A panellist profile from our Crafting Conversation series.
Crafting Conversation is a panel series for makers in business, hosted by Make Good Things Happen. We unpack the creative process and the real business stuff with Australian artists, designers, and do-ers.
From album art and branding to bold murals splashed across city walls, Travis Price’s work is instantly recognisable for its energy, nostalgia and fearless use of colour. Drawing from the pop culture of the 80s and 90s, his art bridges the worlds of design and illustration with a wink to the past and a sharp eye on the present.
Over a career spanning more than 25 years, Travis Price has collaborated with major agencies, fashion labels and music brands, while continuing to create personal projects that keep his creative fire burning. Now based in Ballarat, he thrives on the balance between commercial commissions and the slower rhythm of regional life, where inspiration can strike between a sketch, a song and a walk with the dogs.
In this MGTH Chats post, Travis Price talks about nostalgia, typography, creative restlessness, and why showing up in real life to connect with other artists and designers is still one of the best ways to keep your creativity alive.
Meet Travis at our upcoming Crafting Conversation : Artists Edition at the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute on Wednesday 12th November 2025. Book your seat here.
Your career branches over more than 25 years across graphic design, illustration, murals, animation, branding and more. What keeps you excited about working across so many mediums?
To be honest, something I’ve noticed over the last decade is that I have a short attention span…and I get bored doing the same thing over and over. I seem to get excited by the challenge of doing something different each week. So commercial creative work suits me well, as it’s always a different client with a different medium, application or outcome. But I’ve also learnt I have to mix my own personal projects in there, otherwise I feel creatively caged.
Your work is full of nostalgic styles and pop culture references from the 80s and 90s. What draws you back to those eras, and how do you translate that into a contemporary context?
Anything I see or listen to, I’m trying to break down how and why I’m connecting to it. It’s hard to introduce something new to an audience and instantly find that connection. It can take 3-4 views/listens before people have that recall. I think nostalgia or pop culture is a fun way of reaching people. They like it because it’s familiar to them in some way. And it can come in many forms, from colour palettes, font choice or even illustration style. For me, it’s fun mixing the new and old together. What the hell am I talking about? A great example from a song point of view is Nirvana’s Beatles-esque “About a Girl”. An iconic Nirvana/Grunge classic…but oh so Beatles.
Typography plays such a strong role in your aesthetic. How did that fascination begin, and what makes it so important in your work?
It’s funny how we learn something without knowing it! A bit like Mr Miyagi’s, wax on, wax off. For me my love for typography came from the clothing brand Mambo and Santa Cruz Skateboards. The two always mixed illustration with typography. 10 years later, I got to learn more about it at Uni, studying Graphic Design. Most of my commercial work involves using words so finding and understanding that synergy is really important to me. Nothing worse than seeing an amazing illustration with bad typography or font choice.
You’ve collaborated with major agencies and clothing labels nationally and internationally. What do you think has been the biggest challenge and reward of working in the commercial design world?
Graduating with a Graphic Design Degree in the mid 90’s and coming from a small country town (Dimboola)… the biggest challenge was location and opportunity. I had to move to Melbourne to get a junior position in the industry, which was tough work. But even then, you only really had access to a localised client base. It sounds strange, but the reward was “Social media”, it opened up the world to creatives like myself who wanted to live regionally and still access national and international projects.
You’ve made Ballarat your base. How does living and working here influence your creative practice, and what do you think the city offers to artists and designers?
I love living in Ballarat. I feel like I have time and space to breathe here. I have a small group of peers who challenge me to be better, but it’s not all-encompassing. Most of the time, you’re talking about other things like music, movies, and football.
I love that creatives living in regional towns have the opportunity to create positive change and interactions within the community.
You’re joining us for Crafting Conversation: Artists Edition. Why do you feel it’s important to be part of a real life conversation event like this, and what would you say to encourage people to come along?
My wife Renee hates this saying, but “You don’t know what you don’t know”. I’m always amazed at what I learn from other people at these events.
Making ends meet as a creative is always an interesting dance. In person, everyone always drops their guard a bit and are a lot more candid
These types of events have changed the way I approach different scenarios in regards to budget negotiations to work life balance.
Links
Travis Price Website
Travis Price Instagram
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