The first monograph to explore the singular career, philosophy and work of one of Australia’s leading female designers, Visnja Brdar: Design Exalted accompanies Brdar’s first museum exhibition, at Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA, 11 April – 15 June 2024.

Designed by Brdar herself, the publication features newly commissioned writing from leading design historians, curators and writers alongside a career chronology and visual documentation of 200+ projects from the past 37 years spanning lifestyle, fashion, beauty, art, architecture, real estate and jewellery design. From 1990s Melbourne to 2000s New York and up to the present, the publication positions Brdar’s work within its Australian, international, design and broader cultural contexts, revealing the through-lines of the designer’s dynamic, entrepreneurial and intuition-led practice.

Co-published by MUMA-Monash University and Powerhouse.

Contributors

Visnja Brdar, Dr Rebecca Coates, Emily King, Hannah Mathews, Sarah Medford, Stephen Todd, Denise Whitehouse.

Contents

Foreword, Dr Rebecca Coates 
Introduction, Hannah Mathews and Stephen Todd
To ‘go prepared with all you need—which is nothing’: Visnja
Brdar 1969–1999, Denise Whitehouse
Holding the Line: the Work of Visnja Brdar, Emily King
In Conversation with Visnja Brdar, Sarah Medford
Documentation of Works: 1997–2022, Visnja Brdar