Ellen Hetrelezis

I have a Certificate III in Screen and Media, Certificate IV in Design, Diploma of Graphic Design, and have recently completed my Bachelor of Design (Communication Design).

Whilst undertaking my qualifications, I have gained a plethora of drawing and technology-based skills. For example, I developed a storyboard for a television advertisement featuring the return of the Polly Waffle chocolate bar. This required an innovative and unique approach to sell the return of the chocolate bar.

In terms of programs, I have learnt how to effectively utilise: software platforms such as Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, Axure RP and Figma; image and video hosting services such as Flickr; and online collaborative whiteboarding platforms such as Miro. For example, using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, I created an annual report for the Royal Botanical Gardens Board Victoria Members and a monothematic publication. These tasks enhanced my photography, illustration, printed media, typography, layout design, instructional design, and digital publishing skills.

In addition, I have used Figma to create a digital colour wireframe for the responsive website design of a fictitious Melbourne-based party and event catering company. This task required an understanding of the process involved in developing a website, including UI and UX design as well as communication within web design, typography, layout design, advertising and promotion, art direction, and instructional design.

Furthermore, I am able to create new and innovative illustrations and visual designs from scratch. Recently, I proposed a campaign design for women to help raise awareness of endometriosis in order to increase research and Australian government funding to more effectively combat the illness. Through the design process I considered appropriate branding, digital publishing, and effective advertising and promotion towards the target audience.

My passion for design comes from my desire to use my art as an avenue to effectively advocate for positive change.

Endometriosis Campaign Three Posters Design

Monothematic Publication Front Cover Design

Re-Usable Pads Three Packs Design

Translucent Beverage Poster Design

Gatefold Album Front Cover 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.