afFEMation. Making heroes of women in Australian graphic design.

In early 2016, I sent an online survey out to stakeholders in the graphic design industry in Australia, asking them to list women who had made a significant contribution to graphic design in Australia since 1960. 142 names were listed and the top 25 most mentioned women were approached to take part in this project. Some declined and some asked to bring their business partners into the project This list now includes 24 very diverse women. Those at the end of their careers and those at the start, women with differing heritages and sexualities, women from publishing and advertising, women who run their own studios and those who freelance as well as women whose practice crosses over into the arts, photography and festival management. All the women featured on afFEMation.com are passionate about their craft, are committed to the creative industries and, up until this point, have been notably absent from the history of design. afFEMation.com was launched in May at the Women in Design conference in Launceston, Australia, to show how these women are connected through their networks and to offer a primary resource that includes, portraits, videos, interviews, galleries of work and brief biographies to researchers, practitioners, students and the interested public. This website aims to firmly place these women as heroes in Australian graphic design.