About Us
Our Logo
Have you wondered what our logo means? Our emblem has the iconic saint which is hand painted on the side of Castle Hill. This small mountain/ hill (there is a debate about this) is located at the centre of the city of Townsville which our headquarters is located at. We love this saint and Castle Hill as much as we love the city so we had to let him represent our brand.
Palm tree is another symbol of sun-embracing outdoor lifestyle and tropical living. We situated the saint under the palm leaves to give it shade and it also works as a trunk of the palm tree. (there is another debate if the leaves look like banana tree leaves/ palm tree leaves or Priscilla Queen of the Desert 😂, but they are intended to be palm) The saint and palm tree are coexisting as one organism to promote enjoying the great outdoors to the fullest with sun protection! ☀️
Our Mission
Our mission is to spread awareness of sun safety by offering UV protective breathable apparel that features attractive designs and wearability.
Australia is the sun cancer capital of the world and New Zealand has the highest Melanoma rate in the world. Melanoma has a big risk of death, but if caught early, it is easily curable and definitely preventable. As they say, prevention is better than cure.
We aim to make sun protection accessible and maximise outdoor experience. We hope our clothing encourages you to go out more and take on a healthy lifestyle whilst protecting yourself, your family and your team from the harsh UV rays.
Where It All Started
Our Passion for a Sun-loving Lifestyle
Through the Great Barrier Reef, lush rainforest, crystal clear creeks, and dry land, the great outdoors is our lifestyle. UV is extremely high especially here in North Queensland and we found necessity for sun safe clothing.
The only accessible UV protective clothing before us were shirts with fish print or dull plain designs. We have decided to invent our own clothing for outdoor activities not just for fishing, but also for walking dogs at the beach, bush walking, camping, kayaking, SUP boarding, horse riding, gardening and countless more!
Shirts are not just a garment but a statement. We have a desire to wear a shirt that feels like it is designed just for us, to shout out who we are or to send a message. Our shirts cater for those who wish to achieve this in colours of their choice.
Nature has numerous shades that artificial tones cannot mimic. We design to demonstrate actual colours of scenery and objects without intruding.
Our brand is built from and based on 3 principles:
- Sun-loving: Our belief and love towards the sun, water, and land. We aim to accomplish coexistence with nature, and an ideal outdoor lifestyle.
- Custom-designed: Designs that reflect different interests and causes to help showcase your own.
- Wearable: Fabric like no other, that endures the extreme sun of Australia and is still breathable and quick dry.
Founders & Designers
Dahé and Dave
Dahé has always been into arts and design since her childhood when she won various national and regional art awards. She started graphic design when her parents signed her up for after-school Website Building course when she was 9. Along with the course, she self-taught Photoshop and it turned into her best hobby throughout her younger years. Majored in Industrial Design Engineering, she expanded her skills in wider fields.
She reads what the public is looking for and blends them together in her sophisticated style. The results are beautiful designs that elaborate relatable messages.
Dave has a great sense of country, nature and practical fashion. His instinct transforms nature into wearable beauty and his eye for detail perfects the design. His experience in working in different industries, and extensive knowledge of plants, animals and nature play a big role in his finesse. He is also amazing at building a rapport with the public by recognising what they love and brainstorming to make dream shirts come true.
Dahé and Dave love travelling and live to walk along the beach with their 3 dogs and stand up paddleboard & kayak on the weekends.
Why Choose Design Works
Living in Australia, we love the outdoors but always need to be alert for extreme UV rays and the scorching sun. Australia is located close to the ozone hole over the Antarctic, which brings much higher levels of UV radiation that reach the ground level.
We have adopted UPF50 and UPF30 UV protective & quickdry fabric to maximize your outdoor experience and indoor comfort. Our sublimated apparel is engineered to endure the extreme sun of Australia and still offer wearability. Tested and proved every day in the real world by real people, breeze blows through our apparel and sweat evaporates before pooling up.
We are all about design
Designed in Townsville North Queensland, Design Works Apparel showcases vibrant colours and bold designs to elaborate not only fishing but various topics such as outback, machinery, cities, towns, animals, flowers, and more. Our apparel is loved by people from all walks of life with different interests from boating to simply walking on the beach or just to dress up in colours of our wearable canvases.
Choose a design that suits you and wear it with pride!
