Anthea Rankin

Industrial Design

As a 2023 Industrial Design (Honours), (Communication Design Minor) graduate from Swinburne University, my journey in the world of design has been an empowering evolution. Coming from a creative and design-oriented family, I've always had an aptitude for making and embracing creativity. This passion initially led me to pursue communication design straight out of high school, which I immersed myself in for two years, honing my visual communication skills.

However, it was during this time that I came across Industrial Design and realized that it resonated with me on a profound level. It became clear that industrial design was my true calling, as it allowed me to channel my creative energy, craftsmanship, and curiosity into the physical world. I've always been captivated by the intricacies of the created world, from the design process and manufacturing to the qualities and selection of materials.

My time at Swinburne has nurtured, enhanced and expanded my design skills, enabling me to navigate the complexities of Industrial Design with confidence. My passion for sustainable design principles further fueled my commitment to creating innovative and eco-friendly solutions. I'm equipped with a strong foundation in product development, CAD modelling, and prototyping, which I'm eager to apply in my professional journey.

It's been a remarkable and fulfilling experience, one that I look forward to continuing as I step into the professional realm, where my skills will offer impactful design solutions and a commitment to shaping a more sustainable future.

PRESS.ED

Press.ED produced by Recycl.ED is designed for interactive waste education where students are actively involved in every stage of the recycling process, fostering hands-on learning and a deeper understanding of waste and waste management. It’s a valuable tool for promoting a shift in how we view waste, nurturing a deeper understanding of environmental awareness and sustainable practices. Connected to Recylc.ED’s online platform with diverse resources for various lessons, Press.ED empowers students to explore the material value within waste. It sheds light on their potential for regeneration and reuse through tailored outcomes aligned with Australian educational requirements and learning areas. Students engage in a comprehensive process, researching, collecting, identifying, and sorting the necessary waste materials. They then utilize Press.ED’s press functionality and provided molds to convert these materials into new components

HARPER

Designed in collaboration with About Space, this design seamlessly integrates the Yosh thread and shades to create a striking floor lamp that's not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional. It beautifully showcases its unique, playful form and high-quality materials for those seeking modern, distinct and customizable solutions. Users have the flexibility to choose any combination of the Yosh shades, ensuring a seamless fit with their style and creating a truly unique piece.

CLEO, TREV & LINA

In collaboration with Country Road, this family of decor pieces creatively utilizes an existing white-label product, a marble stand, while adhering to Country Road Home's corporate identity and design principles. By applying post-manufacturing processes to the white-label product, three new items are born: Cleo, a magazine stand, Trev, a trinket bowl, and Lina, bookends. Consistency in materials and form unifies the three pieces, enhancing the collective aesthetic and elevating the user's home style. These designs promote product innovation, quality, and collaboration with makers, designers, and artists, enabling Country Road Home to distinguish itself from the mass market and elevate its brand.

LUXUS

The tap design aims to enhance the luxurious aesthetic of well-designed households, primarily targeting high-income households. The use of high-quality materials and finishes is prioritized to convey a sense of quality and thoughtful design. The design aims to strike a balance between striking sculptural aesthetics and functionality, providing a delightful user experience and a feeling of luxury satisfaction.

CYCLE LOCKER

The CYCLE Locker has been thoughtfully designed for kindergartens and daycare centres that place a strong emphasis on creating well-curated spaces that nurture creativity. This locker offers versatile storage solutions with shelves and a peg wall, ideal for holding bags, coats, hats, and personal belongings. It strikes a harmonious balance between a playful, child-friendly design and a fully functional storage system, catering to the needs of both young children and staff.

One of its standout features is the adjustable pegs, designed to accommodate the varying heights of the kids and meet the specific storage requirements of the staff. Additionally, the use of recycled HDPE for the shelves and pegs aligns perfectly with the sustainability preferences of organizations dedicated to introducing young children to eco-friendly practices.

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.