Zachary Gray

Communication Design

Thanks for visiting my page; welcome!

I’m Zachary Gray, a freelance communication designer and photographer based in Melbourne. I have recently graduated with a Bachelor Degree with Majors in both Communication Design and Photomedia from Swinburne University of Design, 2021. I am honoured to have won the Swinburne Photomedia Capstone Most Outstanding Project award for the 2020 Bachelor of Design Photomedia Major.

Creation has always been a prominent element of my personality. For as long as I can remember, I have taken every opportunity to make things in my life more functional, develop visually pleasing outcomes out of ordinary processes, and crate inventive things out of random bits and pieces. Nowadays, I take this creative energy and infuse it into my brand and identity design and brand orientated photography. I am passionate about helping people and businesses by crafting their personalities into visual designs. My aim is always to create representations of the best attributes of a person or their business in the most creative and involved ways possible.

My inspiration comes from my experiences travelling and volunteering overseas, working for outdoor education programs, running courses for Surf Life Saving Victoria, and the extensive time I have spent in the wilderness.

As I progress into my design career, I am endlessly excited about the many experiences to come and the valuable connections I will continue to make.

Branding and Identity: Enveloskate (Communication Design Capstone Project)

Website: Enveloskate (Communication Design Capstone Project)

Photography and Exhibition: Eutierria (Photomedia Capstone Project)

Event and Photography: Prometheus

Branding and Identity: Outthrive

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.