Publication set covers – printer’s mockups

It has been another modest start to the year, and even though the Australian economy is running well as compared to other economies – the world of graphic design has been lack lustre. Many potential projects seem to be in a state of limbo, as many clients make sense of a nervous and risk averse market.

We are working on a raft of smaller projects, which chew up much of our head space, in between we have reviewed, drafted, scraped and redrafted a range of promotional outcomes, that present an interesting message while avoiding being too internally focused, or self indulgent.

A comprehensive yet prudent set of booklets had been developed that explores our graphic identity (brand) work and image design output. The booklets are being printed offset rather than in newsprint allowing for clean and highly detailed reproduction.

For clients, potential and new, interested in being in the first round of dispatch, please send Andrew an email for your copy to ideas (at) peoplethings (dot) com

Final poster – 4 x A0 plan prints, double sides tape and silver streamers

Established in 2006 Eye Saw invites designers to respond to a theme in the poster format. Eye Saw is overseen by Mark Gowing Design – it is an invitational poster exhibition held in Omnibus Lane, Ultimo, Sydney.

This year the studio was honored to be invited to produce a poster for Eye Saw. The brief invited participants to consider the theme humanity/equity.

Posters design is an individual process and it is difficult to develop a poster image that speaks of the idea, means something to its designer and connects with an audience. We thought of humanity/equity in terms of grooming compassion, nurturing our hearts. Everyone knows that to care for a plant you have to think to water it regularly for it to grow, so we twisted this metaphor and invited viewers to nurture their hearts.

The poster was cost effectively produced as four A0 black and white plan prints with fine streams of fine silver light plastic streamers flowing from the watering can’s spout.

Thanks to Simeon from Anagram in Sydney for installing our poster. A big thank you goes out to our friends at Melbourne studio Hofstede Design for pitching in on the day, while installing their work in Sydney, and helping Simeon with our installation. We are very fortunate and privileged to have peers like Simeon King, Wendy Ellerton, Dom Hofstede, Paul Garbett and Mark Gowing who share their ideas and pitch in from time-to-time – even from great distances.

Jasper claims our site

Wendy and Dom in action, Simeon on oranges

Wendy and Dom continue...

Dom shows us how to exploit chalk...

Hofstede’s completed “Equality” chalk piece

Wendy installing Hofstede’s – Flag piece

NaughtyFish explore equality

Toko smash out pixel doilles

Walter Wakefield’s interactive response

Omnibus Lane, work by Eskimo right.

Eye Saw 2009
Humanity / Equity
Omnibus Lane, Ultimo, Sydney
9 to 16 August 2009
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Visit Eye Saw here, Hofstede here

AGIdeas is one of the world’s largest and longest running design events that takes course over a week. The event runs with a series workshops, forums, and social activities with a three day conference at its centre piece in Melbourne. Studio Access is an event where delegates select and call upon in the evening a range of Melbourne communication design and creative studios for insights of their runnings. As a participating studio we are given the opportunity to produce an invitation.

We like to use these briefs as a means of exploring the notions of the design object in question. In the case of invitation there is legacy of elegantly designed and worded slips of paper with matching envelopes.

Writing is often at the centre of our work and this year wanted to bring to the light the staple of writing – paper back novels. Reading a book is a journey of sorts that can run in parrallel with our lives in the form of tickets, cards, notes and stickers. We also like to challenge the nature of an object. In this instance could an invitation be an object, rather than a slip of paper.

We raided an opportunity shop and bought a bag of books. Then we made and collected cards, stamped, stuck and wrapped. We designed a range of Ex Libris labels for the books stating the simple facts – quoting a pass word protected web address and password for attendees to follow. Seventeen individual invitations were hand assembled for distribution.

AgIdeas 2009 international design week runs from 4 to 7 May 2009.

Tickets for AGIdeas are available for here

The studio has published a new house publication, in glorious hi end colour newsprint, tipping upon the project work for the last year and highlights from our online journal — Nowality, guest edited by Brita Frost. For clients, existing and potential — its free, design students — AU$10 plus postage and colleagues AU$1764 plus postage.

Email us for your copy…

Andrew Hogg of Andrew Hogg Design sent these images of Cockatoo Island in Sydney during the Biennale of Sydney 2008.

As the host city of one of Australia‘s most exciting festivals, the Biennale of Sydney positions Sydney as a centre for contemporary art in the region. The 16th Biennale of Sydney runs from 18 June to 7 September 2008 at venues and sites throughout Sydney, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Cockatoo Island. This is Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev‘s (Artistic Director of Biennale) last Biennale which explores the theme Revolutions — forms that turn.

From the Biennale‘s site

Artists whose practice emerged in the 1960s and 1970s will prepare new works for exhibition alongside seminal artworks by early twentieth century revolutionary artists such as Aleksandr Rodchenko and Kasimir Malevich. The exhibition will also feature major new projects by William Kentridge and Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, as well as new works by younger artists such as Qiu Anxiong, Gerard Byrne, Pierre Huyghe, Renata Lucas, Susan Philipsz and Michael Rakowitz. This edition of the Biennale of Sydney will also include more works by Australian artists than any previous one, including Vernon Ah Kee, Destiny Deacon, Simryn Gill, Shaun Gladwell, Rosemary Laing, Tracey Moffatt, TV Moore, Mike Parr, Stuart Ringholt, Julie Rrap and theweathergroup_U.

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour and a curious urban park. Formerly a prison and shipyard, the island is a time machine — it‘s unique prison buildings have been nominated for World Heritage listing, its ship yard infrastructure stand as ghost like remains to our working past. A free Ferry runs on the hour from 9.45pm to 4.45, the last service departs at 5.15pm.

Thank you Andrew for these wonderful images. Visit Andrew Hogg Design, or the Biennale of Sydney here.

The Melbourne Design Market is an idea developed by the studio in 2005, which was brought to life by the crew at the National Design Centre. The studio has had a stall at the market for several years and it is an invaluable chance to meet the people that ultimately use our work. It is also a chance for us to see what people are responding too — how they relate to the images we make, do they appreciate the messages woven into the objects. Do people willingly buy the materials on offer, or is there a period of contemplation before purchase.

It is a wonder standing on the other side of the counter. Visitors like interacting with our work and it is curious watching people investigate the pieces, make the decision to find their money, or put it back and walk away. No amount of highly considered design thinking will help the merchandise‘s appeal, and no amount of convincing will make a transaction happen. The success of the designed objects is measured by one simple reality — what is left at pack up time at 5pm and what isn‘t. This insight is invaluable, as it is overwhelming comparing what you think people would like and what they actually buy — often we guess right as often as we guess wrong.

Many designs we prepare for our cards, badges and publications follow a broad criteria — people respond common visual clichés — like pets, symbols and familiar situations or objects; people respond to colour and contrast; people respond to familiar gags or issues; and people respond to useful information or ideas. Then we develop work that simply looks what we think is appealing.

We highly recommend that every graphic designer develop a product, or two, and then take it to market. It is sobering to see where one‘s vision for design converges with the design‘s ability to capture a following or an audience.

Thanks to the crew at Studio Round who were such great company over the day, and the many people who came to visit our stall and interacted with our work. See you next time.

The studio has been working on new promotional material for a paper called Stephen. The grade has enjoyed some recent changes including — FSC Certification, recycled content upping from 25 to 50%, a new cover weight 330gsm across the range and sexy suite of new white shades — Spicy, Scrambled and Chilled.

So we are madly making images, writing, collaborating and inventing content, like Derek Myna here. Derek, along with other imaginary concoctions, will soon be singing a happy song of the new and always improving ways of Stephen. The new stock is ready to specify now, and promotion materials will be swooping on your studio soon.

Read all about Stephen here

The studio has designed this event identity for the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet. The scheme was developed with a range of stakeholders and under the constrains of a tight timeline. The approved identity was then distributed to various parties facilitating the event‘s signing, print, advertising and digital components. The tick is an abstract of the climate change issue being one overarching problem, that requires numerous and diverse solutions — which is what this summit is facililating. Thanks to the DSE and DPAC for for fostering a smooth and productive process.

Visit the Victorian Climate Change Summit here

To avoid developing a typical environmental campaign we develop a concept around the notion of — getting back to the good life. The good life can be many things. It can be about — thinking in broader terms of the consequences of ones actions; the making of quality ideas; and developing durable choices over disposable choices. This notion invites many interpretations and in the spirit of the abundance of outcomes we invited a range Brooklyn based illustrator Edwina White, designers Tin & Ed, photographer Earl Carter and London based photographer Shara Henderson to develop their idea of what the good life might be.

Several outcomes will be hitting the market including these Saxton note books with poster wraps (4 kinds), a range of postcards (6 kinds) and print advertising. Thanks to our collaborators — Earl, Shara, Tin, Ed, Edwina, Gunn & Taylor Printers and Spicers Paper for another enjoyable process.

Visit Spicers Paper, Earl Carter, Shara Henderson, Tin and Ed, and Edwina White here.