Luka Dickson

Luka is a junior designer, digital marketing assistant & video editor graduating from Swinburne with a Bachelor of Design (Communication Design & Photomedia). With a few years of freelance and agency work under his belt, he is excited to explore and test his skills across a variety of creative disciplines, including digital compositing, illustration, photography, branding, concept artwork, video editing & more.

Icarus - Abstract Digital Compositing

A series of digitally manipulated photographs based around an abstract visual interpretation of the myth of 'Icarus,' the boy who flew too close to the sun. I used a variety of Photoshop effects to manipulate images of the sky, sun, and water, creating dramatic 'wing-like' symmetrical patterns.

Samurai Cop - Remastered, Movie Poster

Samurai Cop was made in 1991 by director Amir Shervan. It had a troubled production, and never received a theatrical release. The film’s ‘official’ poster was outsourced to an artist who hadn’t watched the film. Since clips began surfacing online throughout the 2010s, Samurai Cop has generated a cult following and reputation for being ‘so bad it’s good’.

This poster pretends Netflix bought the rights to the film and has redesigned the poster for an updated 2023 project based on the premise of the original.

Shadowboxer - Album Artwork

Redesigning that artwork for 'Shadowboxer', the 2019 debut album from Australian alternative/ electronic band Mansionair. Digital and physical mediums were combined to create the artwork, as a representation of the sonic collaboration between acoustic and synthetic instrumentation on the album.

Biorhythm - Photobook

One of the features of Melbourne that I have grown to appreciate over my life is the accessibility of nature - from the birds and possums in my backyard to pristine locations an hour from the CBD. Biorhythm is a photo series dedicated to appreciating the wildlife that surrounds Melbournians every day, and therefore is often overlooked.

For the project, I utilised camera equipment such as telephoto or macro lenses to explore nature from a different perspective, with more detail than the naked human eye. I aimed to capture images of the animals going about their daily routine: eating, sleeping, hunting, singing – participating in their regular recurring life cycles.

The Circle - Digital Compositing

A trilogy of experimental portraits inspired by the digital art collective ‘retoka.’ This work has been instrumental in my exploration of experimental styles in digital compositing and Photoshop.

Providing me with great inspiration for more recently developed university projects and artwork. Through use of strong colours, bold contrast, and negative space, I wanted to create a dynamic artwork that combined vector-style graphic elements with surreal photography and raster effects.

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.