architecture

Site plan drawing of the Shepparton Aboriginal Arts Council building, now known as the Bangerang Cultural Centre. The building is located in the Parkside Gardens, formerly the Shepparton International Village, and is the first Aboriginal cultural museum developed and managed by the Aboriginal community. The building is part of the Victorian Heritage Register. Romberg designed the building in conjunction with project instigator and Bangerang Elder, John Sandy Atkinson, OAM. At the request of Romberg, Atkinson created some concept sketches for the building from which Romberg designed the finished structure.Site PlanInitialed in grey pencil, bottom right: 'F.R'architecture, museum

Eric Thake had a unique way of looking at the world, uniting a singular vision that found the extraordinary in the everyday, with a whimsical sense of humour and refined modernist aesthetic. One of his lesser-known commissions was a mural for the Victorian Manager’s office at the ETA Factory in Braybrook designed by Frederick Romberg in 1957. Photographed here by Kenneth Ross, the mural depicted a stylised map of Australia, with Indonesia above and New Zealand to the south, and showed the peanuts and other raw materials that ETA used in the production of various foodstuffs against a striking and entirely gilded wall. Kirsty Grant, 2017 Black and white photograph of a mural by Eric Thake in the manager's office at the ETA Factory, Melbourne.Typed lower center, 'ETA FACTORY 1961/ MURAL BY ERIC THAKE/ IN MANAGER'S OFFICE'eta, mural, braybrook, manufacturing, architecture, artist

The GE12 Electric Kettle was designed by Barry Hudson for General Electric and in 1978 won the Australian Design and the Prince Philip Prize awards for Australian Design. The kettle was innovative in many ways; it was an early example of an all plastic electric kettle with a single-handed opening-spout. According to design historian Ian Wong ‘The use of an integral hinge for the spout opening mechanism utilised the unique live hinge property of polypropylene, now common but at the time a novel use and very efficient to manufacture.’ The kettle was available in Carpentaria Orange, Blaze Yellow and Lime Green with a contrasting base. Barry Hudson (1935-2008) studied Mechanical Engineering at the Melbourne Technical College (MTC). In the 1970s he was Research and Development Manager at General Electric, and he also worked with the industrial design practice Rosenfeldt, Gherardin and Associates. He established Barry Hudson Industrial Design in the 1980s and began a teaching career at the former MTC, now known as RMIT University. Ann Carew, 2020 1978 the Kettle won an Australian Design Award and the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design.Orange and brown electric kettlekettle, industrial design, rmit university, domestic appliances

Michael O’Connell (1898-1976) arrived in Melbourne in 1920 with no professional training apart from that of a soldier on the Western Front. During the 1920s however he discovered a talent for design and, returning from a visit home to England via France and Italy in 1929, focussed on textile design with his wife Ella. This fragment of a wall hanging shows clear indebtedness to the School of Paris, Matisse in particular, and other designs from the early 1930s indicate that O’Connell was familiar with the work of Raoul Dufy who had created some successful and popular fabric designs for Paul Poiret.Textile piece featuring women and geometric patterntextile design, rmit design archives, mid-century modern

A 10 piece set of calico pattern pieces for a dolman sleeved cocktail dress, unpicked after being sewn together and fitted. Notes along the hemline guide the maker in alterations that can be made, turning the cocktail dress into a full-length evening gown. With this toile, only one side of the garment has been made.ink, cotton

Emigre Frederick Sterne set up a four-year Interior Design program for the Melbourne Technical College c. 1948. It was the first program of its kind in Australia, On the cover the hand-written words ‘Interior Design’ have a sense of pride in their hand and the drawing of an interior – probably Sterne’s – emerging from the drawing board illuminated by artificial light that projects a future. Suzie Attiwell, 2017interior design, rmit university

The Gown of the Year Program was a gala event in Melbourne's cultural calendar. Australia's supermodels of the day, such as Diane Masters (pictured), Bambi Shmith, and Betty Jackson modelled clothes by Melbourne's leading designers, Hall Ludlow, Le Louvre, and others. Diane Masters has played a seminal role in contributing to the Design Archives through her personal and professional fashion archive, her role in the Hall Ludlow collection and archive, the Laurie Carew collection, and her generosity in gifting items from the Frederick Romberg archive to the RMIT Design Archives. She has been and remains a key figure in Melbourne and Australian fashion. Suzanne Davies, 2017Black and white photograph features fashion designer Hall Ludlow (right), holding his trophies for winning the 1959 Gown of the Year at the Menzies Hotel, Melbourne. Model Diane Masters (right) is wearing the winning gown: a pale full length gown with short sleeves, scoop neck, and ruffled skirt. The matching coat also features small ruffled down its length.Verso: Stamped in black ink, bottom right: 'Photographed by/ ATHOL SHMITH/ F.R.P.S . . F.R.S.A/ 125 COLLINS STREET, MELBOURNE/ TELEPHONE MF 5[illegible]4australian fashion, fashion design, mid-century modern

Drawing of styling proposal for HJ Monaro coupeSigned lower right, 'ZMOOD'automotive, design

The name of this chair, Lepidoptera, refers to the insect species of moths and butterflies as LeAmon drew upon the anatomy of a butterfly to develop the concept of the chair?s structure, colour and pattern. Another key feature of the design was the use of textile remnants from automotive textile manufacturer Autofab,recalling LeAmon's redeployment of leather offcuts from the manufacture of cricket balls to make her 'Bowling Arm' series of bangles.industrial design, furniture

Abyss Studio was one of a number of fashion labels established by Sara Thorn and Bruce Slorach in the 1980s and 1990s. From 1986 to 1992 the pair also operated the Galaxy Emporium where they stocked their own designs as well as those of fellow Fashion Design Council members. Abyss was a street wear label and, like many independent designers at the time, was concerned with creating culture through clothing.T-shirt featuring 'Daisy Bone' and mouse printaustralian fashion, fashion design

graphic design

Includes site plan; floor plans and details of utilities, interior and fittings.architecture, domestic architecture

Sourced from Alex Stitt's extensive archive, this well used index book provides a fascinating insight into the operations of the designer's graphic design studio in the 1970s. Used as a repository to catalogue client artwork, each contact print was given a hand-written code, evidence of a simple system to manage the process of creating artwork. The book's monochromatic pages speak of a time long past when design was a manual undertaking, a time of hard copies, not hard drives. Dominic Hofstede, 2017Index book containing contact prints relating to businesses and promotional campaigns.graphic design

graphic design

In 1971, Alex Stitt and Bruce Weatherhead left advertising and opened The Jigsaw Factory - a design studio focussed on educational material for kids. The Richmond premises included a store, play space and craft workshop and produced books, games, posters, toys, and more. 'A Dictionary of Magic' was created by the pair while at the Jigsaw factory.Four games in a book about astrology, chiromancy, wizards and toads and other strange things, including a complete set of 78 fortune-telling 'Tarot' cards.graphic design

RMIT University's first ceremonial mace was commissioned by Professor David Beanland, Vice-Chancellor, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1992, and designed by Ian Wong, a lecturer in Industrial Design. It was the result of a collaborative effort, with staff from industrial design, gold & silversmithing, sculpture, engineering, applied physics, and optical technology working on its production. Materials used include carbon fibre, optical fibres, computer chips, honeycomb aluminium, gold, titanium and crystal. This design drawing shows how the University's distinctive pixel log (that conveys a sense of being at the forefront of technology) was incorporated into the design of the top element of the mace. Michelle Novacco, 2017Sketches of designs for RMIT ceremonial maceSigned bottom right corner, 'IAN WONG / iw / 1992 'ceremonial mace, industrial design

Richard Beck established a consultancy as an industrial designer in London in the 1930s, designing posters, booklets and advertisements for London Transport, Shell-Mex, Orient Line and the London GPO. His work was illustrated in Radio Times, Evening Standard and News Chronicle. His posters used montage and surrealist techniques, as in this example, reminiscent of E McKnight Kauffer who was prominent in commercial art in interwar England. The London Journal Art and Industry reproduced a number of Beck's posters for the Orient Line and London Transport and in 1938 Modern Publicity's annual round-up featured Beck's cover design and included a profile of his work.Brochure for London Transportgraphic design, mid-century modern, design

architecture, domestic architecture

Drawing of an early 20th century French fashion designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944), a master couturier working in Paris during the first two decades of the 20th century.Lower right recto, on image, grey pencil: "LOUIS / KAHAN / 26" Lower right corner recto, grey pencil: 'poiret, paintre'fashion illustration

Louis Kahan (1905-2002) is best known in Australia for his skill as an artist. As Independent Fashion Curator, Laura Jocic has observed, ‘It is less known though that Kahan had a career in theatre and fashion in Vienna and Paris during the 1920s and 1930s that continued when he came to Australia in 1947. He signed his fashion illustration with the initials 'nac', a phonetic interpretation of his surname spelled backwards. In this illustration on newspaper we can see Kahan playing with the graphic effects of line and text, while communicating the cut and drape of late-1950s fashions.’ Kahn was born in Vienna in 1905 and first travelled to Australia in 1947. He moved to Melbourne in 1950 where he became friends with artist George Bell, writer Alan McCulloch who introduced him to Clem Christensen, editor of the literary journal Meanjin, where many of his portraits of Australian writers were published. His 1962 portrait of the author Patrick White won the Archibald Prize, bringing him national recognition. He also designed sets and costumes for the Elizabeth Theatre Trust (Opera Australia) and the Melbourne Theatre Company. In 1993 his contribution to Australian cultural life was recognised when he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO). He died in Melbourne, at the age of 97 in 2002. Ann Carew 2018Fashion illustration on newsprint. Drawing depicts two women. Women in foreground is wearing a long green coat and hat.Woman at rear is wearing a green and white evening dress with white gloves.Signed lower right in ink, 'nac 1958'.fashion illustration, fashion design

A cotton fabric printed with a fluorescent rainbow striped background, and scattered purple hibiscus. Designed for Bush Couture's 'Bush Kids' children's line.Printed on the selvedge: 'Linda Jackson handprint 1989'textile design, australian fashion

Scarf featuring fish designtextile design, textile, australian fashion

Dr. Frances Mary Burke (1907 - 1994) was a textile designer and printer, businesswoman, artist and Australian design advocate and retailer. Burke’s modern abstract textile designs incorporated motifs and colours inspired by Australian Indigenous art, Pacific Island cultures, Australian flora and fauna, English gardens, and the sea and its wildlife. Following Burke’s death in 1994, her life-long companion Miss Fabie Chamberlain donated the contents of Burke’s studio to RMIT University.Single colour screenprint, white fabric with chartreuse coloured print of positive large format design featuring large stylised canna leaf motif.Printed on selvedge 'CANNA LEAF' a "Frances Burke" UNIT COLOUR DESIGN'textile, australian flora, rmit design archives

This photograph was reproduced on the cover of the magazine 'Housewife, Home and Family', in October, 1960 with the heading, 'Miss Frances Burke, Brilliant Australian Textile Designer'. The photograph contains interesting contradictions: Burke, wearing a cocktail hat whilst painting, was never a housewife, nor did she have children. Gladys Hain, editor of the magazine, exhorted women who did have children to get busy, start businesses and contribute to the economy! The image highlights Burke's ability to attract publicity and demonstrates her acute understanding of the power of PR and marketing. Burke established her textile business in 1937, developing it between the wars in a very challenging marketplace by capitalising on opportunities as they presented. Robyn Oswald-Jacobs, 2017Photograph featuring Frances Burke painting at desktextile design, studio, rmit design archives

Textile design was part of the Winter 1988 range.ink, cotton

Architectural perspective drawing featuring aerial view of the Chancery at the Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpurink, acetate

Sketh plansink, acetate

Black and white photograph of the Aborigines Advancement League Headquarters, Melbournesilver gelatin, paper

A letter detailing parts of Anatol Kagan's entry for the Sydney Opera House design competition.ink, paper