13 July 17 Meet Mel.

Joining our build team as a designer—Mel Bruning brings joy and dedication to everything she does.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mel moved to Melbourne at the end of 2015. With a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Missouri, she applies design nous to deliver projects that exceed client expectations.

In Melbourne, Mel  developed her design chops as a freelancer working across a range of health, non-profit and marketing clients. With experience as an in-house designer at an advisory firm, she continues to evolve her design skills in branding, web design, and packaging at August.

Mel believes in balance: maintaining a clean minimalism, while showcasing the unique personality of every client. Her keenness for learning sees her jump into projects with easy enthusiasm, and an efficient execution.

When she isn’t delving into design work, Mel enjoys working on illustrations and continuing her coffee-hunt across Melbourne. We sat down with Mel to chat about her ideal mentor, creative mood music, and how she’d celebrate winning the lottery.

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If you won the lottery would you still work? What would you do?

Oh man, I love design, so wouldn’t want to stop working. Although, I would probably spend my time traveling and designing from different spaces around the world. Preferably from a hammock.

What’s one of your favourite things about Melbourne?

How easy it is to get around. Although I miss driving dearly, this city has blown my mind with how easy public transport makes it to get from A to B. All the Aussie accents are great as well.

Do you cook? If so, what’s your specialty?

I am a cook-in-progress. Right now, coming up with different veggie and meat pasta combinations is my go-to.

What’s on your music playlist right now?

This week I’ve been listening to Jordan Mackampa, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Cloud Control, Matt Maeson, Half Moon Run and Seramic to name a few.

If you could pick anyone as a mentor, who would it be?

Frida Kahlo. She had a no-bullshit attitude and focused on the beautiful things in life. She was deeply committed to her work, and created pieces that represented the challenging life she led as an artist.

What is one skill in the world of digital you hope to improve this year?

Prototyping and animation. That’s two not one, but I can’t choose. There are so many great programs and tools  that I would love to try my hand at this year.