Posted by Netra on Sep 27th 2011 | branding - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - personal - print design
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PART ONE: A Storyboard of Me.

For those of you who may not have heard, last week I moved into an office. A real-life, honest-to-goodness office and I am excited and thrilled to be taking these steps with my little biz.

When I first started my business, I developed an identity that I was happy with at the time. The logo consisted of a number of interconnecting circles. It represented my business in that it was made up of a number of parts that were working together in a system – lots of little facets, lots of little parts. I initially designed it in shades of grey but within a short space of time caved to peer pressure from a handful of friendly creative voices and added a couple of bright colours. It was – I was told – silly for a creative person to have a B&W logo. At the time I really wanted to use red in my branding but red is not a flexible colour. Red is a warning, a red flag, a risk. So I regretfully shelved the red and branded with purple and lime green (some questions are better left unasked).

This move to new premises had been a long time in the planning. It’s it not with a small amount of trepidation that I put pen to paper and signed that lease, but once I did I felt like I’d stepped into a whole new version of the old me. I feel like this is what I am meant to be doing right now. I feel revitalised, I feel focussed and rejuvenated. It’s all kinds of awesome!

When I look at the logo now, I see that it did more than represent my business at the time – it represented my mindset as well. I had a great deal going on in the business - I wasn’t entirely clear on my direction, I was growing and expanding in all directions and not focussed on one. The colours have never been me. The logo was adequate then, but I’ve outgrown it. Like a comfortable jacket one wears for years, sometimes the time just feels right for something new.

And so, I am coming home to my beloved red. It may be a little off-beat, a little dangerous, a little wicked and a little luscious, but I’ll take that!

I’ve decided it’s time to REDefine what I am doing and REDesign my branding and goodness gracious am I having fun doing it! Part of the task I set myself was to explain how inherently red just creeps into every aspect of my life without me even noticing. I must give credit here to the inspirational Narrelle from NJoy the Moment Photography whose love of orange has eclipsed all else in my head so now I cannot even look at the colour without thinking of Narrelle. She encouraged me to embrace my love affair with Red. And so here I am.

To illustrate my point, I decided one evening to walk around my house and take a photo of all the red things I could see. I didn’t open any cupboards or drawers, just the red things in my kitchen, office and bedroom that were lying around. When I put it all together it felt like it was a storyboard of me – and here it is…

From left to right starting at the top:

1. Random single earrings without partners.
2. Pair of baby shoes given to me just before I had Kyra by an ex-client Paula Dawson from when she visited The Forbidden City.
3. The sleeve of my jacket hanging off my whiteboard.
4. The wheely chair at my second workstation.
5. The Adobe logo on the Creative Suite box.
6. Red beads in a beaded necklace made in South Africa where I was born.
7. Wool stuck with crochet hooks and a knitting needle. Unfinished project.
8. My heart rate monitor watch.
9. A photo of my aunt with me when I was about 1. Please note the colour of my dress in the photo.
10. More wool, another unfinished personal endeavour.
11. A slice of a geode that has been stained. I bought this on our trip to Canada last year at a geological fair.
12. A pantone cookie jar given to me for Christmas by my cousin and his wife who welcomed their baby last week – congrats guys xx.
13. Adhesive mounting squares and my box for my 24mm canon lens.
14. Decorative willow in the corner of my office. They were once red, but 8 years has seen them change a bit.
15. Another red jacket.
16. The door snake to keep the cold air from creeping under the front door.
17. The pump device on two bottles of anti bacterial handsoap.
18. A scarf and bit of a necklace peeping through on my dresser.
19. Another red earring. This on the earring organiser supposed to help me organise my earrings…
20. Nail polish and lip sticks.
21. Our wedding favours from our wedding in 2000. Decks of cards for the menfolk.
22. My business cards from 2002 when I was Creative Director of The Fridge at UNSW.
23. Red beads in another necklace from South Africa.
24. Two empty washing baskets stacked one in the other.
25. Another red jacket, this time hung in the walk in robe over an evening dress.
26. My reading pillow the kids got me last year so I could red comfortably in bed.
27. Red luggage with a red luggage tag.
28. Lia sitting on the office wheely chair, and she was wearing red stripey top and red leggings. Look at those cute feet and toes!
29. A red wooden bead bracelet a friend bought me for my birthday. It is one of my favourite things.
30. Random objects on the counter – cupcake baking cups, glue stick, Kyra’s bug catcher, and the handle of  screwdriver we’d just used to assemble my new office furniture.
31. The hood of another red jacket – but this one is Kyras.
32. The Wii remote.
33. The Wii remote again.
34. The smile Lia drew on my face in her portrait of me.
35. A drinks holder my brother gave me.
36. My everyday mug sitting in the dish rack.
37. A couple of mugs my mother gave me. They sit on a shelf and I’ve never used them but I can’t get rid of them – they’re red.
38. Red plastic glasses that I bought for the kids.
39. The Canadian flag.
40. A plaster bird magnet Kyra made and painted for me.
41. A recipe pack of Chrismas cocktails. Unopened.
42. My EOS book spine.
43. My EOS book spine again.
44. Aussie Post box that I sending to my in-laws in Canada. It is packed with tim tams, photos of the kids and chocolate covered macadamias.
45. My folder of paid bills.
46. The cover of my android phone.
47. A dream-catcher I bought on Manitoulin Island in Canada last year. The spaces in the circles let the bad dreams through. The web catches only good dreams, that then flow down the feathers towards you.
48. A clay lamp usually lit in the Hindu festival Diwali also known as the Festival of Lights.
49. A photo of my grandmother who lived with us when I was little. We shared a bed room for many years. She passed away just before Kyra was born.

Posted by Netra on Sep 17th 2011 | branding - design - personal - photography
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I have been volunteering with www.heartfelt.org.au over the past 3 years in some way or another. As a photographer (I am on a break from shooting at the moment), as a retoucher (I have 3 retouching jobs on right now for 3 very special families) and as a casual designer.

For those of you who are not familiar with Heartfelt, I’ve copied this from their website:

“Heartfelt is a volunteer organisation of professional photographers from all over Australia 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.

Heartfelt is dedicated to providing this gift to families in a caring, compassionate manner. All services are provided free of charge.”

I designed and produced the first Heartfelt Exhibition in 2009 in Sydney, and this year was very lucky to be asked to be involved with the exhibition panels and catalogue again. The exhibition was on in March this year, but better late then never… here it is.

Please make sure to go to the website and familiarise yourself with the service and what the organisation does. You can also find Heartfelt on Facebook, like the page and help spread awareness of the service. It is my hope that you and all those around you never, ever have to call.

If you are a photographer or retoucher and would like to join Heartfelt. You can apply online at www.heartfelt.org.au.

The last image here on the right is an image I captured during a Heartfelt session of baby Noor who had already passed away when the image was captured. In this image, he is holding onto his father’s thumb.

Posted by Netra on Sep 2nd 2011 | design - exhibition graphics - graphic design - personal - photography - print design - pro bono
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Debbie Ryan is a repeat customer. While we met after she had her logo designed I was able to collaborate with her on a few marketing pieces last year. She contacted me recently as she wanted some ideas on how to construct her trade display stand for an upcoming show.

What Debbie didn’t know, was that in a previous life I used to put together stands for shows exactly like these 12 times a year. I put together a basic floor plan and perspective drawing to give her an idea of how to set things up. Tonight she posted images of her stand before the launch of the show tomorrow and I am so ridiculously happy that she had taken everything I had suggested on board, right down to the green rug and pink gerberas!!!

It’s so wonderful to see the vision in head come alive in this way. You cna head over to her website http://www.littlefaces.com.au/ to check her out.

Posted by Netra on Sep 1st 2011 | design - graphic design - marketing - trade display
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