WIN a new logo and visual identity with Netra

Enter the draw to win a Kick Start branding package – worth $1450!

Kick Start Package includes:
Logo design – includes 3 concepts with 3 rounds of changes (all digital files included as EPS Vector in colour, B&W, greyscale and pantone as required)

including complimentary:
Business Card - 2 layout options with 2 rounds of changes (supplied as print-ready PDF)
Postcard OR DL Flyer - 2 layout options with 2 rounds of changes (supplied as print-ready PDF)

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To enter:

1. go to www.Facebook.com/NetraChetty post your current logo to my wall and tell me what collaborating with me will mean for your brand. (f you don’t have a logo, just link to your blog/website)
2. leave a comment under this post stating which one of the logos designed by me in the logo gallery (link above) is your favourite and why.

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Winner will be decided by random draw based on the comment number on the blog. Decision of the winning entry is final.
If you do not require a logo or rebrand for your business, you may exchange your kick-start package for 15hours of design work instead.

Competition closes 10th November midnight, Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.
Prize cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and is not transferable or redeemable for cash.
Prize must be redeemed (kicked off) before 31 March 2012.

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Posted by Netra on Nov 2nd 2011 | branding - corporate - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - personal - photography - pro bono
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REDefining, REDesigning Part III

If you have been following this blog over the past few posts you will know I have been on a journey of self-discovery. Or perhaps that should be ‘rediscovery’. Part of this was moving out of my dedicated home office, and into a commercial space. Part of it was reflecting on the journey to date, what I bring to my clients and who and where I want to be in five, ten and twenty years. Another part of it was the realisation of working for myself, means I can actually be myself without feeling that I need to conform to what I thought a corporate in-house designer should be.

And it’s the small things. Small things like the colours in my logo. The posts below explain it all, so I don’t need to harp on about it again. But here it is. My new look and logo. It’s red, its vibrant, its passionate and exciting and I love it.

My old logo was a series of rings expanding from each other. This logo is three simple rings coming together. No dotted or dashed lines, only solid linework. No shades or transparent colours, they are all solid. No random expansion and growth, it’s all focussed. It’s an evolution of the old logo, but it’s a visual representation of who I am and what I want to do going forward.

As much as the logo represents focus, it also represents vision. The same way you can look through a camera, or telescope, or microscope or any other instrument of vision, there is a dial that makes all the fuzzy bits clear – that’s what I want to do with the clients who come to me with a tangle of ideas in their heads. I want to help people focus and achieve their visions of their business and brand.

In terms of vision and focus there is a much more personal meaning layered under all of that as well. It’s essentially my name. I love my name – granted I have never ever found it on a keychain, or a mug – but I love how unique and unusual it sounds. I also love it’s meaning – as a word it means ‘eyes’ in Hindi and Thai (so I’ve been told). Within the last 2 weeks as I’ve googled, I have also discovered that as a name it can also mean ‘vision’, or a ‘guide’ (to be the eyes for another person). That has been a lovely way to be able to articulate all the hope that I have for the exciting journey ahead.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts with photos from my launch party. But for now, here is the new look.

Posted by Netra on Oct 8th 2011 | branding - card - corporate - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - personal - print design
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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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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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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 a family like ours, that has lost many of its traditions and a significant amount of culture over the past few generations (2 immigrations in 5 generations tends to do that!) I do try to let my kids have some understanding and experience of their rich cultural heritage. By doing so I learn a bit more myself.

Diwali, the Indian Festival of Light, is one of the times that I remember fondly from my childhood. My aunt and my grandmother, all working together in the kitchen to produce some of the most mouth-watering, decadent sweet treats from old family recipes. While they worked for days in the heat of the kitchen, we would run through trying to pilfer a favourite here and there, get scolded, and unabashedly try again.

On the day we would receive new clothes, get dressed in our best, package up all the sweets into festive plates of goodies and take them to family, friends and neighbours as a gesture of goodwill. In the evening we would light the clay lamps along the verandahs and strive valiantly to ensure none were blown out by the winds. Inevitably in Durban, it was always rainy or windy on Diwali.

The best part of the evening were the fireworks. My grandfather used to buy boxes of them well in advance for all the grandkids. Roman candles, Tom-Thumbs and a host of others that whizzed, swirled, popped, or simple exploded overhead in magical showers of light.

As many of the foods made on Diwali are only made on this one occasion each year, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the sweets. I was supposed to be packaging up the plates but instead I was trying to make the most of the fading light, my mother’s dining room table (already overflowing with trays of food) to capture the colour, the richness and the variety to share. And if you think they look good, the flavour is indescribable…

Happy Diwali everyone!

Posted by Netra on Oct 17th 2009 | family - personal - photography
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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
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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
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