Tag Archive for: brisbane

Brisbane // International Women’s Day 2019

What a HUGE week we have had celebrating International Women’s Day 2019!

Our Director is a member of Zonta International Club of Brisbane City Heart and last Friday we organised a fabulous luncheon at Rydges South Bank for almost 120 people! In her role on the Club’s PR Committee, Salt Design was called in to action to design and produce all of the promotional and event collateral.

Collateral included: invitation, Trybooking site design, social media promotion, menus, programmes, posters, placecards, name badges…

Designing and producing resources for an event is a specialised requirement – as there is a deadline which HAS to be met!

Planning such an event calls for a collaboration of many people with many talents – organising guest speakers, venues, invitations, promotional resources, social media posts, raffle prizes and nominating a fundraising recipient (FUEL Girl Shaped Flames) to name but a few.

We are so very proud of the contribution we made to the event’s success! We provided our guests with an experience which ticked every box – quality venue, superb food and service, entertaining speaker, educational cause and enlightening about our Club. Most of all, Friday’s event was a celebration of women coming together to celebrate who we are and what great things we can do together!

We were able to show just how an event can be planned, coordinated, designed, and produced. Salt Design collaborated closely with event coordinator – Kim Kee of KBS Events. Kim’s coordination of our Guest Speaker Julie Cross was GOLD (or should that be glitter!). Julie was truly the perfect speaker for the event – engaging, fun, provoking and thoroughly entertaining!

Salt Design has worked with a number of event coordinators for many events and conferences. Kim would have to be one of, if not THE most efficient, thoughtful, dynamic professional we have ever worked with. We placed our full trust in her expertise. Kim, in return, provided our team with support, advice, collaborative ideas and made herself available whenever we needed her advice.

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

Images via: Salt Design, Julie Cross, KBS Events.

More powerful together :: Business Chicks Breakfast

Amazing, enlightening and empowering Business Chicks breakfast event as part of #IWD2019.

Insightful, engaging and challenging speakers all with a common message – that together we can achieve so much more! That no matter where we are in our careers, no matter what the challenges we may face in our lives and regardless of the obstacles we may find between us and our goals – with the support of others, by drawing strength from our friends, our peers and our supporters – we can achieve great things.

Amna Karra Hassan: Let’s get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Let’s be real and authentic.

Sam Bloom: We should not take for granted the gift of today; never underestimate our abilities and learn to accept the help of those who love us (especially small feathery ones!)

Anne Summers: Let’s celebrate the achievements of those strong women who have come before us. Let’s build and grow from those wins and take new bolder steps toward gender equality.

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

Something Digital…

On the 1 November, the inaugural Something Digital festival was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Celebrating all things digital, the organisers worked with 64 organisations to bring fresh, up-to-the-minute information without any of the fluff/BS that can be thrown around the tech world at times.

After a welcome by Cat Matson, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for the City of Brisbane, there were a series of presentations and International Keynote Speakers including Adam Bonnifield from Airbus, Mariana Dahan from World Identity Network, Caroline Sinders, and Justin Hendrix from NYC Media Labs.

Presentations ranged from:

  • Artificial Intelligence and how a collection of narrow intelligences will drive advancement, rather than a self aware, singularity.
  • Using blockchain as a way to help at risk individuals have a safe, secure form of identification.
  • How robotics is (slowly) gaining traction in Australia within manufacturing, agricultural and logistics industries.
  • The possibilities mobile 5G connectivity will bring us in the very near future. Expecting it to drive the “Internet of things” with 50 billion connected devices in the next three years. Bringing our digital and real life persona closer together through Augmented and Virtual Reality. Powering the disruption of even more industries – much like we have already witnessed by companies such as Uber and Airbnb.

The driving theme throughout the day wasn’t about technology for technologies sake. It was about using it for real world applications that will help us each and every day. The idea is not to replace people with these emerging technologies, rather enhance working experiences and free-up time for better customer service.

Ethics within the digital space was discussed at length as well. With scandals like the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data making headlines around the world, there needs to be better safeguards of our private information. he use of Blockchain technologies could be one way to address these concerns in the future.

It was an intense day of information to take in – but very engaging and positive! It was great to see the vibrant digital economy Brisbane has to offer. Showcasing that we are not only a digital force within Australia, we are a digital force on the global stage as well.

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

Untitled. {The Design Conference}

We attended this year’s event showcasing designers and graphic artists from Australia and around the world – two days of being fully immersed in design thinking. Held at the Powerhouse, the Design Conference was attended by over 500 delegates (local, national and international designers, industry peers, students and people who just love design!)

Design has the ability to extend, express and engage. It can communicate beyond perceived boundaries – geographically, culturally, politically and ethically.

It was a sensory delight seeing these designers’ works and hearing their journeys (both personal insights and career highlights). With the theme to this year’s event being “Life changing moments”, each speaker presented their own perspective on how they do what they do, and more importantly WHY they do what they do. As both personal and professional yardsticks, we found ourselves inwardly exclaiming “yes!” “me too!” and “oh wow!” many times! We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet other designers, discuss design topics in depth, be creatively inspired and awed by the achievements of such stand-out creatives!

  • It’s cool to be a kiwi and wear jandals on stage
  • Dyslexia is no obstacle to great design
  • Design can be a powerful driver to effecting change in humanity
  • Beautiful normal is a wonderful state of being!
  • Typefaces can be exceptional in themselves – when incorporated into brilliant design – the result AMAZING!
  • By guided by your own passion. It’s not a competition.

Each speaker was insightful and empowering in their own way.

Absolute standouts were…

It is so important to be challenged and inspired by learning from others.
And TDC provided us with such a brilliant opportunity to do this.

So when can we purchase tickets for next year’s event?

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

Aiming for the stars!
Women’s Leadership Forum

On Thursday 13 July, I had the pleasure of attending the Women’s Leadership Forum in Brisbane, at Victoria Park. Held by the ‘Aim for the Stars’ Foundation.

Aim for the Stars’ was founded by Australian world champion surfer, Layne Beachley. Her aim, through the Foundation, is to empower and inspire women of all ages to achieve their dreams and become great leaders.

Resilience
Thursday’s forum focused on resilience and brought together presentations by a number of women who are recognised leaders in their chosen fields of sport, science, business communication and entrepreneurship.

Finding your voice
The first guest speaker was Dr Cathy Foley – Director and Deputy Director of Manufacturing at CSIRO.

Cathy’s presentation was both engaging and amusing! She told us of her life journey from being a dyslexic young girl who did not even know her times tables – to being part of world-renown discoveries in science.
From ‘power posing’, to keeping fit, to dinner planning – Cathy provided us with great insight and tips from her life lessons.

I felt that everyone in the room could relate to Cathy’s insights and gained reassurance that in life, no one is perfect! What makes the difference is how we approach sticky situations and how we can empower ourselves to rise to each challenge!

Fear is good
Holly Ransom was our second guest speaker. Holly is known as a serial overachiever! She is CEO of her own business and has an accomplished list of achievements well beyond her age! To just name one – Holly was listed by Sir Richard Branson in 2016 as one of his dream dinner guests!

Holly explained how she went from being diagnosed with clinical depression to travelling the world and doing something she feared every day for an entire year. She went on to tell us how she trained and completed a 13-hour marathon – how the hardships and inspiration she gained through the experience provided her with capabilities well beyond what she could have imagined possible.

Holly showed us how such life lessons provided her with the agility and resilience to shape and direct her career. It was so inspiring to listen and learn about how much she has achieved at such a young age.

Being inspired
To conclude the Forum, we listened to three young women who have each received scholarships from ‘Aim for the Stars’. We listened to their amazing achievements and how the Foundation has supported and guided them. Each of these women provided great tips on personal growth and ensured us all that no matter what life may throw at you – you CAN achieve amazing things!

A day of inspiration and reassurance
What a fabulous event full of inspiration and reassurance. With effort, determination and, most importantly, resilience – we can achieve our dreams!

Bree McElroy
Designer – Salt Design

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

The Design Conference Brisbane 2017 // PART 2

The Design Conference was a two-day experience for us Salty designers!
{Read more about Part 1 here!}

Gemma – Designer, Salt Design

Mike Rigby
Mike Rigby delved into client projects just enough to keep us interested and wanting more. The highlight was watching the videos from his project titled ‘love has no labels’. These videos captivated the audience and pulled on our heart strings. If you haven’t seen them – I recommenced you do!

Lauren Hom
My favourite speaker of the day was Lauren Hom. Her presentation was polished and motivating. She showed empathy throughout her speech and connected with the audience by telling honest stories and not glossing over the strife in her life. Lauren’s pitch was to believe in your passion projects as these are the projects that have won in her life. I made note of many of her inspirational slides – such as ‘everything is design’ and ‘drunk conversions are creative goldmines!’. I was so inspired that as soon as I got home I read everything I could find on her – even purchased one of her prints!

Prue Jones
Prue Jones presentation was unexpectedly interesting. Prue works in Service Design (ie. design we all use but don’t own like Spotify and Netflix). A big part of Prue’s job is research, which meant she wanted to research us – her audience. She asked us all to visit the same website and we proceeded to answer questions on the large presentation screen by using our phones. We watched the data tally right in front of our eyes, it was great fun! Prue then went on to discuss the scary topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It was super-intriguing and made me realise how important it is to keep up to date with AI developments.

David Leavitt and David Torres – Cyrcle
Just as the audience was left shaking in their boots… out walks David Leavitt and David Torres from Cyrcle. I thought to myself “wow, this is either gonna make or break the wrap-up of this conference *wince*,” but it totally MADE it!!!

Imagine two typical LA artists, who look like they have never left the 90s and who love their cat dearly!

This duo was entertaining, funny, confusing and informative all at the same time. I appreciated their honesty as the pair scrolled through an endless number of photos, giving us a sneak peek of what their living / working lifestyle has been like. I will always remember watching as they told us when the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air attended their first art show and then proceeded to sing the theme song and dance around the stage, as if they had done this many times before!!!

 

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

The Design Conference Brisbane 2017 // PART 1

The Design Conference (TDC) 2017, had us excited to hear the future role of design in our world. With an awe-inspiring line-up, 680+ guests and a great location, we knew we were in for one hell of a ride!

Hannah – Senior Designer, Salt Design

Representing Salt Design, I shared in the event with my two salty colleagues, two of our Salty clients and a (new) friend I made at last year’s TDC – which made it all the more enjoyable!

A key theme throughout TDC which resonated with me, especially as a Senior Designer looking to inspire our team, was epitomised by a single slide in Mike Rigby’s presentation (ECD – R/GA): “Design is a movement not an industry.”

So, what is it that drives this movement? Designers who have the hunger, the right attitude, the ability to amplify their creativity through technology, and understand the answer to the ‘why’. That’s what!

It’s never too late to discover our creative journey, play more to develop our creative identity or take our side projects to the next level. As designers, we should always be learning, or as the guys from UsTwo put it –”shlearning!” (share learning). Working as a collaborative team who are willing to “give the world a wobble, ay” (Dean Poole, Alt Group), and solve design through human connection.

Highlight
Dean Poole – an extraordinary mind, full of creative twists! Such a wicked talk and not surprisingly the People’s Choice awardee! New Zealand designers seem to have a creative edge I find fascinating and Dean had us captivated within seconds. It was such a pleasure to meet Dean on Day 2 and thank him for blowing our creative minds!

 

Bree – Designer, Salt Design

Camille Walala
What a great way to kick off The Design Conference for 2017!

French born, London based commercial artist Camille explained how she went from selling cheese, to failing to sell her work at market stalls, to partying in London, to collaborating and travelling the world creating murals, collaborating with fashion labels, restaurants, shopping centres and much more!

Camille gave a great insight into the importance of creating opportunities for yourself – even if you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. That taking those opportunities works to your advantage and create even bigger and better opportunities – all you need to do is say YES!

“It’s never too late to have fun.” Listening to her journey made me realise the importance of persistence and to keep creating even when things don’t work out as planned.

Dean Poole
Creative Director, Dean Poole gave a really engaging, interesting and inspiring talk. Some of his work was on the more weird and wonderful side, while others were more deep, spiritual and full of meaning.

He explained many of his eccentric personal projects – which left the audience in hysterics! Dean has inspired me to want to consistently create, as he demonstrated that almost anything can be a creative personal project – if you want it to be.

It was fun to get a small glimpse inside the mind of someone so interesting and creative. Dean encouraged me not to take your life too seriously and to start creating and doing the things I want to do NOW.

Nadia Hernández
Much like her work, Nadia’s talk was bursting full of passion, colour and energy. She focused on the theme of freedom and fear and explored the subject of “To be free, is to have no fear” and how she integrates that theme in her work using text, illustration and colour.

Having graduated with a degree in Fashion, she then went off to pursue a career in graphic design. Nadia confessed that she didn’t actually have any drawing skills, that she couldn’t pattern make or even sew!

Sharing this fact made me realise the importance of experimentation and how it’s helpful to finding what kind of style and practice of design especially works for each individual designer. Much like Camille’s talk, Nadia explored the advantages of taking any opportunities that come to you – as they can lead you to many unexpected creative ventures . . . even something as wacky as Youtubing how to paper mache a life-size baby elephant!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

Turning big ideas into winning results // Brisbane State High School

At Salt, we’re known for great design – usually the end product is an A4 Report, brochure, business card, poster or pull-up banner.

So how excited were we when approached to design, print and install two HUGE murals in one of Brisbane State High School’s (BSHS) Sports Stadiums. What an amazing opportunity to show how design at any scale can inspire, engage and solve even the most challenging of briefs!

Changing a client’s brief

When first contacted, the brief was to design 26 x individual banners to be installed into a VERY large sports arena. However at the site inspection we quickly realised the walls of the stadium were already jammed-packed with ‘visual noise’ – acoustic panelling, basketball hoops, air vents, steel girders, loudspeakers, glass panels. The last thing these walls needed was even more stuff!!!

Instead, we proposed to design and create two eyecatching murals (one for either end of the stadium) which would draw everyone’s focus to the designs.

 

94 years, 26 sports and 2 corporate colours

The purpose of the banners from the original brief were to display and celebrate the School’s brilliant sporting achievements spanning over 94 years (1922-2016). Each premiership year in each sport (26 sports in total) was to be represented. Just how that could be done in a logical, eye-catching manner was a challenge in design planning.

A future-proofed design

The requirement for the murals is that they can be added to at the end of each year. Sports who have won their annual premiership will have the year added to their sport’s ‘honour roll’. Our design enables white vinyl cut lettering to be applied – with ample space for the School’s anticipated sporting excellence to continue in every sport for many years to come!

No photos please

Due to the potential limitations of using actual photographs within the design, our client requested that we find an alternative means by which to represent each sport. Planning for the longevity of the artworks (envisaging issues such as changes to uniforms, student privacy and potential copyright ownership of photographic images) lead us to opting for developing silhouette illustrations for each sport – some of which we added the School’s actual sporting uniform to provide even stronger visual links to BSHS.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

Our design was based on a ‘layered’ image approach using the School’s corporate colour palette. Having already worked with the school, we understood their strong drive to encourange and empower students. So we added another ‘layer’ to the design by including motivational quotes which adds a sense of celebration of achievements and recognition that it is not about winning – but doing your best.

Getting the job done before the school bell

Timing for the production and installation of the murals was critical – the murals needed to be installed before the first day of school! We received final artwork approval two days before Christmas! Printing and planning for the installation took place during the first and second weeks of January.

Installation took a VERY long day. Planning was crucial as it involved hiring a specialised crane/lift which weighed less than the restricted requirements for the timber flooring in the stadium. Watch our video below to see how the day went…

The siren may have sounded – but the games have only just begun!

We are so pleased with the result! And even better is that our client is too! There is now a strong point of visual focus within the stadium – which reinforces the School’s visual brand and it’s vision for the School, its students and the entire school community.

Perhaps, as the clock counts down the last seconds of the next nail-biting game – it provides some winning motivation!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

 

 

LIA Queensland: Letterpress
@ The Bacon Factory

On Tuesday evening, LIA Queensland (Lithographic Institute of Australia) invited members and guests to look back at the world that was letterpress printing, with a visit to the Bacon Factory at Design College Australia (DCA).

The Bacon Factory and all its letterpress goodness was created through passion and a commitment to the craft of printing by designer, educator, curator and dreamer, Clint Harvey. Letterpress has been missing from the design scene for the past 20 years. That is, until this dedicated group of letterpress lovers at DCA took on the task of preserving the equipment, to rediscover the techniques and preserve the past for the future.

During the evening, members and guests delved into the history and gained an understanding to letterpress and its origins. Various forms of type were explored, from chromatic to wood and cast metal.

Guests were fortunate to have the rare opportunity to create their own personal type from metal.

The challenge for we Salty folk now – to create some fabulous designs which just HAVE to be printed Letterpress!!!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

 

The Design Conference – Day 1

Wow! One day down, one day to go… This year’s Design Conference (TDC) is being held in our hometown, Brisbane and we sent along two Salty designers to marvel in the exceptional line-up of national and international guest speakers – making for one impressive design event! **insert squeals of excitement!**

Finding your way to awesomeness!

There was a feeling of excitement and anticipation as well-over 700 people entered the Brisbane Powerhouse main auditorium. A huge screen flashing the TDC branding and pumping tunes greeted us to kick-off the conference.
(Image profiles below from TDC Website)


Feature Talk #1
Jessica Hische, Letterer

Jessica Hische is a lettering artist, illustrator, author, and self-described “avid internetter” working in San Francisco and Brooklyn.
Read her full profile on TDC website or visit her website. (Images above far right from Jessica’s Website)

As one of our all-time favourite creatives, Jessica was one speaker we couldn’t wait to see! And her presentation did not disappoint!

Stemming from the idea ‘More about the letterform, less about the decoration’, Jessica told her journey from earlier works to where she is now, going into detail of the process and production behind the end result. Her lettering is about substance and style, and really knowing the story behind what you are creating. Creating her Penguin Drop Caps Cover series certainly meant she needed to value the content and perspective of the readers.

Jessica continued discussing her process through a number of examples including those for Starbucks, MailChimp, Eventbrite, Penguin and Johanna Basford. We agree with her, that client’s love to see the process work or reasons behind things you changed on their existing design and it’s important to be sensitive to a client’s existing brand (who knows the client may have created it in the first place!!).

She also acknowledged that while we can all be immersed in and experiment with different creative paths, it’s imperative to have a trustworthy relationship with other creative people to help you when you need it. Her historical-feel café wall design was a good example, where she created the Illustrator file but left it up to a production team to bring it to life on the wall.

We loved her honest, funny and intelligent talk, which also highlighted how ‘you have to love the day to day, not just the end result’. It’s not a race to the finish line, as you discover more about yourself, improve your process and find your style… your awesomeness!

 

 

Feature Talk #2
Branden Harvey

I’m a storytelling photographer with really goofy hair. I used to think my dream was to be a photographer. Sure, that’s my job, but I’ll let you in on a secret: My dream isn’t to be a photographer anymore. Right now I’m telling stories with a camera, and that’s fulfilling for me. But I’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve. And in 10 years, I hope to have a few more.
Read his full profile on TDC Website or visit his website.

Branden focussed on ‘pivoting’ through life to become a better you. While it’s important to have goals, it’s also fantastic to experiment and build on who you are. He spoke about writing down your top five inspirational people and finding ways you can take a piece from each of them, to pave your journey.

Don’t try to mimic someone else’s journey – choose your legacy.

Wow! Branden’s presentation left us full of good vibes and inspired to make a positive contribution to our community through our work.

 

 

Feature Talk #3
Emily Woollett, Creative Director – Paper Stone Scissors

Emily loves to create powerful brand stories that engage, resonate and inspire a response. It’s not just the story of the product, place or service, but uncovering the juicy bits, the ideals, the personality that captures the true essence of the brand.
Read her full profile on TDC Website or visit the Paper Stone Scrissors website.

‘Superawesomeness’ was the first slide of Emily’s presentation which delved into taking her approach to building brand stories and applying this to real life. We could resonate with the stage of life Emily is in and how looking back on her processes and life values was important to shape what she is doing now. That is, we all get busy with life and sometimes forget to take time for ourselves.

She gave us her top ten tips:

  1. Dare to begin (little and often)
  2. Make friends with fear (versus excitement)
  3. Value your values
  4. Phone home
  5. Focus on your super strengths (collaborate)
  6. Find your story
  7. Understand your process
  8. Don’t blame others
  9. Make work you love (even if it’s on the side)
  10. Work it out by doing.

 

Feature Talk #4
Kitiya Palaskas, Artist & Designer

Kitiya Palaskas is a designer specialising in the creation of props, installations, sets, and artwork using craft-based techniques.
TDC profile sums her up well. Check out more of her work online.

Now she is one rad chick! And we’re not just talking about her fabulous outfit today, or when she was a rapper!

Kitiya’s vibrant, fun personality shines not only through her work but her presentation today, showing how she embraces creativity and turns her limited experience into a dream job!
She’s a jill-of-all-trades, not necessarily fitting into the proverbial ‘box’, but that’s quite ok with her (and us!!).

She wasn’t afraid to mention all the things she didn’t know at first and how she googled her way through some questions in client meetings. Explaining her approach and process provided us with an insight into finding your craft and knowing how to rock it!

Her final statement was ‘success through gratitude’ and we couldn’t agree more!

 

Feature Talk #5
Lisa King, Visual Artist

Lisa King is a self-taught designer and artist based in Adelaide. Her imaginative and stylish portraiture crosses mediums – oil, acrylic, aerosol and computer-generated imagery.
Read her full profile on TDC Website or visit her website.

Art is life. It was great to see photos of Lisa’s exterior and interior murals, however, perhaps the most intriguing part to her talk was the time lapse of her Photoshop process. Her technique was amazing and watching the video provided insight into how she creates her digital pieces. The tone and detail in her work is impressive.

 

Feature Talk #6
Timba Smits, Art Director / Illustrator

Timba Smits is an award-winning designer, visual artist, illustrator and part-time crime fighter living in East London.
Read his full profile on TDC Website or visit his website.

This is one cracking illustrator and creative dude. His talk titled ‘Paddle against the flow’ covered illustration and its integration with typography and layout… oh and his love for Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Who remembers Wooden Toy magazine?! We certainly do! Hunting down a free printed copy whenever they were released was a must! Well it was actually some of Timba’s first works.

He is passionate about editorial layouts and creating a typographic headline to match each featured artwork.

We were shown a detailed illustration of a ‘made-up’ cityscape produced for an Amazon campaign, promoting that they deliver anywhere. And what made it even more awesome, was how he included many hidden elements such as the Ghostbuster building, a DeLorean – even himself with his girlfriend! Best of all – his client was totally cool with it!

While he is well recognised for his retro style illustration, Timba has taken new directions to further his style. One aspect he’s been working on is “taming the beast” – don’t go overboard with the design – strip it back and keep it simple.

Timba had the opportunity to move to London and now works for The Church of London as Creative Director, working on iconic magazine Little White Lies and Huck Magazine. His creative process to produce the cover illustrations is incredible!

If you live in Melbourne, be sure to check out Timba’s solo exhibition ‘Role Models’, inspired by cinema and movie culture, which reference his magazine covers.

T’s number one top tip ‘Good things take time. Great things take a lifetime.’

Cheers for awesome presentation Timba!

 

Feature Talk #7
Jonathan Calugi, Artist

(Note to all readers – this bio is to be read with a deliciously gorgeous Italian accent!)

It all starts with two dots and a line •• –

Jonathan Calugi is an illustrator from Italy and it is from his self-proclaimed chaotic workspace, that he creates clean illustration and pattern works. Each piece is a take on his quirky child-like doodles with minimal lines and simple, uncomplicated colours.
Read his full profile on TDC Website or view his work on Behance.

We loved how he introduced himself through his gradual illustration of his two cats, to which he then added his parents, then himself and his partner – this was his story in a way only he could portray so creatively!

It’s the energy he creates with a single line that makes Jonathan’s work so fascinating! His ability to create many viewpoints through the telling of a story from one perspective through to another in an array of patterning – all with a single line was awesome!

He was very passionate in his talk about taking his doodles (which he said we may think are ugly, but he simply loves) and turning them into stylised artworks.

Jonathan’s work for Nike and his development of typography by a continuous line were but a select few of our favourite works from his presentation. Truly exquisite!

Cheers TDC for a truly awesome day one!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

The changing workplace

Sometimes it’s the obvious which appears a revelation when presented from a new perspective. Like understanding (and actually accepting) that work is but one element of our complicated lives. For most of us it’s a pretty big part – and often one which impacts on other areas of our life and the lives of those around us. Equally we must accept that work can be effected by the other areas of our lives in both good and bad ways . . .

This was the central theme to a presentation Salt attended yesterday to mark the launch of 2015 Mental Health Week.

In many workplaces it is considered ‘unprofessional’ to let our personal lives effect our performance at work – but can we really be expected to leave our worries, hassles, loves, anxieties, highs and lows at the door each work day? Potentially this misguided expectation can compound emotional issues to a point where we may struggle to cope and perform our job.

The challenge to acknowledge, respect and accept that mental health issues may at times affect a person’s ability at work. We would recognise this if someone arrived at work with a broken arm! So why are we expected to ‘suck it up’ ‘get on with the job’ and leave our personal issues at the door?

David Cooke, the first non-asian Managing Director of Konica Minolta (Australia) provided an insight into how he has approached this issue and changed the workplace culture of his organisation. He explained how through even the smallest of gestures we can encourage, empower and support our staff. And by doing so we can enrich their working lives and improve the efficiency and productivity of an entire organisation.

If we can identify a computer not working correctly and take steps to repair it – we need to enact a process to support and assist any member of our team if they are not functioning at their best. The awareness of mental health as a medical issue is increasing. However we appear to still struggle with accepting and dealing with it in the workplace as practically as we would if it was a broken arm or a head-cold. If we value ourselves and our staff, workplace culture needs to evolve to one which is more understanding, supportive and accepting.

Useful links
Human Rights
Open Minds
Queensland Mental Health Commission

Pictured // Our information pack including neon piggy banks!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

The value of paper + print // Brisbane Event

This week we attended a breakfast event in Brisbane, as part of an industry-wide campaign providing knowledge and resources to help print & design businesses promote paper and print to our clients and potential clients.

The presentation confirmed what we believe – that the printed word is a critical part of multi-channel communications. And that print on paper is innovative – inks, paper ranges, embedded technological devices – it is most definitely NOT the ‘poor cousin’ that many in the social and digital spaces are trying to convince us!

During her presentation, Kellie Northwood (Executive Director of Two Sides Australia (TSA) Limited) detailed how print and design companies can make better use of paper and print.

Attendees were provided with the results of qualitative research into marketing efficacy, brand recall, return on investment and sustainability. Research that confirms the power of print in today’s diverse communications environment.

Supported by research, data, and case studies highlighting the effectiveness of print – we need to promote the strengths of print. The creative effects and return on investment that can be achieved through paper and print cannot be replicated solely by electronic communications.

At the conclusion of the presentation we received a copy of The Industry Report – a 72-page toolkit that we can use to educate our clients about the success and relevance of print as a critical part of multi-channel communications. Certainly a compelling read . . .

Proof that print rocks!

Experience the power of the bookbook – IKEA

Direct Mail targets your kitty

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker

Images: Speech bubbles // Goodie bag materials