MARTIN THURNHEER
Creative Director/Project Manager
Publisher | Visual Storyteller | Strategic Designer of Brands, Experiences & Content
From the bustling exhibition halls of Melbourne to the hallowed archives of Australian football, my creative journey has been anything but ordinary. I bring over two decades of experience across design, publishing, education, and brand storytelling — crafting not just content, but legacy.
Whether it was translating complex dietary science into two best-selling cookbooks (Irresistible for the Irritable and Two Irresistible for the Irritable), revitalising a university's identity with La Trobe’s Brand Guidelines and AR markers, or curating a museum-grade archive for the Collingwood Football Club — I approach each project with the same ethos: strategy, empathy, and a relentless eye for detail.
I thrive in environments that blur the lines between discipline and delight — where brand meets story, where design dances with data, and where a good idea can come from a sticky note or a serendipitous coffee break. I’ve built teams, led national projects, charmed stakeholders and wrangled timelines.
I believe the best creative work is grounded in curiosity, guided by clarity, and elevated by collaboration. I love a great brief almost as much as I love tearing it apart to find something even better. And above all, I believe in creating work that respects its audience — that meets people where they are, and invites them into something deeper, smarter, more beautiful.
I would welcome the opportunity to bring this energy, rigour, and irrepressible curiosity to your project. Let’s make something meaningful — and have fun doing it.
Projects
2025 Sacred Heart College - redevelopment of Sacred Heart into a multi-purpose community support hub
2019 La Trobe University - brand guideline development, to ensure a unified brand identity
2016 La Trobe University - displaying a history of the University, design/project management
2015 Sema - brand strategy and print marketing
2014 Mass Enrgy Australia - brand development, strategy and marketing
2014 Iconic Treasures - Collingwood Football Club historical archive - design & project management
2014 Republic of Nauru - emblem & crest design
2013 Tourism Australia - trade show photography
2012 Worawa Aboriginal College - development of brand, digital, social media and print collateral
2011 Box Hill Hospital - print marketing
2010 Defence Force Australia - print marketing
2010 Schweppes - print marketing, photo editing
2009 Bakers Delight - brand strategy and marketing collateral
2008 World Vision - brand strategy and print marketing
2007 Spotlight/Anaconda - brand strategy and marketing collateral
2006 Country Road - colour workflow management
2005 Optus - brand strategy and marketing
2003 James Boag - photo editing
2002 Young & Rubicam - print marketing, direct marketing consulting - UX and UI Design
At Sacred Heart College I'm presently guiding the adaptive reuse of a 19th-century college into a community support hub and women’s refuge. Leading stakeholder engagement, heritage planning, and design strategy to balance architectural preservation with contemporary care — including 22 accommodation units, a shared meal space, and essentials collection area. Social purpose, beautifully housed.
My work with La Trobe University saw me lead the development of comprehensive Brand Guidelines and AR-enhanced Building Markers. By combining UX strategy with stakeholder engagement, I helped unify fragmented communication across faculties, while making campus history interactive and engaging through augmented reality.
At the Collingwood Football Club, I led the creation of a richly layered Historical Archive — imagined not as a sterile database, but as a beautifully designed, legacy-grade experience. Think of it as a leather-bound publication brought to life: filled with rare imagery, player memorabilia, and narrative timelines that unfolded with archival pull-outs. Designed for fans, historians, and future generations alike, it honoured over a century of sporting history with the reverence it deserved — even as an Essendon Supporter.
At Irresistible Group Australia, I combined strategic event design, UX thinking, and cross-disciplinary leadership to produce Australia’s premier gluten-free and wheat-free consumer event. As Director & Co-Founder, I led the brand, space design, and marketing of the Irresistible Food Show—bringing together over 40,000 health-conscious attendees, suppliers, celebrity chefs, one unflappable team and zero wheat. Designed for ease, inclusivity, and pure flavour-forward joy.
As Creative Director and Publisher of two best-selling cookbooks — Irresistible for the Irritable and Two Irresistible for the Irritable — I transformed complex dietary knowledge into beautifully accessible experiences for people living with food sensitivities. These books weren’t just successful in sales — they built trust and community around health and creativity.
I’ve worked at the intersection of storytelling and systems thinking: from serving as Art Director at McGraw Hill Education, to publishing the Futura Training program — now a leading name in hospitality education across Australia.
My creative lens isn’t confined to commercial work. My photographic journey through Spain’s Camino de Santiago has been exhibited in galleries including the Convent Gallery (Daylesford), Southgate Arts Precinct, and Frankston Arts Centre — exploring solitude, ritual, and place through visual storytelling.
Creative Instruments & Intuition
• UX & UI Design
• Brand Strategy & Identity Systems
• Project & Workflow Management
• Creative Direction for Events, Print & Digital
• Advanced Photography & Image Editing
• Modular Layouts & Typographic Systems
• Content Architecture & Infographics
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom), Canvas
• CMS Platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix)
• Leadership of Cross-Functional Creative Teams
• Empathetic Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
• Production Coordination & Event Logistics
• Storytelling Across Media
Service Design & Experience Strategy
I bring a human-centred approach to shaping products and services that are as thoughtful as they are functional — from research to implementation. My toolkit blends systems thinking with creative intuition, helping organisations reimagine how people engage with products and services across every touchpoint.
Core Capabilities:
• User & stakeholder research
• Journey mapping & empathy modelling
• Service blueprinting & experience flow design
• Touchpoint and ecosystem mapping
• Workshop facilitation & co-design leadership
• Prototyping (storyboards, scenarios, experience walkthroughs)
• User testing & insight synthesis
• Strategy alignment & implementation planning
• Cross-functional collaboration & storytelling
• Designing for equity, accessibility & emotional resonance.
I design for clarity, consistency and connection — whether improving a single touchpoint or reimagining an entire service ecosystem.
The Door’s Ajar
E: mt@thurnheerpublications.com.au
C 1300 937 220
M: (+61) (0)413 649 527
W: thurnheerpublications.com.au
Martin's photographic Journey on the Camino de Santiago is currently on display at Le Paul Patisserie
409 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn, VIC
Monday to Sunday 8:30AM to 5PM
