Round
(est. 2002, Melbourne)

Round is a design practice that brings together culture, commerce and creativity. Founded in 2002 by creative director Michaela Webb and strategy director Robert Nudds, the Round team of designers, strategists and writers create transformative brands and experiences. Round’s projects in Babel Bookcase reflect the diversity of the studio’s portfolio, which encompasses identities, strategy, print, digital, campaign, content, art direction, placemaking and the built environment.

In 2016, Round reimagined the strategy and identity of chocolatier Koko Black. The practice’s approach shifted the company’s graphic language from a traditional European vernacular to a uniquely Australian identity. 

Since 2017, Round has also developed the brand identity for Melbourne’s premiere fashion event, Melbourne Fashion Week, working with the event’s creative director Jonnine Standish on reshaping how the city saw the festival. The brand has continued to build year-on-year, becoming more confident in its voice, in order to speak to both the fashion industry and the broader Melbourne public. 

Round’s identity for InBetween, the Australian pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennale of Architecture, was based on a collaborative and multi-layered approach to design that celebrates process over outcomes. Working with artists Maree Clarke, a Yorta Yorta / Wamba Wamba / Mutti Mutti / Boonwurrung woman, and Mitch Mahoney, a descendant of Boonwurrung and Barkindji peoples of south-eastern Australia, the identity was inspired by traditional possum-skin cloaks and their symbolic representations of belonging, place and spiritual connection to the earth. The result is an identity that is itself multi-layered, reflecting a new approach to design and a shared view of national identity. 

The selection of Round’s projects on the bookshelf includes Repair, an accompaniment to the 2018 Venice Biennale exhibition of the same name, and King and Godfree: The Corner Grocer, a publication celebrating the Carlton institution that’s part cookbook, part cultural anthology.

Round frequently engages in lectures and other speaking engagements, including at RAMP Festival, New Zealand; MPavilion; Semi-Permanent; agIdeas; Designers Speak; and more. It has also judged the Design and Art Direction (D&AD) Awards in London, Best Awards in New Zealand, and the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) Awards and AWARD Awards in Australia. Michaela Webb also sits on the boards of Melbourne Art Fair and Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, and is an elected member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).