As co-founder and director of Senti Partners, David brings over two decades of creative leadership, strategic rigor, and design thinking to help purpose-led organisations solve complex problems and connect authentically with their audiences.
One of Australia’s most versatile creative executives, working at the intersection of design, culture and business, David has made a lasting mark on Australia’s creative sector. His award-winning work, widely published, reflects a deep commitment to using creativity to shape identity, influence behaviour and create meaningful change.
His experience in brand, campaigns, and business leadership spans global FMCG innovation, energy, environment, education and the arts. He has led major projects and teams across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. With clients including Mars, Pepsico, Unilever, P&G, GSK, DEECA, National Mental Health Commission, ARENA, VISY, Chunky Move, Federation Square, Abbotsford Convent and many more.
An active contributor to international creativity dialogue and practice, David serves on the Board of Directors of the Art Gallery of Ballarat and co-hosts Creative or Dead, a global podcast examining the work, mindset, and process of leading creative practitioners. His work has been recognised across leading national and international award programs, earning honors from the Victorian Premier's Design Awards, AGDA (Australian Graphic Design Association), Best Awards (NZ), IABC Gold Quills, Design Institute of Australia (DIA), Better Future, Gov Design, Communicator Awards, and Mumbrella. Read more about David's published work, awards and media contributions.
At Senti Partners (founded on the simple premise of doing good work with good people to effect good in the world), David works with transformational leaders across government, energy, education, arts and culture, and social impact. He translates complex strategic intent into clear narratives, distinctive brand systems, and behaviour change campaigns that inspire shift at scale.
Notable clients led by David under the Senti mantle include: brand, activations and employee engagement, for HBF Health Insurance and the City of Yarra, strategic planning for Red Stitch Actors' Theatre, long-term partnerships on brand, campaigns and content with cultural precinct, Abbotsford Content, design educator, LCI Melbourne and Sydney-based school, Queenwood, as well as new brand and visual identities for Australia's Council of the Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC), and the National Trust of Victoria.
Key expertise he brings:
Brand strategy: Building enduring brands that act as both compass and beacon—distilling an organisation's unique essence so it speaks and acts with authenticity, consistency, and distinction.
Behaviour change & public-interest campaigns: Applying creativity, communication design, and behavioural insights to nudge public perception and drive measurable action on critical social challenges.
Product, spatial & experience design: Crafting distinctive precinct activations, spatial identities, and digital experiences that turn physical and cultural spaces into memorable destinations. Building product pipelines, and delivering product identities that become beloved by consumers.
Executive creative leadership: Guiding executive teams, fostering creative and innovative mindsets, and translating distinct and compelling products and experiences into business growth.
Before Senti, as director and co-principal at Ellis Jones, David spent a nearly decade guiding the agency’s creative direction and multidisciplinary practice. Working with Senti co-founder, Melinda Scaringi, he specialised in taking technical, high-stakes strategy, policy and perception challenges—across energy, environment, health, and urban infrastructure—and translating them into clear, emotionally resonant creative strategy.
During his tenure at Ellis Jones, David led the following celebrated brand, campaigns and communications projects.
In energy, climate & sustainability: Energy Safe Victoria, leading the life-saving 'Be Sure' carbon monoxide campaign, behaviour change, with City of Yarra, City of Banyule, City of Melbourne, Solar Victoria, DEECA / DELWP, Future Energy Skills, and Energy Consumers Australia, brand and communications for ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency), the Yarra Energy Foundation, Deakin University, YÜME food, Visy, Cleanaway.
In arts & culture: Abbotsford Convent (defining precinct positioning, brand and website), Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Federation Square, Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV), Karrkad Kanjdji Trust and ongoing governance roles within Victoria's cultural sector.
In public sector & social impact: the Australian Public Service Commission, the Victorian Disability Services Commission, the City of Melbourne and City of Ballarat, Lake Mac Libraries, Cabrini Health, OHO, the National Mental Health Commission and Beyond Blue.
David began his career in Australia’s public service, gaining first- hand insight into the mechanics of government policy, regulatory systems, and public communication. He brought this experience to the private sector with leadership contracts with Grey Worldwide, and Indi agency CRE8IVE, continuing to support the brand, campaign and communications needs of many federal departments and agencies, such as Department of Defence, Department of Heritage and the Arts, Department of Science and Innovation, The Royal Australian Mint, The Australian War Memorial, Australian of the Year / Australia Day Committee, and many more.
This was followed by a four-year stint in the UK, at the Brewery (later New Edge), as a creative leader within multi-disciplinary teams delivering organisational, brand and product innovation work with Fortune 500 and global ‘blue-chip’ FMCG and hospitality brands.
David later co-founded and ran Studio Constantine, an independent design consultancy based in Melbourne, where he led creative strategy, brand identities, and spatial activations across lifestyle, property, and international creative sectors. Work was highly regarded, reported and awarded by peak bodies and publishers globally.
David holds a Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) from the Swinburne National School of Design and a Graduate Diploma in Arts Education.
