Thien Bang

Hey there! I am a Melbourne/ Naarm-based graphic designer, with a Bachelor of Design under the Swinburne International Excellence Scholarship.

With a strong passion for print and digital design, I constantly draw inspiration from diverse sources and have a unique, adaptable problem-solving approach.

I like arts & crafts, reading, crocheting, individual sports, and LGBTQIA+ topics. I’m all about living life to the fullest, so let’s get in touch!

It Should Be Zero

A subversive campaign advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights through a collection of lifestyle products: keychain, lip balm, lighter, shot glass, and condom. The contrast between the normality of these items, and the provoking nature of activism, can disturb the comfort and break the silence.

Stuffed & Loved

The first stuffed animals festival for adults in Melbourne. The deliverables include a poster, a brochure, a website, and merchandise. The quirky and carefree style highlights the immaculate vibe of this event, where visitors will have the best time of their lives.

A Quest for Pride

A travel guide app that encourages users to explore iconic Melbourne local spots to unlock fictional stories. Melbourne: A Quest for Pride highlights what it is like to be queer, and more importantly, to be proud.

The Cultural Politics of Gender Performance

A publication exploring the cultural dynamics of gender expression in relation to what is considered intelligible in Chinese society. Using the element of cultural Chinese jewellery, this book highlights queerness and femininity.

Bloom

Bloom is the second studio album by pop culture icon Troye Sivan - an Australian singer/songwriter. It explores the transition between childhood and adulthood: growing, flourishing, and blooming.

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.