UnitingWorld Annual Report

We recently completed and delivered UnitingWorld's 2009 Annual Report, and had so much positive feedback I thought I'd show it off here. Mei and Chantel both worked on this one, and it's come together as a beautiful piece we'll be proud to have in our portfolio. I particularly like the scanned stitching and the world map created with fabric.

Lovely Letterpress

Printing will not die. Not for as long as lovely pieces like this are being made. I found these guys today and immediately knew I had to share the links with the rest of the studio, and the rest of the world. Here they are: www.beastpieces.com (blog) www.studioonfire.com (website... with a 'shop' page too!).

Reflection on design

My parents are proud. So very proud. But whenever I take a finished piece back to my old family home to show my mum and dad what we've been up to, I usually get a series of questions which, as they are dealt to me blow by blow, slowly undo me. Upon handing my mother a brochure/book/invitation/90 x 50mm card with someone's address on it, she is guaranteed to make thrilled, breathless noises and tell me how clever she thinks I am. Clever Claire. I'm usually just beginning to really let the moment envelope me, beaming and smiling and doing silent little internal cheers, when the questions begin:

Did I take the photographs?

– No, I just watched someone else take them.

Did I retouch the pictures, making them clean and bright?

– Nope.

Did I write the words?

– Not that either.

Create the font the words were written with?

– Um, not exactly.

What about the illustrations? Did I draw those?

– No to that too I'm afraid.

Oh, the colours! Did you pick the colours?

– Actually – that was part of the branding – they were in the Style Guide...

And on it goes. As I leave Gumnut Road, Cherrybrook with my head just a little lower than when I arrived, I have to ask myself, "What exactly do I do?"

Mum, if you're reading this, thank you first of all – with all my heart – for believing in me. But just in case you've found yourself wondering what exactly you supported me through for 4 years of University, and what on earth I've been doing since, let me try to nut it out for you.

I (and when I say I, I mean we – the graphic design community as a happy whole) – make things happen. Think of me if you will as a chef. What I'm aiming to do is create a beautiful, sophisticated meal – with a delightfully surprising and subtle harmony of flavours and a seemingly effortless but elegant presentation. Don't get me wrong, I spend a lot of time making hamburgers with fries (gotta pay the bills somehow)… but even those meals I want to make special.

I don't grow the vegetables. I don't milk the cow or breed the chickens. I don't collect the eggs and I don't farm the wheat, or the sugar, or anything else. I'm there in the end stages, just before you sit down for your moment of pleasure. I find the perfect ingredients and bring them together to make something which I hope will make your insides sing.

I aim present to you visual beauty in an organised, creative, intuitive and intelligent fashion. And I call it design.

A new Boheemian!

Last month following (or overlapping with) Jane's departure, we were joined by Bec Plummer, our new studio manager. Bec has a background in marketing and brand management, and has also a little experience with web development. We're already enjoying having Bec around, and now that the studio manager's role has grown to be a full-time one, we know that Boheem's design team as well as suppliers and clients will be glad to have someone on hand to ensure projects are completed well and on time. And now with Chantel back from her adventures in Morocco (etc) we're a full house again... the studio's buzzing and we love it!

Taking it to the next level

I believe it's said that the key to change is found in letting go of fear. So we're all working away in the studio at the moment, trying our damnedest to let go of all things comfortable and familiar which was CS3, and move forward to embrace the latest and greatest, interactive, options-laiden new release of Adobe's 'Creative Suite'. So we're all a tad daunted by the changes to the software... makes us feel like we've been dressing ourselves with someone else's wardrobe so far – nothing is fitting right just yet (despite the hipness of the clothes). But give it time, and I do believe the perks will outweigh the awkwardness of change. A few great new tools for us and some which I feel sure our clients will hugely benefit from as well.

Papier Mache Magazine

Emerging from Motherhood for my maiden blog, I thought it was only fitting to share something from the wonderful world of little people which inspires and delights.

Papier Mache Magazine, a quarterly online children's magazine with page after page of beautiful things. The imaginative photography, playful typography and illustrations make it all the more lovely;

www.papier-mache.com.au

Worth a look... If only they came in grown up sizes.

Bag Out

These tote bags are just the perfect thing for lovers of typography like ourselves, and not so long ago we put a bulk order in. We love the simplicity of the designs, they just make us smile. Alphabet Bags are continually adding more designs to their collection, have a look at their latest ideas at www.alphabetbags.com .