I was recently contacted by a very old and dear friend who wantd me to collaborate with him on an upcoming project.

 Greg B was my very first boss when I got a job right out of University and he offered me my first promotion to come and work with him at the flagship Kinko’s store in Liverpool Street in Sydney.

Those were crazy days doing crazy hours filled with crazy clients and even more crazy colleagues. I have fond memories of an accidental giant gargoyle print in the middle of a window banner, a old lady we nick named Granny Smith and her aversion to Windex and the strange woman who asked me to type up a letter to “The People of the USA” warning them about aliens. She was arranging ‘a plane to fly over the USA’ and drop her 10,000 leaflets as a public service.

Anyway, after I left Kinko’s in Australia in 1998, Greg and I have kept in touch over the years. He has been quite inolved in his local council and when he contacted me asking for a logo I was more than happy to help out.

It was a surprisingly quick and efficient process – and this is the final logo they selected. The idea behind the logo is that its about community and standing together. The houses can also be seen as arrows pointing upwards signifying growth and new things to come. The middle 3 colours are of the aboriginal flag to represent the indigenous people in the area and the wavy bottom represents the proximity to the sea. It’s a lot crammed into a little space – but here it is…

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Posted by Netra on Feb 8th 2010 | commercial - corporate - design - graphic design - personal - pro bono
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Tracy Whittaker has just launched a brand new website for her online fashion store Fashion Artiste. I had done an advert for Tracy last last year and she needed more adverts for the launch. Watch out for brand new adverts in the new issues of RUSSH magazine and MYLOOKBOOK and dont forget to stop by the website www.fashionartiste.com.au and check out the store.

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Posted by Netra on Feb 5th 2010 | design
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Last year Mel sent me an email about helping her brand her business. She hadn’t developed a logo or identity as such, but had been going with the look and feel of her blog and trying to tie it all in together. As with many of my clients, if there is no primary identity each of the bits and pieces of marketing tends to find its own direction. Though each piece may be serviceable and work in their own right, tying it all in together becomes a challenge.

Mel specifically requested a butterfly be incorporated into her logo as well as a fairly relaxed, friendly style that suited her personality and her style of photography. The process took a little longer than usual, probably because there was no urgent deadline and we enjoyed bantering back and forth via email a few times.

I am happy to say we are both really pleased with the end result. Its not often I get to produce something that is just ‘pretty’ and I got the chance with this project. The minimal use of colour (black + pure cyan) will mean this suite of collateral will be really affordable to produce over and over again, as will any additional material she chooses to develop over time.

so without more ado – here it is…

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Posted by Netra on Feb 3rd 2010 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing
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I had distinct pleasure of photographing the 10-day old baby Jamie this week. Her mum Enjel and I have been friends since highschool – actually we didn’t like each other very much to start, but clearly things changed after a while and we’ve remained friends over the past 17 or so years.

I don’t often get to photograph newborns, and the fact that Jamie is the daughter of one of my closest friends made her even that much more special to me. I was pretty happy with the photos while at the same time being so scared that Enjel and her husband Ray wouldn’t like them! Thankfully they do, so all is well!

Congratulations Enjel and Ray, she is just the sweetest thing and I hope to capture many, many more photos of her as she grows up!

Posted by Netra on Jan 29th 2010 | baby - family - personal - photography
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For those of you who dont know, I am a member of an amazing organisation called the “Australian Community of Child Photographers” (or ACOCP).

The Australian Community of Child Photographers (formerly known as the Australian Charity of Child Photographers) is a volunteer organisation of child photographers from all over Australia who have come together to form an organisation dedicated to giving the gift of photographic memories to families that have experienced stillbirths, premature and ill infants and children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of their local hospitals, as well as children with serious and terminal illnesses. The ACOCP is dedicated to providing this gift to families in a caring, compassionate and heartfelt manner.

I was recently contacted by Sharon Mallin who is also an ACOCP photogapher in NSW. She had recently photographed baby girl ’A’ who had had a nasal tube. You can see the images on Sharon’s blog here. A’s parents had wanted the tube removed from just a couple of her photos. Digital retouching is never, EVER something suggested by our photographers, it is only ever at the request of the parents of the child. It is part of the free service we offer and are very grateful to the family for allowing us to share the images of their baby girl.

You can find out more about the ACOCP and their services by visiting their website www.acocp.org.au. If you, or anyone you know ever has need of you services, please contact the ACOCP rep in your state, contact details available on the website.

Posted by Netra on Jan 24th 2010 | baby - photography - pro bono
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Following on from the success of last year’s small business package, I’ve decided to offer a tiered range of packages to suit a broader spectrum of small business clients. This will enable more small businesses to take advantage of our packaged design solutions in a way that minimises the financial impact by spready the cost out over a number of months. Some conditions apply – please email netrac@optusnet.com.au for full Terms and Condiditons.

I am very pleased to be able to offer the following options:

Kick-Start package – $950
ideal for new businesses

• Logo development
• Business card design
• Email footer

+ add on a single blog/webpage interface design for $300

 
Gear-up package – $1450
ideal for businesses who want to develop promotional material and kick off a marketing plan

• Postcard/Flyer design
• Tri fold brochure design (DL or square)
• E-newsletter template

+ enquire about print management to lighten your workload

 
Accelerate package – $1950
ideal for the more established business, moving into an office or studio space or looking to push their promotional activity and brand awareness

• Document Style template – 8 custom branded page layouts to create your own documents
• Up to 4 x magazine/newspaper adverts (as required over 12 months)
• Pull-up banner design – transportable signage ideal for trade displays or stalls
• Signage (interior or exterior; office or studio)

+ add on design consulting hours to get advice with your brand identity and implementation

Payment Options

Pay over 4 monthly installments – 25% deposit, 25% per month for the next 3 months

Pay for your package upfront and get 10% off your package price.

  Please note: All design options on this page are available as stand-alone design solutions. Please email netrac@optusnet.com.au for more information or to build a custom package.

 **Conditions Apply: Offer is for small to medium businesses with 5 or less employees, in operation for no more than 3 years. Limited packages on offer each calendar month, Timelines to be negotiated on a case by case basis. For full Terms and Conditions, please email netrac@optusnet.com.au.

Posted by Netra on Jan 11th 2010 | brochure - card - corporate - design - flyer - graphic design - marketing
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I was contacted right before Christmas to do a rush job for Tracy Whittaker who runs Fashion Artiste - a new online clothing store for women. As she was in pre-launch stage, she was still waiting for shipments of clothing, so we were unable to use photos of the clothes or models. It was a real challenge trying to come up with a workable solution!

After much deliberation, I decided to use the idea of a runway reveal, with the models as silhouettes. They are posed as though the lights are about to come on and reveal the clothing in a dramatic instant. We were lucky that it worked well for her brand, and colours and where her business was poised.

Congrats Tracy – I hope it all takes off for you!

Posted by Netra on Jan 6th 2010 | adult - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing
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Renee Bell from NFE Design contacted me a few months ago asking for a revamp of her existing look and feel. Renee’s work has an edgy urban quality to it and this is something she wanted to keep in her branding.  We initially thought we may just refine her existing logo, but I threw a few extra ideas (in terms of logos and potential layout options) in the mix and the logo evolved from there. We were slow to start, but once we had ideas on paper, the project gathered so much momentum we blitzed it in the end.

The final file handover was just before Christmas, and Renee has worked incredibly hard applying the logo to all her marketing material and to get everything up and running by the start of the new year. Congrats on a phenomenal effort Renee!

Posted by Netra on Jan 3rd 2010 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography
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A few weeks ago Samantha Pearce very generously photographed our family. As a photographer, I have thousands of photos of the kids, and less than a handful of photos of  me and them together. Sam and I decided to do a swap, and so after many many cloudy, rainy days, we decided to brave the ominous clouds last week and head out to the same spot for her family photos. Can I just say there is something absolutely terrifying about photographing another photographers family. We both have such different styles, but the same bundle of nerves. I must also apologise for making Sam, Craig and the kids walk up and down the endless beach holding hands. I simply had no idea how many times I’d asked them to do it, so there is an overadundance of those photos BUT…

here they are…

Posted by Netra on Dec 11th 2009 | adult - child - family - photography
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Nicole Akhurst and I have been working away at her new brand HUSH for the past few months. She came to me with a clean slate, told me ALL her ideas and let me run with her brief, to interpret as I felt like. In short, she trusted me. For me, this is the very very best way to work as it definitely allows me to bring all my various skills in design, branding, marketing and coporate identity together in the very best way.

The more people see and hear about my design work, I suppose the more they are willing to let me develop their band. I use the word ‘develop’ here with emphasis. It’s not about just having a great idea, its about how it is implemented across all the marketing - it’s about how flexible the logo and branding are so that they can be carried from the screen, to a print brochure and back to the screen as a website. It’s about making the brand work from day one.

But enough of my soapbox! I wanted to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Nic for entrusting me with her ‘baby’ – it was a ton of fun and I am absolutely stoked with the end result.  In an unrelated request, I put the word out for some client feedback recently and Nicole wrote this passage which I shall post here as it speaks directly about this project.

Working with Netra has not only been an honour and privelidge but it has also been the turning point in my business. Netra has the professional and brilliant ability to take your vision and turn it into something that is beyond what your imagination could have dreamed. Netra is thorough with her knowledge in the industry but what makes her stand above the rest is that she puts her whole heart and soul into creating what is right for YOU. She is a true artist in her form, a beautiful person and someone I am looking forward to working with again in the near future.

Posted by Netra on Dec 9th 2009 | card - commercial - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography
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