Future Right Now nominated for Australian Design Award
9 October, 2026: Western Sydney University academics Associate Professor Michelle Catanzaro and Alicia Ball have just been nominated as finalists in the ADGA Awards for their design of the pictorial book Future Right Now: Young people, climate action and a vibrant democracy.
AGDA, is the peak body representing the Australian communication design industry, and each year, the outstanding work of Australian designers is recognised through its national awards.
Future Right Now was selected in the ‘design for good’ category. The book incorporates a creative blend of photographs, design graphics, illustrations (by kids as young as 5), case studies and interviews to showcase the journey that thousands of young Australians have been on in the past decade to advocate for greater action on climate change. The book assigns authorship to the New Possibilities Collective - a group of researchers, young people, students and youth climate activists involved in the New Possibilities research project, at the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University.
With over forty contributors aged 5–77 years old involved in the making of the book, Future Right Now is a unique example of what a co-design approach and intergenerational collaboration can achieve.
Western Sydney University lecturer Alicia Ball said of the process of making the book; "As an Indigenous designer, my approach to Future Right Now was grounded in relationships, listening and community authorship. That meant challenging dominant design conventions and letting young people’s own visual language guide the book, from the handmade, photocopied and risographed images to the way their voices sit at the centre. To be named a finalist, is a meaningful acknowledgement of this community-led approach, and of the value of Indigenous perspectives in design."
Congratulations to Michelle, Alicia and the entire New Possibilities Collective on this excellent achievement.