ghosts in the machine
Towards the end of last year, Tom from Euromoney Thought Leadership got in touch to tell me about an exciting new project they had coming up. Their client, international law firm Baker & McKenzie, wanted to commission a survey on artificial intelligence and the implications for the financial markets. Not only that, but they wanted the report design to reflect the subject and not just be another stale white paper; they wanted something fresh and exciting. The game was afoot.
new memories and old flashbacks
Last week I was reminded about the emotional pull that a picture can have. On a trip to London’s National Gallery, my dashing date and tour guide reacquainted me with Piero della Francesca’s Baptism of Christ. As we entered the room with the painting front and centre, a wave of … well, I don’t know what it was, nostalgia I guess … whomped me.
why should anyone work here?
Towards the end of last year I had a call from Sally from Harvard Business Publishing about doing a bit of work for an upcoming book launch. They needed an invitation, a mini brochure and a slide template for the event, to be held at the beautiful V&A in London. The design needed to tie in somewhat to the book cover design but also reflect the HBP brand.
content that connects
For the last eight months, I've been working with Euromoney Institutional Investor Thought Leadership to build the brand of their new business. I've created their identity, brand materials, brochures, and website but we had just one final part of the puzzle remaining. Their showcase piece. A report and survey that shows their capability as a business. The report researched the impact of content marketing and thought leadership as a B2B marketing strategy tool, taking results from a global survey of senior business executives.
badge of honour
I've been able to design a lot of cool stuff over the years, but this was probably the thing I was most excited to receive a sample of. My client, The Economist Educational Foundation, runs a news club called The Burnet News Club, and membership includes a little pin-badge that students proudly wear on their school jackets. Manufactured by Stupid Tuesday, I'm besotted with them, and one is proudly adorning my leather jacket.
dearly beloved
Let 2015 be known as the year of the wedding. I've been lucky enough to help several couples with their weddings and it's always been a delight. Not a bridezilla or groomzilla in sight, just lovely, unique and beautiful people and their equally beautiful celebrations.
festival lifesavers
I remember Up&Go breakfast drinks launching in New Zealand when I was a kid and everyone going mad for them. Well they've now hit the UK shores with a cheeky campaign to get them noticed. To engage their target audience, they worked with Lab5 to create an Aussie Surf Club style experience at this year's Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall.
what to do if the bank says no
What To Do If The Bank Says No is the second e-book I've produced for MarketInvoice (you can see the other bits and bobs here). Useful for anyone with a small to medium business, I know I learned a hell of a lot. I've been working in-house with the lovely folk at MI and getting to work on all sorts of fun things so I'll have a bit more work coming to the site soon!
no looking, just leaping
I've done it. Finally done it. I've been talking about it for a while, but only really felt earlier this year that it was possible. It was all those lovely ex-colleagues-now-friends who did it. The ones who got in contact and wanted my help on their projects, the ones who referred me to their friends and their teams. They gave me the confidence to realise that I actually do have enough of a network to work for myself.
kpmg cocktail masters
KPMG wanted to start an annual cocktail competition for their internal staff, so they turned to LAB 5 to make the magic happen. Run by the irrepressible Frances, who has experience with some of the biggest global alcohol brands (and thus makes an exceptional cocktail herself), she came to me to to create an identity for the event.
progress
I've been working with the lovely people at Corporate Research Forum for a couple of years now and, among other things, I've helped them to produce an online magazine called Progress. We're up to the Issue 3 now, going live this week. For the cover illustration, I took inspiration from a famous philosopher "Ogres are like onions, they have layers". Not to compare business leaders to ogres, but the analogy fits nicely when talking about the qualities that make a great leader.
it's blindingly simple
A few years ago, I found this quote in a magazine somewhere, and took a photo to keep it with me. In just a few lines it reflects the tug that we feel, us wandering children, who choose to live so from home.
It's blindingly simple.
You never fully understand or appreciate where you're from until you leave it.
Until you have to explain and defend it to others, to whom it is foreign.
Only then can you see why it is the way it is and why you love it. Nay, how intensely you love it.
If travel does one thing, it shows your roots in a way that nothing else can.
home sweet home
Going home is always special, but now that my friends have started introducing cute little podgy people into the world, it's even better. This time I got to meet little baby Hunter, owner of the biggest eyes in history, and take some snaps. Meanwhile, I continue to be the proudest godmother ever of Ruby, who is a heart-breaker in the making.
sweet april showers do spring may flowers
It's been a busy couple of months. I've had a bucket load of freelance work which has consumed my every waking moment, as well as a trip back home to New Zealand. I've had weddings, birthdays, family occasions, and I kind of, sort of, bought a house(!). I've not had any days where time could wander and I could do as I choose.
a little bit of nothing
what came first, the chicken or the egg? the design or the brief? Sometimes, when working on a project, you take a wander down a train of thought in Illustrator and come up with something unexpected that you like, but isn't right for the client or doesn't fit the brief. You wrestle with it for a while... is there something you can do to make it fit? Can it be adapted/tweaked/coerced? Or do you just accept that it's the doily of design - pretty, but pointless?
seduced by a Q - a meander through Brussels
Through a comedy of errors involving an absent passport and a surprise birthday trip, I found myself on a weekend jaunt to Brussels a couple of weeks ago. My only previous visit to the city was a sad, grey tale of a group of rugby fanatics having their hopes dashed as the Les Bleus demolished Les All Blacks in 2007. I was looking forward to updating my Belgium anecdotes with something a little more positive.
'the hunter'
On the very last day of 2014, baby Hunter arrived in a spectacular fashion - two weeks ahead of schedule in the early hours of the morning on Waiheke Island. The ferries weren't running, so no trip to the hospital as planned, instead he made his entrance after a mere four and a half hours in the spare room at his grandparents house.
from deepest darkest peru
In early 2014 I flew home for a couple of weddings and to visit my family, but also to meet my goddaughter Ruby for the very first time. Wandering around Hamley's one afternoon in search of a present, I saw Paddington Bear. With his little suitcase, his red boots, anorak and hat, he was perfect.
shadowbox
We've started using our lightbox as a lamp, which adds a warm little glow to the room. This evening I noticed the nice silhouette the lamp was casting from the glass of irises in front of it. The light was heavy, and the flowers colours subtle. I snapped a few experimental shots with some handy props.
how to talk to people
Corporate writing has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. When you think of innocent smoothies or Pret, and you think happy, friendly, quirky. All of their writing upholds their brand values, and they take every opportunity to help you to like them, whether it be a label or a napkin.