Ben Anstey’s creative vision and well-considered approach to brand design have been lauded with a series of awards at the TAFE SA Graphic Design Graduate Show, N/A.

Ben’s portfolio of student work was recognised with awards from the Adelaide Advertising and Design Club (AADC), The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) and TAFE SA alumni, with prizes including a week of paid work experience, a portfolio review and mentoring by industry professionals, and AGDA membership.

The success comes on top of recent accolades at AGDA’s national awards where he received a distinction for his wine label design and merit awards for product packaging and print design.

For Ben, the recognition of his work reaffirms his decision to return to study after a 10-year break and caps off a “really good few years” at TAFE SA’s Adelaide College of the Arts (AC Arts).

“For a long time, I really struggled to find people who valued artistic and creative outlets, so these awards not only prove to me that I can do it, but it proves to other people that I can,” he says.

“I’ve loved the student community here at TAFE SA, it’s a group of people who think like you and are like you and I’ve got a lot out of being with them."

Victorian-born Ben studied visual art in Melbourne after finishing school, but wasn’t convinced it was the career option for him, preferring to pursue his interests in film photography and drawing as hobbies.

He put thoughts of a creative career on the backburner and spent the next decade in a series of different jobs.

“I don’t know why but somewhere along the line I became more open to the idea of working in graphic design,” he says.

After moving from Melbourne to Adelaide in 2020, his decision to enrol at TAFE SA was in part inspired by his girlfriend who had studied library services.

“She used her TAFE SA qualification to get a well-paid job that she likes and that was the biggest driver for me, to get a job that I like,” he says.

Ben studied the Diploma of Graphic Design in 2023 under Fee Free TAFE and has just completed the Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design, training which has fuelled his passion for the industry.

“We’ve had some great opportunities through TAFE SA, with industry people coming into the class, events to get involved in and we’ve had mentors from industry this year,” he says.

His visual arts background has been an asset, he says, aiding his conceptual thinking and his ability to discuss his design work (pictured right, front).

Ben says he’s looking forward to putting his skills to work in a studio and learning more about the industry on-the-job and hopes to one day work as an art director.

“I understand that I have to start off somewhere and be in the trenches and do whatever, whether it’s motion graphics or advertising or packaging, that’s all cool, but I think in the broader sense art direction is what I want to do,” he says.