Deadly designs from your creatives

TANYA MURPHY

YEAR 12 students Janice Ghee and Kayden Bosun assisted in creating the logo design for online accounting software company ‘Deadly Digits’ thanks to the help of a new Indigenous digital design learning facility.

Based in Cairns, IndigeDesign Labs is a new Indigenous-led creative learning lab which seeks to equip young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives for potential careers in the digital design and creative fields.

Free workshops are held at the facility every Wednesday night and Saturday morning and are open to all Indigenous people aged 16-25 with no prior art or design skills required.

So far, ten enthusiastic participants have been attending the workshops twice weekly to learn everything from graphic design, digital content creation, technology, photography, videography, augmented reality and UI/UX design.

One of their current projects is working on a film clip for local Hip Hop collective Water Streets, and they will be involved in every aspect of production from filming and editing to promotion and artwork.

The IndigeDesign program was started six months ago by Leigh Harris, Creative Director of digital design agency Ingeous Studios, to pass on some of his knowledge and years of experience to aspiring young designers.

“There are so many digital design applications our

young people can use to tell their stories in new ways, and I’m keen to share what I know and support young people to take on bold projects,” he said.

As well as receiving funding from the philanthropic body John T Reid Trusts, IndigeDesign partnered with NorthSite Contemporary Arts who donated the space for

the facility in the Bulmba-ja arts centre.

Participant Janice Ghee said she gained a lot from the program.

“It’s a digital world and I want to experience incorporating cultural design in modern technology and gain more experiences in digital design,” she said.

“This program has provided everyone with great new experiences, and I’m really thinking about it as a career now.”

The company they designed the logo for, Deadly Digits, aims to harness the explosion in Indigenous businesses in Queensland with its comprehensive online accounting software.