Riccardo Falvo

Hello, my name is Riccardo, but my friends call me Rick. I am a designer and marketer based in Melbourne. My passion lies within the extensions of communication through design and problem solving. Ever since I could remember I have had a pencil and paper in my hand. My passion for design comes from a love of comics, movies and tv shows. Due to this, I find integrity within design to be less about the aesthetics but rather the connections to be made from design outcomes.

Furthermore, as I’ve developed and refined my skills, I have found a strong resonance with branding and identity. I believe that a strong brand presence can enhance and broaden consumer markets. Throughout my time as a designer, I have utilised my design and marketing skills for small businesses to build greater brand image.

When I am not designing, I often find myself going to the gym, reading comics or socialising with friends and strangers. Each of these activities further fuel my creative mindset and keep my approach fresh and inspired.

NBA All Star Weekend

Designed for a capstone design unit, this is a rebrand of the NBA All-Star Weekend. The problem is that the last couple of years have seen a decline in participation from players and viewership. Rebranding the all-star weekend allows for returning and new consumers in viewership and revenue to enjoy the best basketball athletes in the world showcase their talents in a fresh and competitive environment.
Through the design, it was important to showcase the word all-star in an impactful and meaningful way. Therefore, through the use of grids and structures, the brandmark incorporated a star within the typeface to give a dynamic and moving effect.
The colour palette is derivative of the NBA logo to bring importance to the headlining event; the all-star game. This pits the best players from the Eastern and Western conferences in a game to determine which is the better side of North American basketball.
This idea was also ingrained in further collateral to build cohesion and fully flesh out the development of the new brand identity.
Final outcomes that were produced were:
- Brand Identity (logo, secondary logo & brand icon)
- Two jersey designs for 2025
- Ball design for 2025
- Court design
- Social Media (Instagram, Facebook & X)

Eurofest

This project was for a typography unit that focused on a festival of our choice. The chosen event was called EuroFest, which involved various aspects of Europe over 4 days. Each day of the event was focused on four major countries in Europe.
Those countries being Germany, Spain, Italy and France, all in order. To relate back to each country, the event titles were based on names that have a direct correlation to the country. The collateral that was produced was a 16-page publication along with a website. On top of this, merchandising was produced such as two hoodie variations.
Event days are as follows:
Day 1: Tag der Deutschen Einheit
Day 2: Día de la Hispanidad
Day 3: Festa degli Azzuri
Day 4: la Fête de la France

Frankenstein Classic Reboot

Based on Frankenstein, this classic reboot follows the blissful innocence of life being born, and the uncontrollable fear of what is misunderstood. All major components will represent this in one way or another.
The enclosure focuses on the decay of life, which correlates to the story. The outer part represents life and the colourful joy brought to it. Whereas, the inside represents death and the mellowness and sorrow brought with it, relative to the story itself being bittersweet.
The publication reflects this similarly by being split into two publications. Chapter 5 is the birth of the monster and Chapter 27, is the untimely end of both major characters. The notebook look represents the aspect of the doctor and the chaotic character regression from chapters 5 to 27 displays.
The concertina harkens back to the creation of the monster through the assembly of corpses to create the monster. It also adds an uneasiness to the design, similar to the feeling invoked by characters upon first viewing Frankenstein’s monster.
The scalpel component represents Frankenstein and how through all that has happened, he still upholds his dignity and pride as a doctor. Even with death knocking on his door, he still considers the monster his greatest creation.
The design is further complimented through its prevelance of folds and UV spot on certain elements that give a cohesion and unsettling nature to the design aesthetic.

Veritas

Veritas - Latin for truth - displays an annual report designed for the State Library of Victoria. It employs grids, shapes & space to represent innovation & excellence. The initial idea was to pick two pillars of the State Library.
The purpose of the annual report is to communicate insights and progress about a company’s financial performance and business operations within a 12-month period. The main audiences are stakeholders along with the general public, in pursuit of potential investors.
The importance of this brief is to effectively and carefully select a design outcome that accurately represents the values of the Victorian State Library. The information should be delivered in a method that is aesthetically pleasing but also upholds the standards of the most common annual reports.
The design outcome reflects upon the aspects of innovation and excellence. Given that the State Library predates the Commonwealth in Australia, it has become a standard for these two values for over a century. On top of this, excellence and innovation have been upheld due to the fact that it maintains itself as a hub for knowledge and study, encouraging the pursuit for progress and greatness.

Symphonic Sound

This is a project that was completed for brand and identity design. The initial idea was to develop a brandmark that can more accurately represent a brand through its design.
Given that Bose is simply just a typeface brandmark, the approach was a rebrand of the company that utilises a different approach and brand name that is more representative of the products Bose is kn.
However, upon amendment, the decision was made to utilise the brandmark as a part of a sub-brand, as Bose as a name holds more weight than symphonic sound on its own.
The figure mark utilises soundwaves to relate back to brands innovation in bringing the convenience of audio products to the comfort of residential housing.
Moreover, the soundwaves are utilised in patternmaking to create cohesion and portability in terms of brand visibility.

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.