OM2 Ebany Spencer

Biography

Ebany Spencer is a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney. Ebany completed her four year course Bachelor of Design-Visual Communications in November 2005. As part of her course of study she was one of six chosen to complete an exchange placement at London’s Central St Martins. While attending a semester at St Martins she studied under Phil Bains and Catherine Dixon.

As another creative pursuit she has exhibited and sold artworks and photography in her local area of the Northern Beaches at Newport Artworks and further afield at Serendipity Gallery, Katoomba. All of these factors have contributed to her interest in cultural differences and nuances, as well as her aspirations to see ‘Australian’ design better understood.

Australian? Graphic design.

An essay by E.S.

{31st of May 2005}

The London Central St Martin’s [University] class sat there all smiles. Did they know something I didn’t? With rapid judgment, they saw that my task at hand was difficult and their empathetic eyes told me I would be challenged. Why was this a consensus in joking terms? Was it ill-judgment and foreign perspective, or was there truth in their lingering sneers? It seemed an Australian was incapable of having anything to represent in response to a ‘cultural identity’ brief. In fact, a person blurted to the circle of amused faces: “What culture?”

Ironically, it had taken a university exchange placement to the other side of the world, for me to reflect on what it meant to be Australian. Furthermore, it challanged me to ask what Australian graphic design represented, both at home and internationally. Why was it that the words ‘Australian identity’ caused such mirth in London and seemed so confronting here?

So, I consider ‘Australian graphic design’.

‘Graphic design’ is, on its own, such an all-encompassing term that it regularly sparks debate. Coupled with ‘Australian’, we have a high mountain to climb and conquer.

So what does ‘Australian graphic design’ mean? What could it potentially mean in the future? Our work not only reflects culture, but also informs culture. So what, too, of the Australian environment? How is this revealed in graphic design?

From these questions, I conducted a series of interviews with professional designers working in Australia and uncovered two opposing sides to the debate. Until recently—in Open Manifesto Issue #1—these questions had not received any detailed attention.