Dr Paula Hardie is a strategic designer based in Magandjin (Brisbane) who specialises in visual communication for community-led climate adaptation projects.

current projects

In conjunction with Strabo Rivers and Benarrawa Community Development Association, Paula is currently working with Brisbane apartment residents, body corporate committees, and neighbourhoods to design flood management and disaster resilience plans.

background

Paula has a Bachelor of Design Futures with Honours (Visual Communication) and a PhD (Design) from Griffith University. Her doctoral research explored the capacity of design tools to support community-led service adaptations to extreme climate events, resulting in the design of the Kurilpa Flood Library. She played a lead role in the development of Resilient Kurilpa’s community disaster resilience initiatives, including the delivery of workshops, online resources and tools, which won the 2025 Resilient Australia and Queensland Community Awards.

Paula’s work has spanned the areas of food security, waste management, public and community service, water, science, climate change, tertiary design education, community events, and communications for First Nations organisations and school-aged children.

approach

Paula’s published practice-based research and approach to design is critically futures-facing and led by the way cultural, place-based knowledges and experiences design ways for communities to ‘self-service’ in the face of climate disasters. This approach is grounded in a history of volunteering and working for Resilient Kurilpa.

Paula’s design practice approach has developed across studio, academic, NGO and grassroots community settings. She draws together leading critical design, decolonial and feminist theory, co-design practices, and foresight research to develop responsible design processes, tools, workshops, strategies and communication resources for communities living on the frontlines of climate change.

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