The video is a walkthrough of what it would be like to explore the app, interacting in different ways.

The primary navigation through the app is through open ended conceptual maps that mix content from the Borges’ story, linking it with other examples of his work, and allowing the reader to discover new and interesting content along different themes, including language, the infinite, the universe, the divine and discovery. The app would also include other Borges stories from the Labyrinths anthology.

Follow the blog through the process of making my UTS major work at visuallypoetic.wordpress.com to find out more about the concepts and evolution of the project.

Our prepress & print design ‘major’ project was a multi-page booklet for promoting the paper company, KW Doggett.

KW Doggett produces a large range of paper promotions throughout the year, and this booklet was designed to add a more whimsical, thoughtful note to the wide range of promotional material produced for the company. 

The ‘story’ of the booklet is created using excerpts from TS Eliot’s poem, Four Quartets, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, to build a thread of discovery and possibility (“towards the door we never opened… shall we follow?”).

I chose to design an A5 landscape, perfect bound booklet, highlighting their Curious Translucents, Conquerer CX22 (FSC Certified) and Mega Recycled (Silk) stocks. The promotional booklet for KW Doggett was designed to showcase the exceptional quality of KW Doggett’s papers, and their range of environmental and sustainable papers. Often this is done within the framework of ‘green awareness’, which can make it seem too different or expensive. This brochure uses sustainable paper choices, but doesn’t shout about it. It lets the quality of the paper speak for itself.

Printed on Curious Translucents in metallic PMS ink

Including paper specifications and appropriate logos was a project requirement

There were requirements to include specifications and detailed paper descriptions (like any other paper promotion), include minimum 3 different stocks, and use minimum 1 A2 and maximum 2 A2 double sided pages, in any format.

We went with a retro feel, bold typography and punchy copywriting by Dave Miers.

Are you looking for more? Not satisfied with always trying to get more? More stuff, more sex, more friendship, more significance? Hunger for more justice, more hope about the end of the world, more free food? More is about the good news that Jesus offers more to life, more life eternally and more to life now!

Credo‘s biennnial mission//outreach event extravaganza is this year being organised and run across 3 university campuses, which is really exciting! Christian Union at Macquarie uni and Campus Bible Ministries at UWS are running More alongside us, sharing speakers and branding (concept and images by Indigo Hanlee), and also, a website.

James Kirsop and I designed and delivered the website, which needed to promote each campus’s events equally but clearly, so that people weren’t confused by what was happening at their uni.

It incorporates icons to represent the nature of each event and videos (edited by James Kirsop) on the speakers and the topics of the talks. Dave Miers and Greg Lee will be speaking at all three campuses on a range of topics. Both of them have excellent video manners!

Technical notes: I was a little disappointed with HTML5 video – I had very high hopes about its beauty and compatibility. In the end we went with YouTube videos and embedding, which seems to be very compatible, except for those with internet blocking software…

Check out the website, come along to one of the events, appreciate the pacman stylings of Indigo Hanlee who expertly came up with the initial concept of the design. She also helped out with making sure the website fit the branding of the other events.

What kept us busy over the summer, you might be wondering? Well, it wasn’t all days at the beach and summer road trips – instead James Kirsop and I were working on a promotional website for Pace Farm Eggs, an Australian family-owned egg company.

They ran a competition from February to April 2011 as a cross-promotion with Universal Studios, Illumination Entertainment and their Easter family movie release, ‘HOP‘, and they wanted an engaging new homepage to complement their online competition entry form.

The promotion was entered by purchasing a pack of specially marked eggs, and then entering online through a secure entry form, which randomly generated 100 instant winners of family movie passes, and stored the entrant’s details for the major prize draw – 7 family farmstays!

It was considerably successful - there were more than 6,000 visits to the website over the competition period and more than 3,000 people entered the competition - surpassing our client’s expectations for the website.

We also included content from Universal – a plot synopsis for the movie, colouring-in pages, link to the official HOP movie website, a trailer and more, to tie into the promotion. Aren’t the characters from the movie cute! The home page also had links to existing Pace Farm website content like kid-friendly recipes and craft ideas, and a header link let visitors go straight to the old homepage if they so desired.

Overall, a success! Happy clients, and a technically complex website put together by James Kirsop, myself and Gareth Parker (ASP.Net coding). We were overwhelmed by the responses and so excited to see that the competition was so successful. To check if you’re a winner, visit the Pace Farm Eggs homepage today and have a look at our work in action.

Hopefully this does what it’s intended to do. Slight shades of grey to make the text standout, but which should hold up to photocopying (which often takes out shades more than laser b&w printing does); clear font not standard out of Word (Meta by Erik Spiekermann) and a cute looking ‘R’ bring this together, I think.

What are your thoughts on designing for photocopied flyers?

Part of the UTS Vis Comm course involves a subject called ‘Community Project’ in which students work together in groups to deliver design projects for community or non-profit groups that would otherwise not be able to afford or access design.

I worked with Phoebe Pulido, Lo Lam and Kin Wah Poon on this project, a campaign to use t-shirts and postcards to engage younger people (18-25) with the work of Oxfam, and enable them to see they can make a difference even through what seems like small actions to take. We developed the campaign from scratch, doing everything from copywriting to developing the visual style and communicating with the client about what they needed and wanted.

In a really encouraging outcome for us, the climate change postcard was distributed by AvantCard to high schools across Australia, 30,000 copies in all. They’re about to work on another release of the designs this year, so stay tuned.

It was quite challenging to work together, but it actually helped refine the design outcome and produce better work overall to have others to give feedback and inspiration.

I think they work best with the slogans on postcards and the larger detailed maps as large A2 or A3 posters. We also created swing tags to be attached to the sweatshop-free t-shirts. Head into an Oxfam shop to see them!

“The strength of the project is that it manages to break down a complex issues in to manageable small actions while not denying the complexities of these issues enabling us to all to make a big difference.”  - Oxfam response

An A5 flyer to go out to school children in special Scripture assemblies in the local area, and an A4 version as a poster for similar. I worked from a basic design given to improve the typographic hierarchy and make key information (date, location) more visible. The colours are brighter and more visually appealing, using contrasting colours to attract attention.

Similar format issues – for a flyer (probably the reverse side of the first flyer, I added colour, interest and highlighted important information, such as the time (important for families considering coming – knowing the time is essential). Using the Aardvark font to add interest with readability still a priority. I’m quite satisfied with the typographic outcomes of both, considering the short turnaround (ready for pre-press/print in less than 24 hours).

The logo was updated to be more streamlined, punchier and bolder.

I proposed an update to their logo which used block typefaces and strong lines with yellow and black, keeping the existing concept but strengthening the design. (Their existing logo can be seen at their website).

The scope of the project also included a business card, letterhead/invoice and gift voucher.

Emperor Fitness wants to promote its website, something that has been taken into account in the business card design.

Letterhead & Invoice Design

The letterhead uses minimal ink, keeping in mind that Emperor Fitness usually emails letters or invoices to their clients to print for their own records. The tax invoice uses the letterhead design and would be supplied to the client as a template they could print on existing printed letterhead if so desired.

Folded Gift Voucher

Open Gift Voucher

The gift voucher uses striking contrast and an interesting die cut to introduce Emperor Fitness to a potential new client, and also reinforce existing customer sentiments about the brand – ideas of strength, energy and boldness.

Feedback on my work:

“Professionally presentation with good attention to detail. Good use of typographic hierarchy and consistency throughout. The Gift Voucher is particularly well thought out and executed. Really lovely work, well done.”

What did we do to this town, to render it so?

Monochrome is all I see, the colour has lost its vigour. 

Where are we going? Where have you taken her – this ghost of mine?