Mathew McCullough

Communication Design

This is the part where I talk about myself. Where you get to know a little about me, the person behind the projects and designs.

My name is Mathew James McCullough. I am a communication and industrial designer from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. You can find me online at MatJMCdesign for all my design work, I also stitch hats through the brand Lighthouse hats.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Design with a Major in Communication Design and a Minor in Industrial Design from Swinburne University. I have worked with Melbourne Gymnastics Centre to create marketing designs for Paris 2024 Olympic athletes and in addition to my design work, my passion for clothing design has landed me work as an clothing advisor to a wide range of clients at a major retail company where I use my expertise to style and assist. You will see through my works that I value honest communication, individuality and above all else, fun.

Ok enough about me, go have a look at my work and tell me what you think.

Little Alien Ice Creamery rebrand and packaging

A small ice cream shop in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs requested a new name, logo, packaging and merchandise to assist with their expansion to two other stores. The main focus was on joy, family and affordable, tasty products. Their new mascot, a little alien that has travelled across the galaxy for this amazing thing called ice cream.

Plastic Slaughter campaign posters

Melbourne has had too much plastic waste, so to combat it the campaign ‘Plastic Slaughter’ shouts from the streets to tell everyone to ‘POCKET YOUR PLASTIC!’ in order to reduce the number of plastic products killing our wildlife.

3 stylus packaging

A new technology company ‘Capricorn’ introduces their first line of products. The ‘Fountain Stylus’, ‘Summit Stylus’ and ‘Spaceman Stylus’. Ranging in complexity and comfort, from rom an affordable beginner stylus to something for the hardcore artists.

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria annual report

The annual report for the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria needs to encapsulate its essence. Nature spans a great area and is also some of the smallest aspects of our world, so to grasp this idea I focused on the design of a large valley and the inside of a flower in one.

Tabletop Tavern 3D render

Finally, a demonstration of three-dimensional tools. An old medieval style tavern, sconces and shields on the wall, barrel in the corner and a large, thick table. But surely people back then had to do something fun with their downtime. Tabletop role playing games have been around for a while, so why not in the medieval period. Here I suggest a simple game of quill, parchment, multi-sided rocks and imagination.

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.