Prof Meghan Kelly

Cross-cultural visual communication design, Indigenous knowledge in commercial design practices, collaborations, place branding, design, identity creation and representation.

Member Design Institute of Australia (DIA)

Member International Council of Design (ico-D)

Meghan has taught many units from first year to Masters level. Her particular focus is on global design strategies, place branding, identity creation and representation.

Kelly, M. (2020) Whiteness in design practice: the need to prioritize process over artefact. Design Research Society Conference, Brisbane, Aug 11-14.

Kelly, M. (2019) Indigenous Design Thinking Conversations: Engaging with cultural design protocols. In ACUADS 2017: Proceedings of Australia Council of University Art and Design Schools 2019 Conference. Canberra, A.C.T.: ACUADS.

Chatfield, E., Kennedy, R., & Kelly, M. (2018). Past – International Indigenous Design Charter. In Go back to where you came from  : The Indigenous Design Symposium. Melbourne, Vic.: Melbourne University. 

Kennedy, R., Kelly, M., Greenaway, J., & Chatfield, E. (2017). International Indigenous Design Charter: Communication Design. In Proceedings of the 2017 World Design Summit Congress (pp. 1). Montreal, Quebec: World Design Summit Organisation.

Kennedy, R., & Kelly, M. (2017). Was.Is.Always: South to North.  On Route to an International Indigenous Design Charter: Greenland Workshop. In Was.Is.Always: South to North.  On Route to an International Indigenous Design Charter: Greenland Workshop (pp. 1-17). Nuuk, Greenaland: INDIGO, International Indigenous Design Network (ico-D).

Kelly, M., & Kennedy, R. (2017). The Australian Indigenous Design Charter:  A ten-step best practice protocol document essential for design educators and practitioners. In ACUADS 2017: Proceedings of Australia Council of University Art and Design Schools 2017 Conference (pp. 1-10). Canberra, A.C.T.: ACUADS. 

Kennedy, R., & Kelly, M. (2017). Building a case for an International Design Centre in Geelong. In P. Collins, & I. Gibson (Eds.), DesTech 2016 : Proceedings of the 2016 The International Conference on Design and Technology (pp. 66-72). [Geelong, Vic.]: DesTech. doi:10.18502/keg.v2i2.597

Kelly, M. (2014). The unique inter-disciplinary requirements of a museum development : a case study of the Kelabit Highland community museum development project.. In A. Stephen (Ed.), AAANZ 2013 : Proceedings of the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference 2013 (pp. 1-12). [Melbourne, Vic.]: AAANZ.

Sweet, J., & Kelly, M. (2014). Dynamics of cultural heritage development in Sarawak. In IIAS 2014 : Proceedings of the Conference on State Policy and the Cultural Politics of Heritage-Making in East and Southeast Asia (pp. 1-16). [Singapore]: [Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)]. Retrieved from http://www.iias.nl/event/state-policy-and-cultural-politics-heritage-making-east-and-southeast-asia

Professor Meghan Kelly and Dr Russell Kennedy co-authored both the Australian Indigenous Design Charter (2016) and the International Indigenous Design Charter (2017). Awarded and ARC Grant in 2022, this research will continue to examine a range of case studies where designers, stakeholders in design, buyers of design and Indigenous communities follow the ten steps in commercial design projects to create ethical, collaborative and self-determined design outcomes.

The Kelabit Highlands Community Museum development project, a museum development situated in the remote Highlands of Borneo, Sarawak was a collaborative project including academics and students from museology and cultural heritage management, architecture, film and digital media and visual communication design. The project, five years in duration, culminated in the construction of the built environment (2016), an inaugural exhibition (2016) and a book publication co-authored by Dr Meghan Kelly and Dr Jonathan Sweet (2018).