Balarinji’s Indigenous Creative Lead, Johnny Bridges (Ngunnawal), has been profiled in a recent article by Mumbrella, spotlighting the power and responsibility of Designing with Country in building authentic Australian brand identity.
The article follows Johnny’s recent talk with Balarinji co-founder, Ros Moriarty, at Mumbrella360, Australia’s premier media and marketing summit, where they shared how branding with Country, when led by Aboriginal creatives, is not just a design approach, but a cultural responsibility.
“Designing with Country isn’t about adding Indigenous artwork to a logo. It’s about embedding story into structure, meaning into form, and culture into identity.”
The piece, titled “Designing with Country: A new paradigm for authentic brand identity in Australia,” positions Indigenous-led design as a strategic, values-driven methodology that goes beyond visual aesthetics to connect brands to Country, culture, and community.
For over four decades, Balarinji has trailblazed this approach, collaborating closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to create branding grounded in Place and cultural integrity. From visual identity to environmental integration and storytelling, Designing with Country allows brands to build emotional resonance, cultural relevance, and trust.
As Johnny shared, this is not a design trend, it’s a transformational framework that invites brands to engage deeply with the Country they operate on, and to co-create narratives with Traditional Custodians and Indigenous practitioners.
This recognition from Mumbrella reinforces Balarinji’s leadership in the growing movement of authentic Australian branding, one that respects cultural knowledge systems and embraces the future through inclusive, place-based design.
👉 Read the full article on Mumbrella:
Designing with Country: A new paradigm for authentic brand identity in Australia
