• SPECIAL

They kicked off by playing this.

Special were first up on the friday morning, but despite being first they really hit the ball rolling. I hadn’t actually heard of these guys until now, but as soon as I heard them mention their campaign for channel FOUR here in NZ I knew exactly who they were! They had the greatest idea ever by branding the only channel in NZ at the time to not have any rugby game exclusivity during a world cup. It seemed crazy but boy did it make channel FOUR an attractive choice for someone like me who couldn’t care less about the sport. Overall seemed like a bunch of neat guys, nice clean modern work with a kiwi touch. Mad props guys, like your work.

• GMUNK

Starting out as a web designer turned interactive designer, GMUNK was certainly a contrast to that of the kiwi boys before him. His work was unbelievable and Semi-Permanent had even commissioned him to create the visual identity of this years conference. Mostly of note was his work with the recent TRON: Legacy remake of the 80′s classic. Amazing visual effects that you can check out on his website.

• Swifty

Following that, Swifty from the Uk was also present. Now i’m not too familiar with his work so i wont say much. He was however a good speaker and made for an interesting listen nonetheless.

• Moffit.Moffit.

Now these two Sydney Creative Directors were fantastic! I even ran into them after the show. But they were seriously onto it, I loved all their work they had to show, and also some great inspirational quotes to be shared. I think everyone was a little unsettled at first as they were clearly identical twins.

• Benja Harney

Benja Hervey was very fascinating. He calls himself a ‘Paper Engineer’ and after a watch of the video below you’ll understand why. Unlike the other speakers at Semi-Permanent he attempted to engage participation with the audience by sneakily placing paper on everyones seats before the session. He got us all to create origami step by step and at the end of the talk, we all threw paper planes inside the theatre, one even reached the stage! Hes worked with some big clients and well known individuals. But most of all had a hugely underlying sense of passion and a healthy obsession in the work he does. Fascinating character, inspiring personality.

• Southsouthwest

A small but well developed studio from Melbourne, originally Hobart boys pulling their weight in the design world. Impressive clients like Nike East. They have some pretty nice work on their site, take a look.

• Alex Trochut

Alex was a great speaker and one of the reasons why I wanted to be at Semi-Permanent. His work is ever evolving into something new and he has a profound knowledge and education in design, illustration and typography. His talk was exceptional. He showed a large volume of his own work with many ties to historical events and other artists works, from classical to modern. His portfolio is very impressive. I strive to one day have such a lineup of work as him.

• The Monkeys

A great story of two designers who broke away from a restritive and non-challenging career of working for un-named corporate creative giant (satchi) and creating their own branding, identity, and marketing agency. A true sucess story and humble guys to boot. Their website has some great work, ideas and imagery so go have a look — but of note, I thought this project really stood out. Like many of their projects, rather than creating ads for a client, they reel in the viewer by making it more, something much more.

I’ll write a follow up post for Day 2, as my eyes are falling out of my head. So tired. Hope you enjoyed the read.

I’m a big fan of Steve Jobs. I don’t know if he was the kind of person who really considered the things he said before he said them (I’m guessing he did) or if he just often said things that made complete and utter sense. Either way, this quote speaks to me on many levels. Set in ‘Channel’. Texture from Abduzeedo.

When I first started studying design at university I found it incredibly difficult to stand infront of someone and let them tell barrage me  with what they didn’t like about something I’d created. Who are they to say if they like or hate my work? Well in actual fact this is the best thing you can do as a creative individual. Take what anyone says about your work, deconstruct it and try to understand how they have come to that conclusion. Learn from it. Do not respond defensively. If you find this hard to do, and you’re reading this — I highly recommend you attempt to embrace other peoples opinions whether it be good or bad — in an attempt to learn even more about what people like and want. Try to turn it around and rather than having a pre–conception of their response in being either ‘positive’ or  ’negative’ and simply make it ‘critique’ or ‘feedback’.  This will make your work better, more effective, and even help you express yourself on a higher level — and remember, nobody is ever right or wrong, but they are entitled to have an idea, an opinion that is theirs to share, whether you agree with it or not.

So why not learn from it?

On a side note; Adobe have just announced their latest collection CS6 will be available for pre-order now and ships within 30days. I can’t wait to get my hands on this. And if you haven’t already, download the Photoshop CS6 Beta at adobe.com.

I’ve been so pre-occupied with working as a designer that I’ve just come to the realisation that I’ve been neglecting my own needs as an artist. So in an attempt to re-kindle the desire to create work I stayed late at work tonight and in the space of 2hrs came up with this piece. Its based on a found photograph, I’ve then hand drawn the majority of the image, used some basic photoshop effects, blurred the colour ranges and selectively masked some of the image out to give that really neat appearance of a sketchy drawing whilst holding onto the important narrative in the photo – that is oh so quirky and beautiful at the same time.

I don’t normally write posts like this to advertise something as such. But I’m so excited about the release of Adobe Creative Suite 6 and the chance to have a play with Photoshop CS6. You can download it now at labs.adobe.com. Also of note, is the free Lynda.com beta preview. Be sure to check this out if you are interested in all the new features.

Things I’m most excited about? The new support for paragraph and character styles, the awesome new blur effect gallery, finally filling and stroking shape layers support and increased options regarding 3d compositions with type. Something I’m not so concerned about is the support to edit videos. But we shall see if this comes in handy in the future, and I can see where adobe are coming from to incorporate this into the program.

What do you think about the beta?

Fortunately for me, I’m in a situation where I don’t have to actively seek out work or clients due to working in a busy studio. But if you freelance, or run your own studio — what kind of screening processes do you go through to judge your client, even decide to work with them (or maybe you simply do all the jobs you can get) and then what processes do you go through in order to lay a good foundation down for pricing, hourly rates (or set fees) to kick start that client — designer relationship off with? For me — well I’m lucky as I just get given a brief from my director and then move onto dealing with the client — not having to worry about costing for the job. Mind you there are certain restraints when it comes to blowing out the budget or spending too much time on a job. This needs to be discussed prior to starting any job.

Midst writing this post I was given a heads up on this link. If you’re not in fits of laughter then god help you.

“Actually, scratch that, working in the design industry is more like being a whore. A dirty whore who has programmed their mind to find a happy place rather than be outraged by client requests.”

Also take a read through ‘Missing Missy‘. A funny take on a designer — client relationship through a number of email messages for the design of a missing cat poster. And this site; Clients from Hell had me up all night 30 pages deep into a plethora of hilarious and legit bullshit client carry on.

Do you have a set list of rules you follow with your clients? A written contract they must sign? or are you just a go with the flow type of designer? Each have their place, but I think as time goes on you understand why there are proper laws to lay down and contractual obligations to follow for both a client, and a designer. I’m still getting my head around understanding this process, and it seem to be hit and miss and different for every client involved, so therefor an ever-evolving experiment. I do find this kind of fascinating, and I’m glad as it could may well have put me off the industry all together by now.

I’ve been re-reading one of my fav. books and thats ‘How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul‘. A fantastic book if you don’t know it. Check it out. This quote is something I’m going to attempt to live by. Simple concept. Don’t ever avoid defeat. Face it. And learn.

“Nothing flags a designer’s second-rate status more clearly than the conviction that he or she is never wrong.”

Its a hard life, and a battle to please, but there is something exciting, and challenging about being a problem solver, and ideas generator and artist all in one. What are your thoughts?

“The life of a designer is a life of fight. Fight against the ugliness. Just like a doctor fights against disease. For us, the visual disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow with design”

– Massimo Vignelli in the film Helvetica

Anyway, its just one of those things. Its part of the job. Dealing with people is a key part of this industry, and I’m lucky enough to had some pretty good experience with people in the past to handle this side of things. So I’m told. Good luck in your fight against the ugliness.

ABDUZEEDO — Tutorials, Inspiration, Wallpapers & Interviews.
AISLE ONE — Design, Typography, Grids, Minimalism + Modernism.
ART OF THE TITLE — Film and Television Title Design.
AWWWARDS — Amazing Web Design.
BOOOOOOOM! — Art, Design, FIlm, Music, Photography.
COLOUR LOVERS — Colour Trends, Ideas & Inspiration.
COMPUTER ARTS — Graphic Arts Magazine, Tutorials & Inspiration.
CREATIVE MORNINGS — Inspirational mini Lectures and Tutorials.
DESIGN ASSEMBLY — NZ Graphic Design Community, Forum, Events.
DESIGN CRUSH —Design and Photography Inspiration.
DESIGN IS KINKY — Design & Art Goodness, Links, Events and Openings.
DESIGN YOU TRUST — Art, Design, Inspiration, Photography.
DESIGNERS GO TO HEAVEN — Graphic Design Inspiration.
DESIGNRFIX — Inspiration, Tutorials, Resources.
DESIGNSPIRATION— Inspiration, Typography, Print, Web.
THE DIE LINE — Packaging Design.
DRIBBLE — Show and tell for Graphic Designers.
EYE MAGAZINE — International Review of Graphic Design.
FFFFOUND! — Inspiration, huge feed of Found Images.
FLICKRISTA — Visual Inspiration from Flickr.
FUBIZ — Daily Inspiration.
FWA — Favourite Website Awards.
GOOD FUCKING DESIGN ADVICE— Motivational One-Liners.
GRAIN EDIT — Modern & Vintage Graphic Design Inspiration.
IDN MAGAZINE — Design and Illustration Magazine, fantastic Inspiration.
I LOVE TYPOGRAPHY — Exactly that.
KULER — Colour Pallet Inspiration.
LOVELY PACKAGE — Packaging Design.
LYNDA.COM — The Best Resource on the Internet.
PANTONISM— The Art of Matching Colour Influences.
PINTEREST — Collaborative Community of Inspiration.
PSDTUTS+ — Great Resource & Tutorials.
RAWZ — Inspirational Tumblr by Abduzeedo.
SMASHING MAGAZINE — Web, Print, Typography, Illustration.
TED — Ideas Worth Spreading.
THE GRID SYSTEM — Great Resource and Inspiration for all things Grids.
THE INSPIRATION — Design, Web, Video, Photography, Fashion.
THE MINISTRY OF TYPE — Graphic Design, Typography, Minimalism.
TYPE RADIO — The best typography Podcast. Listen to it. Now.
TYPE THEORY — Great Typography Blog.
TYPEVERYTHING — Typography Inspiration at its best.
TYPOGRAPHICA — Type, Reviews, Books, Commentary.
UNDER CONSIDERATION — Blogs, Books, Events.
WE LOVE TYPOGRAPHY — Submitted Inspiration by I Love Typography.
YOU KNOW YOU’RE A DESIGNER WHEN — Fantastic! 

If you have some favourites, let me know and I’ll add to the list. I love discovering great new Inspiration driven websites. Leave a link in the comments below!