A while ago I was asked by William Clarke College to design a series of banners that they could use for a variety of purposes. The brief was pretty complex - each banner had to work independantly, or as part of a series. They also had to be designed to work at boht 1.8m tall and 1.5m as some venues have height restrictions.

I ended up creating one school banner for each of the three schools and a series of generic banners that could be used alone as adjacent to the school banners. In addition we kept the bottom blank with a line of non-critical secondary photos that disappear into the roll-up base at the shorter height.

All in all I was pretty happy with the branding, the freshness and their simple appeal. Feedback from the college has been great and I am thrilled with the final result.

Posted by Netra on Aug 28th 2009 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

This week at Kyra’s school was “Book Week” and they had a safari theme. On Friday parents and friends were invited to a parade of the animals and the fabulous teachers put on a pantomime for the kids. It was hilarious – with the Principal and the Dean both dressing up as gorillas. I think the willingness of the people in authority to do crazy things like this makes them so much more approachable in the eyes of the junior school students.

Kyra requested a leopard outfit quite early on, and my grand visions of making a costume came to a grinding halt when I discovered the fabric cost $69/m. Off to local toy shop we went where this snazzy leopard outfit was only $50 and probably much better looking than one I could turn out.

Not to be left out, Lia was bribed with face-paint, a pettiskirt from Marcella Creations (website launching next week – watch this space) and ‘her’ leopard print jacket that was a gift to Kyra from their godmother Kasia (who bemoaned the fact that they were not available in adult sizes). I have to say this jacket has fared impressively well over the last 5 year and still looks in mint condition – a near miracle given how often its gets worn.

Anyway – some pics of my wild African children from today…

Posted by Netra on Aug 27th 2009 | child - family - personal - photography
Show Comments (2) | Leave Comment

I finally stopped procrastinating and went out and bought a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens. I really wanted this lens for photographing grown ups and also for catching little close-up details that other lenses cant catch.

I also got Lia’s hair cut again so it seemed like a good opportunity to try the new lens out. I’m already loving the longer distance of this lens, the nice background blur, tha clarity of the prime (fixed, not zoom) and the weight of it. Here are a couple from today…

Posted by Netra on Aug 25th 2009 | child - family - personal - photography
Show Comments (1) | Leave Comment

Some time ago I produced some corporate stationery and marketing designs for Anne Brumley from Pins & Thimbles. I also suggested during one of our brainstorming sessions that she stitch each business card to enhance her brand ideals of hand made, personalised gifts.

Anne loved the idea and neither of us really knew how much work that was going to be. Poor Anne!

Today I got a lovely suprise in the mail – Anne had sent me some of the finished cards as samples and popped in a couple of her woven labels as well. Here they are looking gorgeous. Anne says the cards are a big hit with people wanting to take 2 or 3 at a time to give to friends. The accompanying card says:

“Thank you so much for your patient help with this project! You’re a star and I wish you all the best with your business – should go great guns if these cards are any guide ”

and here they are…

.

Posted by Netra on Aug 23rd 2009 | card - commercial - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing
Show Comments (6) | Leave Comment

Yesterday I got to photograph more gorgeous pettiskirts for Marcella Creations (website on the way). She is making Teeny Tiny Pettis  for newborns (sizes for the under-1’s as well) and two-tone skirts. All skirts are custom made, so you can choose your own colours and sizes for a personalised product.

Delivery time is less than a week – she sews super fast! Email her at msmoreno@bigpond.com until her website launches (very soon!)

Posted by Netra on Aug 22nd 2009 | child - commercial - marketing - photography
Show Comments (5) | Leave Comment

I got back from a long 3 days shooting for 2 clients and found a happy email in my inbox. The lovely Susan Greenbank from the Australian Breastfeeding Association sent me through this image snapped by Rachel Fuller picturing Brooke Higgs, from the ABA’s VIC Branch helpline team, and the demo “baby” Luke posing next to one of my banners (that just went to print on Monday)!

We are still using the image I captured of Joannah and Jaylene at 16-ish weeks in the advertising and I’m thrilled its been so well received and still going as strong as ever. Such a great start to the weekend!

Posted by Netra on Aug 21st 2009 | adult - baby - commercial - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography
Show Comments (1) | Leave Comment

Briony Howland was referred to me by Chantelle Bliss who captured some images for her marketing both print and online. Briony needed me to add bleed and crops to the existing brochure, she was happy with it she had and wasn’t too keen to change it.

Ordinarilywhen a client is clear on what they want – I simply do what they ask. I don’t force the issue as I find it can come across as being quite patronising. As I started to work on this brochure however, I had to restrain myself from tweaking things in the flyer. About halfway through I realised I had a different vision for this brochure in my head and I just had to let it out. So after I finished the minor amends to the existing version I created an entirely new version as well.

I made both into a PDF and sent them along to Briony with an explanation and the assurance that as I had produced this second concept of my own accord she was under no obligation to pay for it unless she wanted to use it. As I’d hoped, she responded with

I love it!  Thank you so much for reworking the brochure.  I thought it was great before, but now it looks fantastic! 

I had rearranged the information on the front so that her key services are at the top and the website address is prominently displayed. Once open the first flap gives a brief overview of what Birth in Balance is about as well as develops Briony’s credibility with her audience by providing a summary of her achievements and philosophy. The audience is further engaged by the image of her with her children – so that people feel connected with her on a personal level.

On the inside I have run the information in columns and highlighted the testimonials as actual quotes to offer shorts bursts of positive and compelling information for those who may not read all 3 columns. I wanted to show what could be achieved with the brochure. It should not only offer information about the services, but should be designed in a strategic way to encourage people to engage with your brand.

This is a really great example of how a few simple layout changes can make such a big diffrence to a relatively small piece of marketing. More importantly it demonstrates how small business owners can work with designers for an customised design solution that won’t break the bank.

Oh, and if you’re after a doula, pre/post natal massage or wellness advice, please do visit Briony’s website at www.BirthinBalance.com.au

.

The original brochure

.

The new brochure

.

Posted by Netra on Aug 16th 2009 | brochure - corporate - design - flyer - graphic design - marketing
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

…for someone very special.

You may remember Jaylene, the smiley happy baby that I had the distinct pleasure of photographing for the Australian Breastfeeding Association. Jaylene and her mum Jo, are the faces of the Breastfeeding Helpline advertising campaign which you may remember from a previous blog entry.

.

.

Jaylene was 16 weeks when I photographed her back in January and she will be celebrating her first birthday very shortly! Jo asked me to design an invitation for Jaylene’s party and sent through a few photos of her toothy grin to use. Well I loved the cupcake from the previous invite I’d done and ‘borrowed’ the same basic idea and put it to good use for Jaylene.

.

.

.

Posted by Netra on Aug 14th 2009 | baby - child - commercial - design - graphic design - photography
Show Comments (2) | Leave Comment

William Clarke College asked me to produce a quick email invite for their ex-students, inviting them to drop back in for a quick visit to see how they were all getting on in their lives after school. Their very clever and talented Marketing Manager Brooke had dubbed the event a ‘coffee, cake and catch-up’ so of course I couldn’t go past that for the theme of the invite.

Of course it had to maintain their brand identity, and keep to their corporate colours, but still be a bit lighthearted and fun to appeal to the ex-students. This is what we ended up with…

.

.

.

Posted by Netra on Aug 12th 2009 | corporate - design - graphic design
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

Melody asked me to help her rebrand her existing photography business. She wanted a new logo and business card for a fresh start and really wanted a logo that was personal and meaningful to her. She wanted to have it represent her as an individual as well as her approach to her photography. With an unusual name like melody, the brief was also to try and include a musical or melodious reference.

What a brief!

This is what we ended up with. The logo itself is made up of 3 different fonts. Onto the ends I’ve added the rounded ellipses of musical notes, while the swirls allude to an intricate piece of music. The whole music theme was taken further with the waves motif – this alludes to the sound (being a wave), rhythm, the rise and fall of piano forte as well as background sounds and short sharp stacatto beats.

All in all we both love it!

OMG I am in love!!!! That is fabulous!!!!
Seriously, though, WOW!!! Thank you so much! everything is just perfect!

Am so excited. You honestly have no idea how much I appreciate all this! You are helping me make my business real!

Posted by Netra on Aug 12th 2009 | corporate - design - graphic design
Show Comments (3) | Leave Comment