Corrective Services NSW - G’day Mate
Strategic Design Lead & Project Assistant · University of Sydney in partnership with NSW Corrective Services · Funded · 2025 – Present · ADP GradShow Finalist
This project spans two phases: An academic design project and a funded professional engagement. The full interactive prototype is available via the Figma link on this page. Happy to discuss the business development report and design guidebook in more detail in a conversation.
G'day Mate began as a strategic design project and earned something most university work never does: real funding and a real brief to continue. Following its selection as a finalist at the 2025 ADP Graduate Show, the University of Sydney funded our cohort to extend the work into a professional engagement. I was appointed Project Assistant to co-author an enterprise strategic framework for NSW Corrective Services, with my G'day Mate design system forming the foundational design guidebook.
Recognition & Impact
Partner Funded
NSW Corrective Services, active government partnership
Enterprise design guidebook + business development report
Gradshow Finalist
University of Sydney professional engagement
Discovery
We conducted structured interviews with psychologists and counsellors working within the correctional system to ground every design decision in clinical and behavioural insight. Three findings shaped the platform's direction: emotional resilience was the most critical factor in reducing reoffending, self-directed learning significantly outperformed instructor-led formats, and interfaces resembling professional workplace dashboards increased user trust and engagement. A content accessibility audit against the 31% low-literacy baseline established plain language standards and visual literacy requirements that governed all subsequent design.
Design Decisions
The platform was structured around three self-directed pathways designed to guide users from enrolment to post-release readiness:
Accredited Learning and Tracking: I integrated TAFE-accredited vocational certifications and emotional wellbeing modules with a progress dashboard to provide users with a clear, visible path toward reintegration.
Clinical Framework Integration: The "4Rs" framework (Recognize, Regulate, Reflect, Respond) served as the structural logic, translating complex clinical psychological concepts into intuitive, navigable interface modules.
Context-Specific Design System: To reduce institutional intimidation, I developed a visual system using soft geometric shapes and friendly illustrations. This was supported by a green-led palette for calm, the Poppins typeface for high legibility, and strict adherence to WCAG AA accessibility standards.
G'day Mate proved something the research already suspected: when a system treats people with dignity, they engage with it differently. Designing for a 31% low-literacy environment within a correctional context isn't a constraint, it's a brief that demands you get every decision right. The platform's progression from a university project to a university-funded government engagement wasn't accidental. It was the result of grounding every design choice in clinical evidence, and building something that the people it was designed for could actually use.
Featured In
Special thanks to
[Groupmates] Thendrl, Kat, and Isabel / [Educators] Lucy, Adeola, and Rohan