Top Designs speakers

Visual Communication

Jo Pritchard

With over 25 years experience as a visual communication designer, Jo worked in publishing, branding and digital realms before landing her dream job at the museum 15 years ago. Since then, Jo has had the privilege of working on multiple award-winning exhibitions and installations, including the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery and First Peoples exhibition at Melbourne Museum.

She loves collaborating with other designers, artists and creatives to deliver immersive, multi-sensory experiences that bring stories to life. Jo is driven by the desire to exceed a brief, in order to delight, surprise and continually engage audiences in new ways.

Jessica Louey

Jessica Louey is a Senior Graphic Designer in the Melbourne Museum design studio. After graduating with a Bachelor of Design (Honours) from Swinburne University, Jessica worked as graphic designer for a range of Melbourne studios with a focus on branding before landing her dream job at the Museum.

Josef Gatti

Josef Gatti is an emerging filmmaker and artist from Melbourne, Australia — passionate about the intersection of art and science and its capacity to tell universal stories.

He is currently directing his first documentary feature with the Oscar-nominated production studio Sandbox Films, supported by Screen Australia and VicScreen.

Katherine Horseman

Since she began her subscription to Vogue Living at age 12, Katherine has loved all things design and decoration. She graduated from RMIT in 2005 with a Bachelor of Design – Interior Design and began her career as an assistant in the Exhibition Design Department at the National Gallery of Victoria. Over the following 9 years she progressed to the role of Senior Designer and designed and collaborated on over 50 exhibitions. More recently Katherine has launched her own design practice, Hohab, a spatial design studio specialising in bespoke exhibition fit outs with an emphasis on quality, reusable design.

Ashley Ronning

Ashley Ronning is a Naarm-based illustrator, artist and risograph printer. Her creative endeavours began when she was five and she cut her own hair to complete a picture of a pony. She can usually be found in her studio drawing, printing or working on her next zine. When her pens are down she's playing pinball, going to gigs or having a daydream in the sunshine.

Ashley's clients include Who Gives A Crap, frankie magazine, Five Senses Coffee, Sticky Institute, ABC, Milk Records, The Wheeler Centre, Meanjin Quarterly, PBS FM, Laneway Festival, Poison City Records and She Shreds magazine.

Beci Orpin

Beci Orpin is a creative practitioner based in Melbourne, Australia. Her work occupies a space between illustration, design and craft. Beci has run her studio for over 20 years, catering to a wide range of clients including Facebook, Disney, Google and Uniqlo. Beci also exhibits her work both locally and internationally. She has authored and illustrated four D.I.Y books and four children’s titles. Her work is described as colourful, graphic, bold, feminine and dream-like, and she has been referred to as a ‘national treasure’.

Jess McGreachin

Jess is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Melbourne. Since completing a Bachelor of Communication Design (RMIT), he’s worked across the arts and not-for-profit sectors in Australia and the U.K. He’s currently an in-house communication designer at Melbourne Museum, responsible for designing everything from marketing collateral to exhibition graphics. Aside from design, Jess is a keen artist and had written and illustrated several picture books.

Lou Endicott

Lou Endicott is a Melbourne based illustrator, window artist and surface pattern designer.

Lou worked in the performing arts and as a teacher for many years before studying graphic design and illustration in 2012 at CATC.

Lou’s designs have appeared on stationery, beer bottles, apparel, licensed street art and homewares. Lou has also designed walking maps, product labels and brand mascots.

She is continually inspired by the natural world.

Ravi Vasavan

Ravi Vasavan is an artist and designer shaping meaningful brand and digital experiences. As Head of Transformation at Convo, he merges design, technology, and social impact. Previously at Koto, he worked with startups, global brands, and AI. A deaf creative, Ravi champions accessibility and inclusivity in design. Beyond work, he enjoys making pizza, biking across Australia, and collaborating with deaf creatives to foster a thriving deaf arts scene.

Product Design & Technologies

Head and upper torso of a bespectacled man in black

Dr Charlie Ranscombe

Dr Charlie Ranscombe is a researcher and lecturer in Product design engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. His experience is both as a practicing industrial designer and engineer in the UK and China, as well as in academic design research in Australia. Charlie specializes in designing and researching products that create strong connections with their users. Charlie regularly engages with industry partners including automotive design, assistive and medical industries, and consumer goods.

Dr Caroline Francis

Dr Caroline Francis is the Program Manager of the Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) program at RMIT University. She is passionate about promoting design and STEM career paths for the next generation of societal shapers, sustainability advocates, radical innovators, and tomorrow’s problem solvers.

Matt Borg

Matthew Borg is a Senior Adviser in architecture and urban design at the Office of the Victorian Government Architect. He provides project design advice and advocates for good design outcomes. Matthew has over twenty years’ experience in architectural practice and has tutored at graduate and undergraduate levels at the University of Melbourne. He is passionate about inclusivity and the creation of buildings and environments that improve our communities and experiences.

Leah Heiss

Leah Heiss is a leader in human centred design for health technologies, systems and services, including wearable technologies for acute care, ageing and hearing loss; and the co-design of models of care including for cancer, eating disorders and global health. She is currently working with the World Health Organisation, using design strategies to improve the uptake and implementation of WHO guidelines across countries. Leah’s design work has been recognised with nine Australian Good Design Awards, including the 2018 Good Design Award of the Year, the CSIRO Design Innovation Award and the 2022 Australian Women in Design Award.

Woman standing leaning against an aluminum wall looking directly at the camera. She has long dark hair and is wearing a pink top and black pants.

Dr Sophie Payne

Dr Sophie Payne is a Senior Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute and has an honorary position at the University of Melbourne. She completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Western Australia before moving to the University of Melbourne as a Research Fellow. Her research vision is to progress a pipeline of electroceutical technology towards the clinic to provide clinical relief in a number of diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and urinary incontinence. Her specialty is in the use of medical devices in the autonomic nervous system to treat disease.

Woman looking directly at the camara. She has dark hair, dark eyeliner and pink lipstick. She is wearing a chunky necklace and a black jacket with beaded with barbwire and arms motifs..

Kristy Dickinson - Director

At the helm of Haus of Dizzy, proud Wiradjuri woman Kristy Dickinson creates bold, playful, statement-making jewellery that celebrates and honours Indigenous culture—imbuing a sense of empowerment and joy within everybody who wears it. Often featuring powerful political and social messages, each Haus of Dizzy piece is designed, laser-cut, hand-painted and assembled in the company’s studio, located in Fitzroy, Melbourne/Naarm.

Natisha Tabua

Natisha Tabua is a First Nations (Torres Strait Island, Kalkulgal Nation) emerging Fashion Designer who focuses on custom made garments, maintaining and encouraging sustainable practices through her work. From 2022, she has represented her brand “ Off The Plantation”, a name in homage to her blackbirded ancestors, across numerous fashion platforms such as Australian Fashion Week, Melbourne Fashion Week and a feature in Vogue Australia for the 2024 National Indigenous Fashion Awards.

Creative Digital Media

Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine

With a shared passion for stop-motion animation, storytelling and technology, Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine have a 20+ year career creating elaborate interactive artworks, moving short films and unique immersive installations which have been celebrated all over the world. Their latest works explore virtual and augmented realities.

Media

Tiffany Garvie

Tiffany Garvie is a Gunggari woman. Her mother’s family are from South Central Queensland around Mitchell and the Maranoa River. Tiffany blends her ABC radio background with a passion for photography and has worked in mainstream and First Nations media and communications. She captures diverse narratives and storytelling through portraits, landscapes, and event coverage. A National Portrait Prize finalist and Koorie Heritage Art Show winner, her portfolio includes work for Melbourne Theatre Company and Clemenger BBDO. From classic portraits to architectural shots and First Nations cultural events, her work reflects a wide-ranging curiosity and storytelling ability.

Mia Mala McDonald

Mia Mala McDonald was born in Daylesford on Dja Dja Wurrung country. Her photographic style is characterized by a playful approach, utilizing vibrant colors, distinctive forms, and an acute attention to detail. Her artistic vision is evident in each photograph she produces, creating visually captivating and emotionally evocative images.

Mia has won various awards for her work, including the Australian Music Photographer of the year by Australian Women in Music the prestigious Martin Kantor Portrait prize.

Systems Engineering

Max Plumey

Max - a Senior Software Engineer at leading Australian telecommunications company Telstra - embarked on his unconventional journey into software during his Bachelor of Fine Art studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he developed an artistic practice reflecting his fascination with science and technology. Transitioning from art to code, he now contributes technical expertise to large-scale digitisation projects at Telstra. More recently, Max's passion lies in exposing telco resources to innovative third-party developers through standardised inter-telco Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

Top Designs Alumni Panels

Tin Lok Zhang

Tin Lok Zhang was accepted into Top Design in 2024 with his keyboard design for Visual Communication 3/4. His design of a compact keyboard and packaging set was inspired by Japanese bento boxes and imagines a combination of Japanese inspired design with modern technology. This is also paired with a brand identity which was inspired by Japanese Zen philosophy and traditional iconography. The result is a consistent minimalist and clean aesthetic across the presentation. Tin Lok is currently a second-year student at RMIT University studying Bachelor of industrial design.

Marilyn Vincent

I’m a 2024 graduate of Kilbreda College in Mentone with a love for creating - especially when it comes to textiles and sewing. In my free time, I enjoy relaxing with my dog and making memories with friends and family.

Sasha Joe

Sasha Joe completed Visual Communication Design at Lauriston Girls’ School in 2022. Featured in Top Designs 2023, Sasha's exhibition design, Videre, explored the history of vision enhancement and was an embodiment of her interest in the intersection of the scientific and design disciplines. She is now completing her final year of a Bachelor of Communication Design at RMIT University and works as a junior designer/production team member alongside her studies.

Ivy Hinkley

Melbourne-based fashion design student and artist Ivy's work spans fashion, art, and costume. Her reversible riding suit, Transformer, was featured in the 2022 Top Design exhibition. She co-led a Berlin project with Mammalian Diving Reflex in 2023, and collaborated with them again in South Korea (2024). Recent credits include costume design for Sandra Parker's Safe Hold (2024) and a Melbourne Fashion Week piece with Karlaidlaw (2024). Ivy blends traditional and contemporary techniques in her experimental creations.

Michael Streader

Michael completed VCE Product Design in 2023 at the University High School. His Microbat and Pardalote Nest Boxes were selected for Top Designs 2024 and won the environmental design award. Michael is currently studying Wildlife and Conservation Biology and is passionate about the intersections between design and ecology.

Haisong Qi

Haisong Qi is a passionate maker and problem-solver driven by curiosity and innovation, whose Automatic Card Sorter project was featured in the 2024 Top Designs exhibition. Now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Physics at the University of Melbourne, Haisong continues to explore new frontiers in science and technology.

Miniature fence and gate made of metal bars, wires, and a control box mounted on a stand.

Caleb Tobin

I have invented a livestock handling device designed to improve efficiency and safety for both animals and farmers. The system follows livestock and provides continuous flow, allowing handlers to perform tasks with minimal movement. Micro-switches detect livestock alongside custom 3D printed mounts in the steel made system. The actuator arm controls the gate, enabling livestock entry, while a cable winding mechanism propels the gate forward and backward. This system helps farmers increase profitability and reduce overhead costs.

David Naguib

I was accepted into Top Designs in 2023 for my innovative foldable 3D printer, which I created for VCE Systems Engineering. The design integrated advanced mechanical and electrical systems, featuring CAD modeling and running on a Pi 4B and SKR-mini-E3 motherboard. This award-winning project reflects my passion for engineering, innovation, and problem-solving. I’m currently pursuing a double degree in Advanced Manufacturing & Mechatronics Engineering and Business at RMIT University, aiming to become a professional CAD and design engineer, driven by my vision for cutting-edge technological solutions.

Smiling person lying on a white background with arms in a prayer position, surrounded by white T-shirts with hand-drawn illustrations.

Catrin Walker

Catrin Walker has an immense passion for all things creative and design, particularly intrigued in serving a child audience through playful innovation. Catrin loves to work with vibrant colour schemes and playful illustrations, with a decorative array of work in book and t-shirt design. She currently owns her own small clothing brand ‘CatzTs’ where she prints her original illustrations. Catrins work has previously been exhibited at the substation, and now her most recent creation ‘Our Guide to Feminism’ is a part of 2025’s Top Designs at the Melbourne Museum, where she is a recipient of the Community Award; for social justice issues addressed through design. Catrin is currently in her first year at Melbourne University, studying a double major of Graphic Design and User Experience.