i2i Design

Melanie Feddersen is the creative director of i2i design. The studio has a broad range of clients, specialising in design for cultural sectors, and has won many industry awards in these areas. Our aim is to interpret strategic and communication objectives into creative and effective solutions.

Working with content rich material is a motivational force. Transforming spaces whether 2D or 3D is exciting. The arts, nature (especially ocean swims), exploring the handmade and travel are the things that fuel Melanie. Mixing the traditional and contemporary processes and tools are integral to her practice.

We are passionate about shifting perspectives, even if just for a moment.
It’s often all that is needed to entice and engage audiences.

The back story

Before launching i2i design in 2003, Melanie worked at HarperCollins Publishers, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Studio Deunk in Amsterdam. 

In 2017, sparked by her desire to keep learning and enjoy new experiences, she accepted the opportunity to lead Billy Blue Creative, a design studio within Billy Blue College of Design at Torrens University Australia. As well as being a full-service design studio, it bridged students’ education to industry experience through work integrated learning subjects. It also provided the opportunity to be both a mentor and part of a lively design community across all disciplines, design culture and future technologies. It was a rich experience, leading a larger team and working with multiple stakeholders.

In 2020, another long-held dream came to life: to live where the rolling greens hills meet the ocean. Melanie became the Manager of Mystery Bay Cottages, Mystery Bay NSW – a 32-acre holiday accommodation property with cottages, cabins and glamping. Here, she applied her business knowledge, design thinking and problem solving to another industry. To bring the business online, she used her  project management and communication skills, successfully elevating the marketing, introducing art (National Art School) and writers’ retreats and being responsible for every aspect of the day-to-day operations and guest experience.

Reinvigorated by these new challengers, she is now immersing herself  in design again. She has relocated to Robertson NSW to enjoy a country lifestyle and closer access to Sydney.

 

Teams

Melanie has been part of large teams and projects, as well as leading medium-size teams. After decades of working with creatives, she has a highly experienced pool of illustrators, animators, videographers, digital specialists, designers, photographers, copywriters ... all of whom bring complementary skills, approaches and creativity. She manages teams that are tailored to meet the exact needs of each brief, utilising skill-sets that benefit projects and budgets. No project is too big or too small. i2i Design believes client and creative collaboration are key for successful outcomes.

  • National Art School
    Australian Museum
    Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
    Murdoch Books
    Pan Macmillan Australia
    ABC News, People & Radio
    University of Queensland Press
    Canon Australia
    Red Room Poetry
    Allen & Unwin
    COFA (now UNSW Art & Design)
    Mystery Bay Cottages

  • 2015 British Book Design and Production Awards, ClothBound by Julie Paterson, Shortlisted for Lifestyle Illustrated and Best Jacket / Cover Design
    2015 Create Design Awards, ClothBound by Julie Paterson, Shortlisted for Print Creative
    2011 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, Winner of The Best Designed Young Adult Book; Highly commended for The Best Designed Children’s Cover of the year
    2011 D&AD Awards, Substance of Shadows by Jutta Feddersen, Shortlisted on the long list for entire book category
    2011 Create Design Awards, Substance of Shadows by Jutta Feddersen, Shortlisted for book category
    2010 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, A True history of the Hula Hoop by Judith Lanigan, Co-winner of The Best Designed Fiction Book
    2009 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, Harriet Bright in a Pickle by Claire Craig, Highly commended for The Best Designed Children’s Fiction Book
    2004 13th Australian Catalogue Awards, Winner of the TAFE NSW Arts and Design Prize in the Education and the Arts Category
    2003 12th Australian Catalogue Awards, Finalist for the TAFE NSW Arts and Design Prize in the Education and the Arts Category
    2002 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, Millie by John Marsden, Winner of The Scholastic Australia Best Designed Children’s Picture Book
    2000 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, Vixen, Commended for the Best Designed Fantasy & Science Fiction Book of the Year
    1996 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, The Moustache by Robert Cormier, Shortlisted for design award in secondary education category
    1996 Museum Publication Design Awards, Photography is Dead Long Live Photography, Honourable Mention in conjunction with Peter Thorn in the catalogue category
    1993 Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards, Soft Sculpture and Beyond: An International Perspective by Jutta Feddersen, Winner of the Reader’s Digest Award for the Best Young Designer; Winner of the Griffin Press Award for The Best Designed Book; Commended for the Joyce Nicholson Award for The Best Designed Book of the Year

  • Australian Publishers Association — Book Design Awards
    2008-2013 Committee Member
    2006 Judge
    2017 Judge
    Sydney Writers Festival
    2012 Presenter, design panel
    PANZ Book Design Awards, New Zealand
    2013 Guest Speaker
    ABDA
    2014-17 Member
    Short Courses in:
    Photography
    Bookbinding (4 years evening course)
    Philosophy
    Printmaking
    Life Drawing
    MBA subject at Torrens University – Dynamic leadership 
    Letterpress
    2008 Typique, Amsterdam – My first hands-on experience in a Letterpress studio
    2010 Letterpress short course at COFA, Sydney
    Marketing
    2022 Awarded short course and personal coaching through Tourism Tribe/Destinaton NSW in how to optimise digital marketing across small businesses.
    2023 Awarded short course and personal coaching through Tourism Tribe/Destinaton NSW in Digital Accelerator in EMarketing Course. Covering AI, lead magnets, automated emails to nurture the customer journey, creating effective videos. 

  • “As the Marketing Manager at the National Art School, I worked with Melanie for two and half years as our primary graphic designer. Mel developed a wide range of digital and print collateral for the School, including key documents such as the Bachelor of Fine Art brochure, Short Course brochure, Annual Report and end of year booklet. Working with Mel is effortless – she has that rare ability to quickly grasp business concepts and turn out exceptional visuals with very little revision required. She has a clean design aesthetic which honours an organisation’s style guide while breathing new life into each set of design so it never appears stale. One of the best things about working with Mel is her temperament, she always keeps calm and collected even when racing to meet deadlines and faced with various extra rounds of copy changes! She is great at working to tight deadlines and high-pressure situations, never losing her scrupulous eye and attention to detail. I would highly recommend her design skills to any business, particularly in the arts and creative sectors.”

    Ros Brennan, National Art School

    “I have worked with Melanie Feddersen and i2i design for more than 15 years. During this time, we have collaborated on a huge variety of projects, from young adult novels and junior fiction titles to adult non-fiction titles. Melanie is an extraordinarily creative designer, an original thinker and an imaginative/innovative problem solver. Her artistic influences and interests – from the handmade to photography to art in all its guises – permeate every facet of her design, which is nuanced and layered, playful and deeply thoughtful. I love the moment when I see the first concept from Melanie – a cover rough, or the internals of a book – and delight in the breadth of it, the unexpected visual direction, the distinctive personality of her design. Melanie is also a perfectionist and her meticulous approach to every stage of a project is unsurpassed – from the rendition of big- picture design to the smallest detail on the page, such as a folio or a running foot. Working with Melanie is always a delight. She enriches every job with humour, professionalism, perseverance and dedication. She has been honoured with many awards from the Australian book industry, and is an incredibly respected book designer.”

    Claire Craig, Deputy Publishing Director, Pan Macmillan Australia

    “Mel Feddersen is an award-winning graphic designer/artist who I have had the pleasure of working with for over 15 years, spanning three different organisations (National Art School, COFA - now UNSW Art & Design and The Red Room Company). Mel is a creative who constantly reimagines her work thereby keeping her design work, fresh, contemporary and original. Further Melanie is adaptable, extremely professional and works to quick turnaround deadlines and often with problematic briefs. Mel would always be my first preference in terms of seeking a graphic designer.”

    Sally Marwood