AUNZ Work of the Week: Design Institute of Australia and Clemenger BBDO

A landmark advocacy campaign timed for the 2026 Australia Census, the Design Institute of Australia and Clemenger BBDO’s 'Write DESIGNER' will, for the first time, code design professions under a dedicated occupational group within the Australian Bureau of Statistics' framework.

Despite contributing an estimated AUD$67.5 billion annually to the economy, designers have never been reliably counted in the Census.

The 60-second film features the voice of N'fa Jones -- as well as contributions from Marc Newson, Romance Was Born, Ludo Studio (Bluey), RØDE Microphones, and dozens more -- and moves from the intimacy of hearing aids and defibrillators to the grandeur of trucks, coral reefs, and towering buildings, to demonstrate the breadth of a profession that has long operated in the background.

The campaign's urgency is simple: without accurate data, design cannot advocate for itself. By reframing a checkbox on a form as a moment of professional pride and collective action, ‘Write DESIGNER’ transforms the Census from a bureaucratic exercise into a political statement about recognition.

In assembling such an impressive roster of Australian design talent, Clemenger BBDO has made the invisible visible in a way that feels celebratory rather than defensive, and the powerful script reminds viewers design is not decoration, but essential infrastructure.