Critique of the australian design industry provides an interesting market case study. Issues such as the ambiguity of australia’s national identity, the convergence of creative and strategic businesses, and the business community and media’s poor understanding of design’s value are at the forefront of this industry’s silent struggle. Given the mature and thriving design markets in the united kingdom and the united states, the issues raised have added poignancy.

Looking abroad to seek a comparative measure is not unfamiliar to Australians who have always possessed a passionate curiosity and willingness to look beyond their shores, whether it be for life inspiration, professional experience, or to help define their sense of self. “If you are not burdened by your own history, but are willing to draw on everybody else’s, then anything is possible. We don’t have to be put into a cultural straightjacket,” says Fabio Ongarato of Fabio Ongarato Design in Melbourne.

In an article in Eye, Number 46, Volume 12 (Winter 2002), Rick Poynor questioned why Australian design struggles to communicate a national identity. “It’s odd looking at contemporary Australian graphic design, how little it seems to be informed by a strong sense of place. In my own conversations with many Australian designers, few of them ever mentioned either the landscape or the Aboriginal people, who are so conspicuous by their absence from both the business and practice of design,” Poyner writes. “Now more than ever … Australian design is swayed by the pressure of external forces. Giant branding consultancies see Australia as a small but attractive market with plenty of growth potential.”

It is an interesting point and echoes questions relevant to Australia’s cultural identity. Australians are intensely patriotic, yet such clichés fail to reflect and represent the richness of their multicultural society. If they are to communicate to commercially brand-savvy audiences either domestically or abroad, Australian designers, like practicing design professionals worldwide, are obliged to absorb ideas and inspiration from international markets if their design is to articulate relevance and freshness.

Voice Design cofounder, Anthony de Leo comments, “Our national identity presents itself in our design to different degrees. A good designer will not jeopardize achieving results by using national identity if it’s not regarded as suitable.”

Touching on Australia’s colonial history, Chemistry Design creative director Roland Butcher says, “There’s an inherent struggle when the icons and cues of Australian culture are so closely linked to our colonial past. This is a source of cultural cringe that we tend to want to avoid, aiming instead to be more international.”

At the same time, design practitioners are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibility to generate interest in Australian design and to create work that stands out as uniquely Australian. “If we can differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world,” says Butcher, “we can successfully create culturally significant qualities.”

Moon Design managing director Stuart O’Brien points to internationally recognized surfwear labels such as Mambo, Billabong, and Quiksilver to highlight that existing perceptions of the Australian design industry are predominantly led by graphics. “Being so distant from Europe and the U.S., it is certainly difficult for us to avoid direct association with the pockets of iconic design that have become synonymous with Australia,” O’Brien says. “However, you only have to look at the work we have created for international markets receiving considerable praise and success, and it is clear that Australian design sits comfortably on an international stage.”

The convergence of creative and strategic businesses in Australia has created considerable confusion between the roles and responsibilities of design companies, management consultancies, and advertising agencies. The experience of global creative businesses on Australian shores has been interesting to watch. While most saw the Australian market as fertile for growth, few have had their expectations met. Competition has proven tough in a market that remains largely determined by a small population, the low value placed on the design process itself, and the historical preeminence of advertising.

Renaming by many midsized and independent design studios to incorporate the word brand or branding in their identity has been an obvious but perhaps necessary strategy to retain a foothold in an industry that Ongarato believes has been threatened by market strategists driving the creative process. Meanwhile, technological developments have revolutionized the communications industry with affordable desktop publishing equipment, giving designers of varying abilities access to the tools that allow them to produce technically competent yet ill-considered work. Butcher says, “This has threatened the thinking designer’s territory and sparked an increased commercial interest in superficial styling.”

The result is an Australian design industry that is largely misunderstood by business and media audiences, competing in a communications industry that recognizes those who shout the loudest. Herein lies the industry’s most sensitive issue.

“Design is simply not on the radar,” O’Brien says. “It is common knowledge that advertising agency TBWA was involved in the Brand Australia project, but who designed the identity, who developed the strategy?”

O’Brien’s concerns are shared by the industry as a whole. At a time when the case for design has been acknowledged across the globe as a significant contributor to brand value, the last five years in Australia have seen increased frustration among design firms struggling to win over the business community.

Ongarato believes the industry has become hostage to strategy and market research and that if the design industry wants to truly differentiate itself and be heard, it has to focus on what it knows. “We are now seeing a resurgence of studios that have resisted and stuck with design by offering creativity as a point of difference.”

De Leo adds, “The perception and value of the design industry changes when clients realize they need design expertise and they actually experience the design process with a designer.” It is hoped that the industry’s stamina, intelligence, and true belief in its core competence are virtues that will eventually win this market the recognition it so clearly deserves.