Graphic design, production and publishing house

Aboriginal-owned and operated.

About Girra

Girra is a Dharug-based graphic design, production and publishing house founded by Dharug woman, designer, illustrator and communications professional, Laura La Rosa. Girra’s methodology foregrounds a considered, culturally sound approach, emphasising a thorough briefing process while positioning community at the heart of what we do.

Illustration
Long-form written content

Web design and production
Campaign and strategy support

Research, copy and content production
Audio and visual production and editing

Recent Work

Reconciliation Action Plan for Story Factory

Bayala Gurawa, which loosely translates to ‘voices in the wind’ in Dharug Dalang, is the title of Story Factory’s 2023-2024 Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Working closely with Aunty Raylene Hassall, my role was to work with elements of Murrawari and Euahlayi artist Danielle Mate’s digital artwork piece and produce the full design, layout and colour palette for the RAP.

Myself and Aunty Raylene slowed the process down somewhat, pushing the contents of the RAP into a direction that we felt was more explicit and accountable. This resulted in a RAP that all parties involved could proudly put their names to in what is just one component of Story Factory’s ongoing efforts to work effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Re-member Branding and design for Fairfield City Museum & Gallery

I had the privilege of designing, illustrating and producing the brand and collateral for the exhibition 're-member' currently showing at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery, bringing guest curator Nicole Barakat's beautiful vision to life. The exhibition’s artists included Artists: Annukina Warda, DJ Gemma, Joanna Kambourian, Maissa Alameddine, Nazanin Marashian, Olivia Nigro, Zeina Iaali and Marian Abboud.

Extra/Ordinary Branding and Design for Fairfield City Museum & Gallery

Extra/Ordinary was a creative response to FCMG’s museum collection through art installations and prose. Artists and writers reflected on the stories told and left untold by our objects, photographs and records. I was engaged to produce the show’s branding and design. Curated by Alinde Bierhuizen and Dana Guarnaschelli, Extra/Ordinary featured artists Make or Break, Dacchi Dang, Jennifer Leahy, Re-Right Collective, Liam Benson, M. Sunflower, Mary Nguyen, Ginette Morato and Gail Barclay.

Gurawul the Whale: An ancient story for our time for Magabala Books

Written by the late Yuin Elder, Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, Gurawul is an ancient whale Dreaming story passed down to Uncle Max by his old people more than 70 years ago. I had the privilege of illustrating more than 20 graphite pieces that are featured throughout the book. Uncle Max’s Gurawul won the 2023 Whitley Book Awards, Cultural Knowledge and Zoology.

Illustration, collage and design for Memory River

Memory River is a student-based project led by Story Factory in collaboration with The Parramatta Female Factory Institutions Precinct. Students created artworks that responded to their exploration of the precinct’s history in the context of a colonised Dharug Ngurra (specifically Parramatta). My role as designer was to incorporate the many student’s artworks into a cohesive brand for that year’s program. I chose to use collage, creating a centrepiece image for the project which was loosely based on a historic photograph of Parramatta River where the precinct was situated. This artwork then lent itself to the layout of other materials, including the interactive map I illustrated which students utilised as part of their engagement with the physical space.

Working closely with festival founder, Chloe Higgins, I produced, illustrated and designed the look-and-feel for WWF’s 2020 festival which was themed ‘Writing the Body’. This work included developing the 2020 festival’s brand from concept to execution as well as back-end web production to ensure the 2020 website was not only user-friendly and easy to navigate but also reflected the current theme and aesthetic.

Branding, illustration and design for Wollongong Writer’s Festival (WWF) 2020

Digital Illustrations

The following images are a selection of digital illustrations created for either client work or through my ongoing personal art practice. I illustrate comfortably in either PSD or vector-based formats.