Offensive Tags

'Because the world gives you enough tags' - a campaign for Hanes underwear, developed by the Indian branch of an international advertising agency, has american commentators up in arms. I have to say, I think the artwork is fantastic, and I think the concept clever. Will it sell underwear? Probably not. Will it offend people? I hope so - but in a good way. Who knew underwear would have a social conscience. As for American self censorship in not using the terms 'faggot' and 'nigger' without an asterisk, I think its disingenuous. Trendhunter

Atomic v Otto Expresso Maker

Is this an Atomic?  well no.  It's a newly designed stove top - inspired by the Atomic.  For those who are not coffee and design addicts, the Atomic machine was a a design icon of the 1950's designed by Giordano Robbiati and produced in Italy from the 1940's through until 1984, when a fire reportedly closed the factory. The photo above is not one of the original, but a newly designed stovetop Otto coffee maker inspired by the Atomic.  But wait there's more.  While I have known about this for a month or two, today, I find a report that a collaboration of two companies are producing La Sorrentina a 'premium reproduction' of the original.  Which would you buy - the reproduction in original aluminium, or the new one in stainless steel?  Would a price of AU$450 for the reproduction versus a rumoured AU$600 for the stainless steel Otto affect your choice?

Manifesto with Attitude

Jonathon Adler Manifesto

I got sent the link to this site from a friend, who's sister is in the decorating/furniture/softfurnishings trade. I'm not sure that I share the same manifesto - but I certainly like the attitude.

"We believe handcrafted tchotchkes are life-enhancing." is my favourite.

I want what he has

I want what Jeff Han at perceptive pixel has.



And I want it now! I like the idea of an upper body workout while you work.

Rumour is that some of these screens may be available as soon as this year.

Thanks to PSFK for alerting me to this.

Designers really are poor

On the PSFK website, I noticed an item about another website pdf-mags.com based in Germany.

It contains a great collection of sites that publish - as the title suggests - pdf magazines - or e-zines.

The majority seem to be design/art heavy - but there are also some articles. Worth a look.

My particular favourite is poordesigners.com. Partly because of their name - and their rather resplendant crest. Partly out of jealousy - I wished I had thought of that name.

Bag the Bag

For several years I have been on a mission to find the perfect bag.

After years of posessing various backpacks, I have become a convert to the Messenger Bag. I've probably had about 5 in the last 10 years.

The first - and the reason for my conversion from Backpack to Messenger came from Gap in Chicago. It was in faux black leather, with a zip around its base that meant it could expand to double its width. It was the perfect bag. It had the right number, size and shape of open and zippered cloth lined compartments. It travelled the world, surviving leaking containers, and even me being hit by a car, I used it for the first 6 of the last 10 years. But by the end - like me it was showing its age.

My search for the new perfect bag began.

I thought I had found it when looking in an Art Gallery shop, I found that Pantone had put out a line of products - including a Messenger Bag: wovern exterior, plastic interior and a broad Pantone Cool Grey stripe. It looked fantastic. It screamed GRAPHIC DESIGNER, it didn't have enough compartments, and the plastic lining started cracking about a week after I bought it. All surface - no content. I send an email to Pantone to that effect.

Next Prada. They did a line for men in black with red tags. It was black, it was fabric, it was compact, it wasn't cheap. But, it had a pocket for my phone, and my new Palm Pilot. After a year or so - it too started to show some wear and tear. The search began again.

Nothing I could find fitted the bill. They didn't look right, they were too expensive, they didn't have the right compartments - nothing I looked at came close to what I wanted. I became a little obsessed. I have been known to bag watch - on escalators, on public transport, in department stores. I have even gone up to people I don't know with bags that might fit the bill and asked them what brand they had.

Then it happened. On an escalator in an underground train station in Sydney. A man with a messenger bag - brown (not black) but well styled. I was about to approach, when I saw a small simple label: 'Jack Spade'. Interesting.

A week later - in David Jones, Melbourne - another sighting - brown leather this time with an even more discreet 'Jack Spade'. I was on to something - the Jack Spade website within the hour - and there it was. Possibly the perfect bag, and they ship!

Now I embrace the modern world. I am more than happy to order books from Amazon, computers online from Apple, but order a bag - without physically seeing it, online, and with a purchase condition that said I was responsible for the bag from the moment it left the warehouse? I don't think so.

Know anyone going to New York? Fortunately I did. Arrangements were made, She rang me from the shop. I questioned the sales assistant. The purchase was made, and in a week when my friend returned to Sydney - the bag would be mine.

Its a great bag. It has two zippered internal pockets. It has a pocket for my palmpilot, and my wallet, It has two side zippered pockets for my mobile and my iPod - even a button hole for the earphone cable to go though. It's (nearly) perfect, and so far - is wearing well, and its black.

Brand utility V Branded Utility

Have you noticed that the terms 'brand' and 'branding' have become highly abused in the advertising, design and marketing industry? 'Brand' has gone from being an approach to recognising and developing a products attributes, to being a cover-all term that usually masks a messy swamp of half-baked marketing waffle.

I knew something was up when I heard someone say 'Kylie is a brand'. err... I thought she was singer, or an Australian, or a cancer survivor, or the singing budgie. Not a sales sticker.

My concern was raised even higher when I started hearing the term 'branded utility'. A truck with a Ford emblem maybe ? No. Perhaps creating a product that actually stands out from the pack because it is more usable ? Like marketing a mousetrap that is actually better? No.

"If we took money from the TV budgets and created something useful, created a relationship, acted favorably towards the consumer, then the consumer will act favorably towards the brand. Consumers will actually thank brands for helping them out."

Sure, but is this something new - or a defense to the conscience of some advertising agency. Unfortunately the next line betrays them:

So many people who work in advertising hate what they do."

So it appears that to salve their conscience they actually want to build and sell a better mousetrap:

The key is to create something that is of fundamental difference. Not making more spin."

Hallelujah to that. more

Cherry Blossom Time

When told that I would be in Japan during Cherry Blossom season, I was underwhealmed. Cherry blossom is all very nice, but nothing to get that excited about. On arrival in Tokyo - there was not a lot of cherry blossom. I and my sinuses were relieved.

Then we hit Kyoto - and there it was Cherry Blossom Full On!

Not just pink either - shades of pink, and the especially beautiful white. But it wasn't so much the whole blossoms on the tree that impressed. It was the ground - covered in fallen petals. Even better - each breath of wind would bring more cherry blossom 'snow'.

Now I understand why the Japanese hold 'sakura' (cherry blossom) picnics within their petal strewn parks.

Turning Japanese

Prepare yourself. I spent some time in Japan earlier in the year. My first time. The next few posts will be that of me as a Japanophile.

Going to Japan has been something I wanted to do for many years. I love the minimalism, the respect for beauty, the torturing of nature. The ability to create beauty by the arrangement of things.

On my first few days in Tokyo, to my western eyes there were constant contradictions between beautiful vistas and mundane interruptions like electricity wires and TV antenna's. I would frame a shot, and there would be the bright pink sign in front of the perfect cherry blossom tree in flower.

For a while - I was frustrated, until I did some reading.

Donald Richie who since WW2 has lived most of his life in Japan provides some interesting insights into this. In his book Partial Views: Essays on Contemporary Japan he argues in one of the essays that the Japanese have a way of ignoring interruptions to beauty. The Japanese view instantly edits the frame to eliminate the telephone wires, or the neon sign.

Once I had read this comment - I abandoned my quest for the 'perfect shot'. It was quite liberating.

Fridges - Platter or no Platter

Not really graphic design related, but anyway.

This weekend, I went looking at fridges for our soon-to-be-renovated kitchen. Being a child of the sixties - one of those fridges with 2 side-by-side doors, an icemaker and chilled water dispenser has always been my aspiration.

These are very available and quite affordable, but they come with a downside. They won't take platters (because each side is narrow), or if they will, they are over a meter in depth - which means you have to have kitchen benches that are a meter deep if you want the fridge to be flush. Or have a sticky-outie fridge - and no one wants that in a modern minimalist interior.

They have two door fridges with freezer draws (sounds like a good idea until you try one). They have one door fridges with freezers at the top. But do they have a two door, freezer below wide model with an icemaker . . . not that I could find.

So, the perfect fridge would be wide (for the platters), with an icemaker, and chilled water in the door, and a freezer at the bottom (not in a drawer).

If you find one - I need to know

All web designers should be a part of this list

Design on the web moves at such a pace. I find it difficult to keep up.

I have some regular sources I check on. Some are in magazines, but most are online.

A List Apart has been around in one form or another for a few years. It is a community of contributors that want to share their knowledge.

It's probably more for the designer and developer rather than the client.

I hope you find it stimulating.

Looking for the perfect Web Designer

Advertising for a new member of our team can be a daunting experience.

Firstly, it makes you confront what your business is about, and nail down what skills you're in need of.

Secondly, creating a new position, means that you are making a committment to a person, to keep them in wages, and work.

Thirdly, bringing in a new person can change the balance in a small organisation.

And fourthly, in this modern world, with internet advertising, you have to wade through scores of applications that don't even meet your minimum requirements. Unfortunately the convenience of the internet means you get a deluge of applicants that have just clicked that button on Seek.com.au that says 'Send Resume'.

Finally, it is also exciting. What will the new employee bring with them? A new way of looking at our clients needs? Better jokes round the office? . . . the excitement of the new ?

If you are interested in applying - you will find an outline of the job here.

The death of Advertising Agencies - a little premature

In the Monday edition of the Financial Review, the death of the advertising agency was 'announced'. 'Ad revolution leaves agencies out in the cold'(unfortunately the article is only available to subscribers online)

I exaggerate a little.

The article does however point out that organisations are more and more turning to consultants who specialise in marketing to boost sales, rather than to traditional advertising agencies who - if anything - specialise in creative ideas, especially for television advertising.

However - as Matthew Melhuish of BMF Advertising points out - a good creative idea will always have value:

" There are still too many clients who see creativity as nice to have but not essential, They don't understand that the only way to engage busy, advertising-literate consumers and cut through the marketing clutter is to develop strong ideas"

While I agree - he does imply that marketing consultants don't have good creative ideas.

A view that I am sure some would challenge.

Most of Sydney comes from New Zealand (or Adelaide)

The advantage of using internet job ads like seek.com is that you get hundreds of applicants. The downside is you do get hundreds of applicants - that don't meet your criteria.

Last year I ended up interviewing about 16 people out of a total of 150 applicants. Only one of them was a perfect fit. It took me a day or two to come to this conclusion - meanwhile they accepted another job.

Just as I was about to give up - an email from a newly arrived New Zealander. Interview, tryout day, appoint without delay!

Reece has been with us a couple months now, and a well as being tempted by the bright lights of Sydney, he's settling in as a wonderful designer.

He reminds me of my move from Adelaide to Sydney about 20 something years ago.

Sydney is one of those places filled with people from elsewhere

The First Post

The first post is always the hardest.

...so better make it brief.

Running a small design business can sometimes be a lonely vocation. I hope this blog might start a little community of mutual support.

Look forward to our trials and tribulations.