Annabelle Sterkenburg

Communication Design

Hi, I'm Annabelle, I specialise in creating powerful campaigns that blend empathy, aesthetics, and social impact. I am a graduate of the Swinburne School of Design and Architecture, holding a Double Degree in Media Communications and Design. I have a passion for people, photography, visual communication and branding design.

Passionate about people, I led an award-winning campaign that secured a $50,000 donation for Reading Out of Poverty, supporting children in disadvantaged and rural communities. My experience as a nanny and disability support worker has shaped strengths in empathy, patience, and communication.

Outside of work, I volunteer with Father Bob Foundation and I enjoy hiking, surfing, cooking, and painting. I recently went skydiving—and have a wild story involving a mistaken abduction and a New Zealand police call-out, if you're curious.

NZ South Island

This photographic series, captured in New Zealand’s South Island, showcases alpine rivers, glacial waters, lush greenery, and rugged terrain. The imagery captures the untouched beauty of the wilderness, inviting a sense of serenity, wonder, and connection to nature.

Rebranding 'No Pong'

I rebranded ‘No Pong’, an organic deodorant company. The brands new name is ‘Happy Balm’. The new visual identity is cohesive, aesthetically refined, and strategically aligned with the brand’s values. This rebrand is projected to boost brand awareness by 50% and drive a minimum 20% increase in sales.

Brand Spark

I led the branding for Brand Spark, a new marketing consultancy, creating a bold visual identity that reflects its mission to ignite business growth through smart, strategic marketing.

Hiking NZ

I capture the essence of untouched wilderness and aim to evoke a deep sense of tranquility and connection to nature for the audience.

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.