Australian Design History
Dr Carolyn Barnes and Dr Simon Jackson are currently researching two aspect of Australian design history: the role of modern design in the expression of Australian national Identity at the Montreal (1967) and Osaka (1970) world exhibitions and the role of branding and visual identity in the Victorian local government section.
Design modernism and world exhibitions
Australian participation in overseas expos in the twentieth century follows patterns of trade and investment, the focus shifting from British Empire events to official international expos during the period of Australia’s economic disengagement from Britain. At Expo ’67 Australia’s self-representation emphasises scientific and technological capacity over rural production for the first time, openly linking Australia’s national image with modernisation processes. Modernist design takes an unprecedented role in orchestrating this shift, reinforcing Australia’s capacity to create and innovate while demonstrating design’s growing presence as a service to business and government in the implementation of strategic vision. The role of design in the Australian pavilion at Expo ’70, Osaka, was even more specific, mixing signs of modernity with references to Japanese . The exposition’s Japanese audience was the target of its ‘East-West’ approach to design and sought to address Japanese perceptions of Australia as under-industrialised and Australians as ‘coarse’ and ‘uncultured’.
Design and local government
During the mid-1990s, a state-wide program of forced council amalgamations involved the Victorian local government sector in a broad re-branding project, which led to the replacement of traditional heraldic-style local government emblems with more contemporary visual identities across 78 newly-amalgamated Victorian councils. Where the controversial council amalgamation process has been well researched, the role of design and visual identity in normalising the process has been overlooked despite its unprecedented scale.
PhD project: Barbara Hall
The promotion of Australian design in the post-war period through three case studies: the Australian pavilion at Expo ‘67, Montreal; Gallery A and the Museum of Modern Art of Australia; the Australian design awards.
PhD project: Katherine Hepworth
Governing by design: the visual representation of Victorian local government before and after council amalgamations
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