Lachlan Soukup

Branded Environments

I am a University Student, Perfectionist and Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiast. I am studying at Swinburne Institute of Technology majoring in Branded Environments and Communication Design. I also have a freelance studio; Studio Soukup, which provides all design services, specialising in Brand Identity, Editorial and Environmental Design.

After three years of working with an unconventional and experimental graphic style, inspired by Frank Gehry and David Carson, I have recently found the beauty in Minimalism, German, and Contemporary design such as the works from Büro Uebele and Muller Van Severen and have begun to integrate said inspiration into my recent works.

Currently I’m most excited about branding in the environment (signage, wayfinding, placemaking; creating a brand presence in the physical world) and contemporary product design. As a freelancer I have done works for small businesses including brand identity, social presence, marketing strategy, and video editing.

Australia Post Flagship Neighbourhood Post Concept Design

AO Night-time Sub-Brand Strategy and Signage Concept

Classic Novel (12 Years a Slave) Publication Reboot

Craft Your Night Publication

Martin Cigar Branding and Packaging Design

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.