Cheryl Kau

Cheryl Kau is an aspiring multimedia designer from Malaysia, Sarawak. Her proficiency lies in harnessing the creative potential of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, allowing her to skilfully bring her ideas to life through captivating and visually striking works of art.

For Cheryl, her designs are not just images but portals to her intricately imaginative world, where each creation becomes a canvas for profound meaning and compelling narratives. Every piece she meticulously crafts embodies a unique story, inviting viewers to embark on a journey of discovery, delving into the hidden messages concealed within her work.

What sets Cheryl apart is her innate ability to breathe life into her designs through the magic of storytelling. Her creations serve as reflective mirrors to the ever-evolving world around her, capturing the vibrant kaleidoscope of colours and the allure of abstract shapes that serve as her constant inspiration. Her artistic odyssey is characterized by an unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of creativity. She ceaselessly strives to produce intricate designs that not only capture the eye but also resonate deeply with the soul.

Cheryl Kau's expedition as a multimedia designer is boundless, as she continues to explore and redefine the frontiers of visual storytelling and design. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for visual storytelling, she weaves a vivid tapestry of artistic expression that reflects the diverse and colourful world that surrounds her.

Memories – Squirrel Zine

This squirrel zine explores the theme of memories, with its design drawing inspiration from the warmth and nostalgia associated with cherished moments shared with loved ones in the past.

Great Homme Notebooks

Cheryl faced a distinct challenge when creating patterns for her notebooks, as she aimed to integrate Great Homme’s logo elements into them. She skilfully designed abstract vector patterns inspired by the ‘O’ and ‘A’ in the Great Homme logo while adhering to the brand’s red and yellow colour scheme for all designs.

Kimchi Power T-shirt

The Kimchi Power T-shirt features a vibrant digital illustration by Cheryl, promoting the client’s kimchi products. Cheryl used dynamic design elements, rich red hues, cabbage leaf textures, and creative typography to enhance the eye-catching appeal of the T-shirt.

Year Of The Rabbit 2023

During Cheryl’s design internship, she created a 2023 Chinese New Year greeting card for her company. The card features a vector illustration fusing the company’s round sunset logo with the Chinese character ‘春’ for spring, serving as the backdrop for the Chinese water rabbit. She adorned the card with classic Chinese New Year elements like Mandarin oranges, firecrackers, and cherry blossom flowers.

Thunderclouds Kaleidoscope

LSD’s “Thunderclouds” song inspired this digital kaleidoscope illustration. Through Cheryl’s interpretation of the song’s lyrics and rhythm, she illustrated a dynamic, colourful, surreal and abstract kaleidoscope 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.