Valda Wong

Branded Environments

Hello! My name is Valda Wong, and I am a 2024 graduate of Swinburne University of Technology with a double degree in Business and Design majoring in Marketing and Branded Environments.

My passion for creating meaningful spaces has been the cornerstone of my design journey. Through my studies, I’ve developed a solid foundation in crafting environments that blend storytelling, aesthetics, and functionality, ensuring each space I design leaves a lasting impression. With each project, I delve into the psychology of space, and the subtle ways design can shape human experience.

My interest doesn’t end with branded environments—I’ve also explored graphic design, an area that has expanded my skill set and perspective. This experience has enriched my understanding of visual storytelling, allowing me to incorporate a variety of elements and techniques into my designs.

With a growth mindset, I embrace each new challenge as a chance to refine my skills and broaden my perspective. I am thrilled to begin this next phase of my journey, driven by a commitment to continuously evolve as a designer and to create spaces that resonate on a deeper level.

Aquaria Concept Store

A jewelry concept store centered around the art of beading, inspired by a whimsical, fantastical aesthetic. The fluidity and movement of jewelry inspired the ideals of an enchanting underwater world, blending imagination with aquatic elegance.

Aquaria Product Tag

A new logo, brand name, and product packaging design for a beading retail store. Designed to envision a look that captures the essence of the brand's whimsical and fantastical appeal, infused with an underwater-inspired elegance.

Mobile Post

In the events of a natural disaster within Bairnsdale, Victoria, a mobile Australia Post store was designed to aid with bushfire relief and postal services.

Australia Post Flagship Store

A concept design for the Australia Post flagship store in Melbourne, centered on retail functionality while serving as a vibrant community gathering space.

Xposition Wine

This is a rebrand of a winery, with a new logo and product packaging. The new brand aimed to create emotional appeal through abstract art in a wine experience.

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.