over the course of just 6-8 weeks, I worked closely with multiple stakeholders, event managers, and printers to bring the vision to life, delivering the overall layout, design, and content. The project required a hands-on approach, quick turnaround, and exceptional communication to ensure the success of the entire team.
As the creative lead, I began by engaging with the team to understand their goals and objectives. Using this information, I crafted a strong visual concept that highlighted the seamless connection between various modes of transport across New South Wales. The centerpiece of the design was an ‘endless journey line’ that connected the Metro line, roads, footpaths, and bike lanes, guiding visitors through the stand. This journey line extended across the 6x6m floor and up the 25x6m wall, creating an interactive, continuous path that visitors could physically follow.
The goal was to not only ensure smooth traffic flow within the stand but also to create a design that was visible and engaging from a distance, even amidst large crowds. The final design successfully balanced both functional and aesthetic needs, ensuring an impactful and memorable experience for visitors while achieving the team’s objectives.
Overall, this project was an immense success. I had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented and dedicated team, and it was an absolute joy to collaborate with everyone throughout the entire process. From weekly meetings and pitching design concepts to implementing stakeholder changes—such as adding, moving, or updating elements and layout as the stand evolved—I was deeply involved in every step. I also worked closely with printers to produce around 80 precise panels for print and conducted on-site inspections to ensure everything came together seamlessly. The result? Our team won 1st place for Best Showroom Exhibition Design, sparking a huge celebration for Transport for NSW. It was a momentous win, especially since the last time we had received an award at the Royal Easter Show was in 2018. This project was particularly special to me as it was the first time I had been asked to design for the Royal Easter Show, a responsibility that usually goes to the lead designers on the team.
Video game design
Transport for NSW aimed to promote active transport, specifically targeting children and families, with a strong focus on safety when biking to school or home. The goal was to convey key safety messages in a way that was engaging and memorable, ensuring that the design resonated with kids while teaching important bike safety practices. The design could take any form, as long as it communicated these core messages effectively.
In one of our weekly team meetings, we collaborated on the idea to create an interactive bike game for kids that would move away from the typical digital experience and bring back a tangible, real-world interaction. I designed the concept and storyboard, drawing inspiration from childhood memories of playing Super Mario Kart. The idea was to integrate a real bike on the exhibition stand that doubled as an educational video game. The bike operates with real-life movements: when children pedal, it moves forward on the screen, and when they turn the handlebars, it reflects those movements in the game.
To add excitement and reinforce safety, the game included an objective: children earned “helmet coins” for demonstrating good behaviors while riding, such as stopping at a stop sign, looking left and right before crossing, and slowing down for a car backing out of a driveway. The more safety practices they followed, the higher their score, giving them a chance to win a prize. The experience was designed to feel as realistic as possible without the need for virtual reality goggles—offering an “old school” approach that provided a refreshing break for a generation raised in a digital world.
The storyboard was reviewed and approved the very next morning, with only a few minor tweaks, and I quickly packaged it up to send off to the game developers. They worked through the night to bring the game to life, while I provided extensive feedback on the graphics and sound the following day. This collaborative process continued until the game was finalized.
Meanwhile, I worked closely with Grand Stand Events to refine the mechanical requirements of the physical bike, ensuring that the bike’s speed and movement synced with the game’s actions. For example, when children slowed their pedaling, the game would slow down accordingly, and the bike’s handlebars moved in sync with the on-screen action as children interacted with the game.
Between developing the game concept, working with stakeholders, providing feedback on the graphics and game elements, and guiding the physical mechanics of the bike, our team succeeded in creating one of the most popular interactive experiences on the Transport for NSW exhibition stand. The game not only brought the safety message to life but also captured the attention of kids and families, making it one of the stand’s standout features. To extend the experience beyond the exhibition, the game is being developed into an online, accessible version that children can continue to play and learn from after the event.
Guest visit
Joanna Haylen, Minister for Transport of New South Wales, posts on her Instagram a photo of her children playing the popular bicycle video game. Joanna Haylen is an Australian politician elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly.
Client
Credits*
- Department: Brand and Marketing and Creative Services
- Directors: Allison Lee, Karen Mork, Ashleigh Lane, Arnel Rodriguez
- Physical stand design: Grand Stand Events
- Renders and photography: Graph Stand Events
- Illustrations: Shutterstock and myself
- Video game programer(s): Unknown (please contact me to add your name)
Deliverables
- Art direction
- Animation
- Board game
- Counter stands
- Exhibition stand
- Illustrations
- Online forms
- Posters
- Plinths and stands
- Signage
- Swing tags
- T-shirts
- Video game
*If any credit or attribution has been inadvertently omitted, please contact me directly. It was not intentional, and I am committed to including all appropriate credits where possible. This website strives to respect all copyright and intellectual property rights. Should there be any errors or oversights, I will take immediate action to resolve them.
