Work
Portfolio Objective:
My portfolio’s message showcases my design ideas that will help people, help our planet Earth and to give people the opportunity to do the right thing, instead of the wrong thing. My designs will help the everyday citizen Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. By using renewable energy, turning old materials into new resources, and commercial composting, we can reduce our pollutant footprint, and close the loop.
There is more to life than a 9 to 5. There is always something we can do to help our planet Earth. My designs make it easier to give back to Earth, to help regenerate, by getting back to where we are needed most, the garden. Even if you do not have the skills, this system can still be for everyone. With large amounts of people making these small changes, this portfolio will start to show you what life can be like in our futures.
Work to be done:
Title:
-Project One: The Home {Kettle}
Purpose:
- The purpose of the Kettle design is to be safer and more versatile with boiling our hot water in the home.
How it met the brief:
- This Kettle is designed with the whole house in mind. It is part of a systematic change to the way we use hot water throughout the entire house.
Materials Used:
- The Kettle project has been designed with 2B pencils and A4 pages.
Title
- Project Two: The Shop {Esky}
Purpose
-The purpose of this Esky is to refrigerate goods: inside the shop, in the car, and back at home.
How it met the brief:
-The featured design project Esky; is a link in a systematic chain, changing the way we; shop, transport, and store, our refrigerated goods.
Materials Used
-This Esky was designed on A4 pages with 2B graphite pencils, coloured by Derwent Coloursoft Pencils.
Reflection:
Professional Orientation was an interesting unit that guided me through the processes of organisation teaching me how to study. With readings, lectures, clips, and work sheets, Professional Orientation eased me into university. We did an assignment that looked at a niche design for Industrial Design, that made me think about the future of the industry. There was also an assignment that presented me with a self-actualising question: “What type of designer do I want to become”? Which made me re-evaluate, not only what course to study, but where my career was headed. On reflection, I feel like I am ok with my decision to; first study, then choose Industrial Design. However, it has been excruciating to get fully on board with university study. I have struggled with new technology, and as I suffer from a mental illness, it has been difficult to catch up on learning how to become organised, at the same time. I tried to actually use those practical learning techniques, to amend some of the methods previously used to be organised. I feel the Pomodoro technique has been essential to achieving pass marks for the assignments so far. For the units ahead, I will use my new found organization skills as a foundation to build upon. I have had some queries on how you interpret the assessments as I feel as though you can ‘take a mile’ in the wrong direction, without realising. However, with communication between the unit tutor and myself, these issues were usually resolved.
Indigenous Cultural Integrity:
Communicating with Indigenous Australians is important because we can work on relevant design projects together. They hold the keys to understanding the landscape we build upon, and as our projects can change the landscape, we need to learn from traditional artists.
There is a rich cultural history including; artwork on sacred spots that need to be respected. Engaging with the Indigenous artists can make sure we are on the same page, in-keeping with design ethics.
It is also very important that the Indigenous people are not taken advantage of because of others' ignorance with copyright laws. This creates rifts, and becomes a political issue.
Asking permission from the traditional custodians of Australia, to use the art from the amazingly colourful Dreamtime storytelling ways; Indigenous designers can receive recognition. By communicating with these artists and designers, from start through till the finish of each design project, we uphold Indigenous Cultural Integrity.
The Readings:
The Required Reading’s theme was to better yourself and your work by managing; stress, fatigue, emotional blockers, challenges, organisation, and planning ahead.
In the Reading; “Successful students have goals” by St. Clair College makes the reader think about the common ways that you can get stuck tackling University work. College states; “There will be challenges during your college career”, so taking goals from being too broad, into being achievable, making; short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals possible. The article suggests that, “Working through goals can help you feel more in control and can reduce stress”. (College 2019)
A number of students have never finished their degree, and College shows a scenario; where successful students have the “ability to make productive, effective use of time” with goals, and others; an “unproductive use of time” without them.
In Week Six the readings want to address the question; “Is this the best time to be productive”?
The article goes through a study that shows you when people are at their most productive. Bryan Lufkin and Valentina D’Efilippo explore the evidence; “Studies have found that work which syncs with our circadian rhythms result in greater productivity and less fatigue”. (B L. D’Efilippo 2018)
This shows the people are most productive between the hours of 9am and 11am. There are even more productive Months, Days, and Seasons, than others.
The thread weaves its way onto; how you can accelerate your own productivity, with collecting relevant data.
In Week Three’s readings there is an article on Emotional Intelligence. In-keeping with the theme of the unit Author; Gill Hasson, makes you “Stop and Think” about ways of curbing people's negative emotions. By rationalizing, using mindfulness techniques, and positive memory recall, Hasson gives the reader ways to enhance emotional intelligence.
Hasson gives an example of how to “manage the physical feelings” by resetting your breath and concentrating on slowing the mind down.
“Emotions say hurry. Wisdom says wait”. With the theme of Professional Orientation being on long term goal setting, the reader encourages delayed gratification, never giving in to the temporary negative emotions. Because “Nothing vivifies and nothing kills like the emotions”.(Hasson, 2014)
Week One’s First Reading by Carol Dweck, poses the subject; personal success’ and failure’s.
Dweck finds unusual emotional responses with children when they meet failures. Some took the failure as a challenge to overcome, and did not dwell on an emotional response.
Dweck gives examples of people who have broken free of their own boundaries of failure. Like the Composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven, and the Theoretical Physicist: Albert Einstein. These people have gotten to show their greater side. (Dweck 2015)
The Fixed Mindset is when you get it in your head that you just; you get what you are given. Whereas the “Growth Mindset” says to go for the challenge (just like the children in Dweck’s studies).
The article showed the difference between mindsets when overcoming failures. By changing your own opinion of yourself, you can show your greater side as well and with the “Power of Persistence", anything is possible.
Codes of Conduct:
The key responsibilities between designers, and community.
1)Make excellent designs.
2)Uphold a “good reputation”.
3) State your qualifications.
4) Do not let personal interests conflict with professionalism.
5) Do not take credit for other designers' projects.
6) Conserve our delicate environment.
7) Avoid “free-pitching”.
For example, Number Six; Within the design industry there could be a situation where there are conflicting ethical mindsets.
One mindset would be to design something that can be made cheaply but the materials used would be made of plastic and damage the environment when thrown away.
The ethical mindset would be to design something that could be made from wood. At the end of the product's life, the material would disintegrate, leaving the environment unharmed.
The key responsibilities between designers and the clients.
1) Uphold the client's best interests.
2) Clearly state the fees before starting each design project.
3) Be honest about your work if it benefits you, or another associated business.
4) Remain confidential.
5) Do not work with the competitors.
6 Do not accept bribery.
The key responsibilities for a designer to other designers.
1) Do not copy another designer's work.
2) Do not steal clientele.
3) Use constructive criticism.
References:
Australia, D. I. o. (2025). DIA Code of Conduct. https://www.design.org.au/dia-code-of-conduct
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Canva, https://www.canva.com/design/DAG0cF84TxQ/U9bE_zswLkC-e0KWKpbycQ/edit?ui=eyJBIjp7fX0
Caveman. (2019). Sagano Bamboo Forest Wallpapers. https://wallpapercave.com/sagano-bamboo-forest-wallpapers
College, S. C. (2019). Successful students have goals. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/studyprocaff/chapter/chapter-1/
Company, F. (12/09/2014). The art and science to giving and receiving criticism at work. https://www.fastcompany.com/3039412/the-art-science-to-giving-and-receiving-criticism-at-work
Hasson, G. (2014). Emotional Intelligence In. https://uclearn.canberra.edu.au/courses/18880/pages/3-dot-0-module-3-overview-2?module_item_id=1524586
Brown, J. (2025)https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578694061386
NASA. (07/12/2022). The first photograph of the entire globe: 50 years on, Blue Marble still inspires. https://theconversation.com/the-first-photograph-of-the-entire-globe-50-years-on-blue-marble-still-inspires-175051
Questacon. (2025). There is no Plan B.
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Squarespace. (2025). Globe Life Designs. https://gar-paddlefish-ayj2.squarespace.com/config/pages
Watego, L. (19/09/2013). Indigenous Issues + Graphic Design. https://iscariotmedia.com/2013/09/19/indigenous-issues-graphic-design/
Websites, S. B. (2025). How to Make a Website | Step by Step https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prLv5uwUtuY&t=124s
Wix. (2025). Sites. https://manage.wix.com/account/websites?referralAdditionalInfo=Route