Gia Bao Nguyen

Billy Nguyen is a third-year Communication Design student at Swinburne University. Billy is passionate about illustration and graphic design, working mainly in Procreate and Adobe Suite. He loves blending digital and traditional media to bring creative ideas to life. While Billy may seem quiet at first, he is genuinely enthusiastic about design and always open to meaningful conversations or collaboration.

Miikie Character Design

Meet Miikie, a character born from imagination, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and touches of mythology. Miikie is a mystical creature brought to life from whimsical tea parties, combining playful mischief with magical charm. This project explores the creation of a versatile character designed to adapt across various contexts, inviting viewers into a mysterious and enchanting world.

BuBu Down Under

BuBu Down Under is a toy design project that addresses Pop Mart’s brand recognition challenges in the Australian market. By collaborating with the iconic local brand UGG, the concept draws inspiration from Australian culture, nature, and lifestyle. This project aims to introduce a collectible toy line that proudly reflects the spirit of Australia and captures the attention of local consumers.

Cry Baby Album Redesign

Designed for artist Melanie Martinez, inspired by her debut album Cry Baby. The concept captures a surreal atmosphere that reflects the album’s darker themes while maintaining the artist’s signature cute and whimsical branding.

ChocoMood

Choco Mood is a fictional chocolate brand featuring three mood-boosting flavors: banana, chili, and matcha. Made with natural ingredients, each flavor is designed to enhance a specific emotional state. I created the full packaging and brand identity, combining playful visuals with a feel-good concept that connects taste with emotion.

Outside the Frame

Outside the Frame is a design explores the hidden lives of gays in China and their struggle to break free from social prejudices. Through composition, imagery, and color, the work conveys a powerful message about identity, concealment, and the quiet courage to step beyond imposed boundaries.

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.