Designing with Country: A new paradigm for authentic brand identity in Australia
Johnny Bridges, Indigenous design lead at Balarinji, recently presented a seminar on branding with Country at Mumbrella360.
Here, he explains how interpreting Indigenous cultural narratives to develop branding can be risky - and needs to be executed authentically, by Indigenous creatives, to be valid.
In the evolving landscape of design, there’s a significant shift underway—one that invites brands to look beyond user benefit alone and towards a deeper, more integrated relationship with the environment. This shift isn’t just about sustainability; it’s about reimagining how place, story, and identity intersect.
Aboriginal Australians were the world’s first storytellers, artists, scientists and designers, and have continued their traditions for millennia. Each cultural group’s history and culture is deeply embedded within its narratives, lore and ceremonial practices. Aboriginal culture defines, and is defined by, Country – land, water and sky.
Interpreting Indigenous cultural narratives to develop branding can be risky and needs to be executed authentically, by Indigenous creatives, to be valid. Enter: Designing with Country.
Designing with Country represents a transformational opportunity for brands, designers, and marketers. It challenges us to move past aesthetics and functionality, and instead build narratives grounded in Australia’s foundational Aboriginal worldview. For brand strategists and design leaders, it offers a compelling lens to build cultural relevance, emotional resonance, and a uniquely Australian sense of belonging.
This approach invites brands to connect with Country—not as a backdrop, but as a central character. It expands the definition of place to include ecosystems, kinship, spirituality, and culture. It’s a way of designing that doesn’t just serve people—it connects them to Country, culture, and contemporary storytelling. It is a uniquely Australian approach.
Johnny Bridges
As Kulin/Gumbaynggirr woman and Adjunct Professor Margo Neale writes in Songlines: The Power and Promise (2020), “Everything starts and ends with Country in the Aboriginal worldview… Everything is part of a continuum, an endless flow of life and ideas emanating from Country.”
This worldview—where land, sky, sea, spirit, and people are interconnected—offers a blueprint for brands seeking to tell stories that matter.
For branding professionals, Designing with Country is the vanguard of innovation. It’s not a trend—it’s a values-driven methodology that can transform how brands define place, purpose, and presence. From master planning and environmental integration to storytelling and social impact, the potential touchpoints are profound.
Crucially, this isn’t about symbolic gestures or surface-level inclusion. It’s about co-design—authentic collaboration with Traditional Custodians and authoritative creative practitioners with knowledge of Country. Brands that engage in this process must commit to deep listening, humility, and sustained partnership. This isn’t just good ethics; it’s good branding.
At Balarinji, we’ve spent four decades delivering this methodology as a professional competency. We’ve consistently worked closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to create deeply original brand narratives—stories rooted in Place, spirit, and cultural memory. These aren’t just beautiful stories; they are strategic assets that build trust, differentiation, and emotional loyalty.
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. It allows brands to participate in a broader Australian dialogue—one that acknowledges history, celebrates diversity, and looks to a future built on respect and reciprocity.
As we face the climate crisis, realise more cultural value in our diversity, and experience a demand for more purpose-driven brands, Designing with Country offers a powerful roadmap. It’s an invitation to create not only more inclusive designs—but more enduring and inspiring brand legacies.
The future of Australian branding is here. It is place-based. It is inclusive. It is grounded in Country.
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