Designing for the NGAA...

Who? NGAA - National Growth Areas Alliance.

A few years ago I was very excited to work with a PR agency on the newly formed NGAA campaign, a group of local government members representing 25 of Australia's fastest growing municipalities. The brief then was to create a logo & branding for the NGAA, design and print media kit materials, poster, postcard, brochures, website graphics and a few other bits and pieces along the way. It was a fantastic opportunity and although a little daunting in the beginning, I gained a wealth of experience and insight on working with a PR agency in my role as a Graphic Designer.

Now a few years on, I was delighted once again for the opportunity to work with the Communications Officer on a new NGAA initiative. This time, the brief was to design 3 banners for a website to attract 3 different audiences and from there incorporate each design ino a poster, postcards, brochures and pull-up banner. Easy right?.... actually it was a little overwhelming at first with a tight deadline, holiday already booked and number of other jobs on the go. But with a few late nights, loud music and working weekends I managed to get "creative" and pull it all together, in fact a day early! PHEW.

As a Graphic Designer I have to say it's a huge advantage to have a reliable and conveniently located printer. My local printer happens to be just around the corner and working closely with the fabulous team at Minuteman Press in Glen Waverley (and my super cool pink runners that make me run really fast) they were able to print and deliver each job spot on! 

So far feedback has been positive but with the official launch at the end of November, I'm hoping the designs and materials are embraced by the intended audiences and the outcome exceeds expectations.

A big thank you to Geoff for this opportunity to work on such a rewarding design job and his constant support, praise and despite the hectic schedule good humour and many laughs along the way... I'll stand on one leg and hop around for you any day! I look forward to the next adventure :-)

Here's some examples of the work completed:

A3 Poster

 

 



Postcard: Front/Back

Brochure: Front & Back covers

 

Brochure: Inside spread

Brochure: Front & Back covers

Brochure: Inside spread



Bushwalking Victoria

October is shaping up to be another exciting month with new projects, clients and great opportunities to get "creative".

I recently had the pleasure of working with the President and his lovely wife, of Bushwalking Victoria to put together a flyer and ad to launch a new initiative and websites.

The DL flyers have now been printed and will be distributed to camping and outdoor stores to advertise and encourage the public to use the valuable resources created through these 2 new websites.

Another website...

and welcome to The Builders Organiser

Looking forward to working with you again Rob :-)

Websites....

A rewarding couple of weeks it has been with the launch of two websites this week... and more on the way!

Welcome to Spray Links...

Practice makes perfect....

I took a refresher photography course last week and was given an assignment to put into practice the topics covered during class. A perfect excuse to spend time on two of my favourite past times... cooking and taking photos of food! Thankfully the family and neighbours are equally enthusiastic about eating what I've baked :-)

It was certainly an interesting exercise and at the end I concluded that the programmed auto settings are extremely realiable and it's probably more important to have the correct lens, flash, & lighting. If you're after a particular look or effect then the manual settings can deliver, but if you're looking to take a solid photo with a minimum of fuss then be prepared to trust the auto program settings. Just make sure you select the correct option, have good light, and let the camera do the rest.

This photo was taken using a Canon EOS600D on a tripod, with a 50mm lens (macro) and external flash. The camera was set to "P" for Portrait.... and yes, there was some touching up done in Photoshop ;-)

Colour Inspired by Food

I was suddenly inspired last night by these vibrant coloured carrots, I just had to photograph them!

Knitting Book

Over the past month I've had the pleasure of creating a 40 page knitting book titled "Butterfly Wings" - a collection of unique knitting patterns designed by Sue Johnson.

It's currently at the printers but here's a sneak peak at the beautiful cover photographed by Natalie Davies of Natalie Davies Photography and of course designed by yours truly. The book features many full size photos shot by Natalie of Sue's daughter wearing the different knitting designs and they look just lovely.

The book will be available to purchase on Sue's website www.butterflyknitdesigns.com soon.