Annabelle Freeman

Communication Design

Hi! My name is Annabelle Freeman and have just completed my final semester at Swinburne, studying a Bachelor of Design majoring in Communication Design. My time at Swinburne has enabled me to push my creative boundaries and grow as a designer and person.

I have worked as a freelance designer and had much experience in customer-oriented roles both domestically and overseas, which has taught me a lot about the importance of human-centred design. I enjoy working in a team and am passionate about creating meaningful experiences for people and organisations whether that be through relationship-building or consultation or design.

Outside of work you’ll find me skiing down a mountain, illustrating or looking for the next outdoor adventure. After having scratched my itch of living overseas, I am now really looking forward to granting 10-year-old Annabelle’s dream of pursuing a career in the design industry. I have always had a big imagination which I believe has helped me to think outside the box when designing and approaching problems.

I have a strong sense of curiosity and will have a go at anything that comes my way, whether that be a new design challenge, finding my way around a foreign place or skiing off ‘gnarly’ features!

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Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.