Diagonal is a publication by the Design Institute of Australia, where all proceeds go towards supporting their mission to advance Australian design excellence.
January 8th, 2025
For numerous decades, the Design Institute of Australia has advocated for designers, addressing the parameters they face, fortifying industry professionals and enabling them to excel. Recently, the non-profit organisation launched a tome called Diagonal that explores the ‘why’ behind design.
Positioned as more of an irreverent piece with no advertising, all proceeds will go towards supporting the Design Institute of Australia’s trajectory to advance Australian design excellence, led by Editorial Director and Russell & George co-founder, Byron George.
Related: New Danish book tells stories of spatial justice in architecture

Published quarterly, Diagonal pays homage to Indigenous perspectives on time and place – fittingly the three-monthly schedule aligns with Australia’s natural seasons. A platform to foray into the philosophies and stories that have helped shape contemporary design.
The inaugural issue, themed around resilience and featuring an array of stories that explore First Nations’ profound connection to land, culture and identity, examines how the fashion industry can adapt and thrive in an uncertain future. The cover interprets spring in various states of compression, designed by Creative Director, Sachi Kapadia and 3D knit innovation company, Knovus. Coded and produced in a knitted form, the three-dimensional graphic speaks to the notion of celebrating our similarities rather than our differences.

INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In the second instalment of our performance seating three-parter, we turn to DKO’s Michael Drescher and Jacob Olsen to peek behind Sayl’s confident architectural form and explore the ideas of inclusivity, adaptability and freedom to move as hallmarks of what sitting your best actually means.
The Geelong College’s Sport and Wellbeing Centre ‘Belerren’ designed by Wardle is designed around bringing in natural light. But Shade Factor’s job was to help modulate and precisely control it for the most important competitive moments.
Stepping into Intuit’s Sydney workplace certainly doesn’t feel like walking into an office. Why? In this film, we discover that, when joy takes precedence as a design driver, even a high-performing commercial CBD headquarters can feel like an intuitive wonderland that invites employees to choose their own adventure.
In the first instalment of our three-part series exploring what it means to sit your best, we pose the question to Gray Puksand’s Dale O’Brien, who discusses the importance of ease and majority rule when it comes to sitting and reveals why specifying a task chair is not unlike choosing a Volvo.
Explore the full lineup of shortlisted people, projects and products!
SJB transforms former railway land into a 702-home build-to-rent community, using housing, public space and shared amenities to reconnect one of Melbourne’s busiest transport precincts.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Founded by Richard Munao in 2017, NAU’s presentation at 3daysofdesign builds on decades of groundwork by Cult and marks a confident moment for Australian design overseas.
FK hosted a standout Melbourne Design Week event with a panel on adaptive reuse and renewable real estate at 500 Bourke, featuring previous contributor Nicky Drobis and our editor as moderator.