Designing on Western Arrarnta Country: The Ntaria Digital Drawings

Abstract Communication design in the Aboriginal community of Ntaria is situated and mediated by Western Arrarnta Country, which encourages a deeper exploration of the ways culture, knowledge, and identity are intertwined and shape ideas of what “design” might be from many centers. This visual narrative presents the outcomes of a communication design education program with Western Arrarnta young adults, part of a four-year participatory project. For the Ntaria students, design is a tool for telling stories, asserting identity, caring for Country, and intergenerational knowledge sharing. Their digital drawing outcomes reveal how Western Arrarnta communication design practice exists in relation to local ecologies and ontologies. By sharing a distinct Western Arrarnta imagining, these digital drawings contribute to dialogs that are reshaping current understandings of what it means to design; to explore the value and meaning of place, relationships, and community.