About the designer

Meet Leigh Harris, creator of the bespoke First Nations designs displayed throughout the ‘For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities’ section of our website.

Bespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub, created by the Indigenous creative design and digital agency ingeous studios, reflects the organisation’s work in providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Artist: Leigh Harris

Leigh Harris is a Cairns-based Aboriginal business owner with traditional connections to the Kanolu people of Central Queensland, Gungarri people of Southeast Queensland, and who is proud of his Italian and Welsh heritage.

Since it was first launched in 2017, the FASD Hub has worked to platform the stories, tools and resources of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities who are helping women to have alcohol-free pregnancies, and supporting people with FASD and their families to thrive.

The new designs created by Leigh celebrate the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities and recognise the importance of a community wide, culturally safe, First Nations-led approach to FASD in Australia.

Bespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub, created by the Indigenous creative design and digital agency ingeous studios, reflects the organisation’s work in providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Artist: Leigh HarrisBespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub, created by the Indigenous creative design and digital agency ingeous studios, reflects the organisation’s work in providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Artist: Leigh Harris

Leigh has been active in the design, digital creatives and ITC space for over 20 years, and owns and operates ingeous studios, a multidisciplinary digital design studio.

Trained as a Public Relations officer with Aboriginal Hostels Limited in Canberra in the late 1980’s, Leigh moved to Cairns in 1993. Leigh works with local, national and international organisations in the creative and digital creative innovation space.

In 1996, Leigh was awarded an Australia Council Fellowship for the Arts for digital innovation and experimentation in Cape York Peninsula communities.

In 2003 he established ingeous studios, a creative digital innovation agency that works with local, national and international organisations in the creative and digital new media space. In 2010, together with co-collaborator Steven Pelham, Leigh created Australia’s first Indigenous developed multi-platform directory tool, which was available on iOS, Andriod and SmartTV’s.

A qualified graphic designer certified as an Adobe Creative professional and new media specialist, Leigh has been published by Cambridge University for his work in the use of new technologies in Indigenous health and social engagement spaces, and has been featured in AustralianIT, SmartStartup, CNET and the Financial Review for innovative use of technologies in the Indigenous space.

Leigh continues his passion in design and innovation throughout the digital media space with social innovations OpenLingo, SkoolCents, ROR Digital, and believes that digital innovation and the digital economy can bring about greater opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

In late 2016, Leigh co-founded D:HIVE – an Indigenous-led digital innovation hub aimed at bridging the digital and technology gap for Indigenous Australians, migrants, refugees and people with disabilities. In particular, D:HIVE’s concentration is in regional and remote Australia which still in 2018 are the most disconnected from the digital and tech worlds.

Leigh developed Australia’s first Indigenous-developed app in 2009, and more recently, was the back-end and front-end developer that assisted Arrernte cultural advisors create the Indigemoji app that has over 80,000 downloads, was an Honoree for a 2020 Webby Award, and a 2020 Prix Ars Electronica Honorary.

Working remotely for clients across Australia and internationally, Leigh has successfully maintained ingeous studios as a leading creative digital production agency that is a hybrid agency working across creative productions and digital technologies.

In 2020 he founded – with the support of NorthSite Contemporary Arts, IndigeDesignLabs (Indigenous Design Labs) – an experimental Indigenous creative learning lab which seeks to introduce young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives to digital design, and creative industries, through the confluence of art, design, technology and culture, while developing immersive storytelling in natural and man-made environments.

Leigh believes strongly that together we can all become changemakers of tomorrow through increased digital ability, tech inclusion and design – through the melding of innovative approaches to reshaping the digital and tech world from the grass-roots.

ingeous studios create bespoke First Nations designs that are culturally safe and diverse. In the ideation and creation of all designs, ingeous studios ensure that they depict the diversity of First Nation cultures throughout Australia.

The studio uses both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures throughout their designs to represent this diversity through modern design elements throughout their creatives.

As a First Nations owned and operated design agency, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives are engaged throughout the creative process to ensure the depiction of culturally safe elements in client designs.

The bespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub, created by the Indigenous creative design and digital agency ingeous studios, reflects the organisation’s work in providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

The bespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub – created by ingeous studios – reflects our work providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It emphasises how every member of families and communities play a vital role in supporting and nurturing people with FASD.

The design incorporates symbols that highlight the importance of a community-wide approach in advocacy, ensuring that people with FASD can thrive. It also serves as a reminder of the critical need for awareness about the dangers of alcohol during pregnancy.

Understanding the symbolism behind the design elements

Icon design representing advocacy for greater knowledge about the risks of alcohol and drugs before and during pregnancy

Main icon

The FASD Hub icon symbolises the collaborative efforts of the FASD Hub and partners in raising awareness and promoting understanding of FASD. It represents our advocacy for greater knowledge about the risks of alcohol harms during pregnancy, helping both women and men recognise the dangers involved, and supporting them on this journey.

Families and communities

This design element represents families and communities who hold the power to help people with FASD flourish through nurturing, understanding, and empowering people with FASD.

Nurturing gardens

This design element represents nurturing gardens, where the whole of the community are involved in helping people with FASD flourish.

Life journey

This design element represents a life journey, where individuals impacted by FASD can flourish through the collective support and development of the entire community, driven by the shared knowledge and resources of the FASD hub and other key stakeholders.

Visit curated Australian and Torres Strait Islander resources and research.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
Bespoke Indigenous design for the FASD Hub, created by the Indigenous creative design and digital agency ingeous studios, reflects the organisation’s work in providing resources and education on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Artist: Leigh Harris

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Acknowledgement of Country

FASD Hub Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and we recognise their connections to land, water and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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