Tag Archive for: salt design

ClinRad Logo and Brand Identity

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Salt Design was recently approached by Clinical Radiology Specialists to develop their branding identity.

Our new client came to us with relatively no creative brief and a minimal idea of what they wanted . . . EXCEPT for the very definite request NOT to use blue or purple.

This was a totally new business venture in an already saturated local marketplace. Immediately we knew this would be a challenging creative brief – to design a brand which would stand out in the crowd!

Part of our brand development process is to research our client’s market space, investigating the branding and visual profiles of their competitors, local influencers and key stakeholders. It very quickly became apparent just why our client was particularly against the use of this colour palette . . . sooooo many competing brands featured blue or purple as their defining colour. And this was not just a stereotypical feature with the radiology industry, but across multiple medical-related industries!

Blue for you

From the perspective of communicating emotion through colour, using blue for the medical/health space is to some degree understandable as it conveys honesty, reliability and strength – all qualities we look for in our healthcare professionals. However, when an entire industry bases their brand on the same colour palette, it leaves limited capability to visually separate your brand from that of your competitors.

So – how do we create the visual brand for a totally new industry player that ensures they stand out from the crowd in such a homogeneous market?

Such a terrific creative challenge!

What’s in a name?

Our design development started with the Practice name – “Clinical Radiology Specialists”. While a good description of what the Practice did, it possessed little personality and no recall ability. What we needed was a name which was unique and stuck in people’s minds. A name which could provide a strong visual graphic mark (not a typographic essay!).

We created a unique new word by blending the first two words . . . ClinRad.

This single ‘word’ then lead us to the development of the typographic mark for the brand.

Breaking the mould

With blue and purple off the table, we had to find alternative colour combinations that tell the right brand story.

After detailed experimentation, we chose lime green, aqua and orange. Lime green conveys good health and positivity; aqua holds similar calming attributes as blue; and orange provides a striking discord. The combination of these colours embodies a modern and energetic brand palette. And most certainly breaks the mould from medical industry blues!

Creating a typestyle

Early in the design development process, we decide to retain the full business name “Clinical Radiology Specialists” as a supporting byline. This ensured clarity of the function of the Practice. Not only would the brand provide a ‘cool’ new word, it also instantly presents the explanation of what “ClinRad” does… Simples!

In keeping with the ‘hip’ name and edgy colour palette, we initially trialled typefaces that were a noticeable shift from the stereotypical norm used by their competitors.We developed two san-serif typestyles to distinguish the separate parts of the name. We referenced existing typefaces, then manipulated, styled and refined them to create a unique typographic mark with sharp angles and clean edges.

Working through case variations gave us a multitude of design solutions. However we wanted the typography to present how the name would be phonetically read (ie. how the name would be spoken when seeing the logo). By ensuring sufficient contrast in both typestyle and colour between the two word parts, we provided a visual guide as to how the name is pronounced.

Standing out in a crowd

Through considered choices and by pushing beyond the boundaries of what is the expected norm within the industry, we have created a truly unique brand identity for ClinRad.

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

 

Additional to brand development, we designed and produced start-up collateral, business cards, appointment cards, referral pads, shop front signage and poster advertising.

ClinRad Logo design and Brand identity

 

QMHC strategic documents & branding

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The importance of a consistent visual brand across a document suite

QMHC is an organisation which drives reform of the mental health and alcohol and other drugs systems in Queensland. Its role is to encourage and facilitate change to improve the mental health and well-being of all Queenslanders.

Salt Design has developed a strong visual profile for QMHC across multiple platforms and projects.

Understanding QMHC’s vision and purpose has enabled us to design engaging, positive, on-message collateral. By ‘getting’ what our client does, understanding their strategies and reason for being, and knowing their audiences, we have such a strong foundation on which to create purposeful designs.

It’s a point we have always felt so strongly about – that we MUST know our clients to be able to successfully create their brand and effectively profile their business purpose. Our work must never reflect our design styles. Rather, it should always communicate who our client is and visually present their business personality.

Art illustrating life

When developing a collection of strategic documents for QMHC, we needed to create a visual brand which represented the organisation’s future plans. A brand which engaged with key industry stakeholders, government, support organisations and the general public. Most importantly, a visual brand which reflected positively the sensitive topic of mental health and wellbeing.

During the initial design briefing, QMHC provided us with a collection of artworks produced during art therapy workshops. The works were powerful portrayals of the very personal journeys of a group of people with lived experience of mental health issues.
Each artwork was a colourful, abstract, multimedia expression, as diverse as the individuals who created them. And they provided the key to the design solution we were after!

Consistent visual branding

We still needed a means by which to ‘connect’ the artworks together within the initial document design. To do this, we selected an abstract painted background graphic. When combined with the artworks, this graphic provided colour, texture and visual interest.

The application of the painterly effect has been diverse. We have applied the graphic to multiple reports and supporting documents, posters, display banners, invitations, social media graphics and online resources.

We have also applied different brand colours to the graphic. By retaining the graphic and changing its colour gradients, we have created a new, fresh brand identity for the latest suite of corporate documents. It has provided a strong visual unity to the resources to make them truly a cohesive collection of information.

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

 

 

Salt is still shakin!

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Dear and valued clients, supporters and friends,
Wow! What a time we find ourselves in. Conditions are changing with each day and sometimes by the hour. There is little certainty as to where our lifestyle, our country and our global community health is headed. As a small business, we are doing everything we can to ride this rollercoaster!

We’re here to assure you that Salt Design is continuing work through this period.

We are fortunate that our business capability and continuity is strong – so long as we have a Mac and internet access we can continue business as (un)usual as always!

Thank you!

We have been so humbled and energised by your support so far. All we ever want is to do great work with great people.

This remains the same and many of you have already proven why we love what we do so much!

Please take care of you

Above all, self-care and maintaining the health and wellbeing of our families and ourselves is of utmost importance.
Please take care, stay well, wash your hands regularly and keep in touch.

Together we have, and will, achieve great things!

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

 

ps. How apt are these cuties from our glorious collection of fun Salt and Pepper shakers – kinda says it all really
#togetherapart2020

Femeconomy eBook design and social media graphics

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Working with Women for Women

Femeconomy is a membership organisation that fosters gender equality through educating consumers on the power of the purse and the endorsement of female-led brands. Their Female Leader Conversations eBook highlights successful woman and their outstanding results in business.

Salt Design has worked with Femeconomy to design and create two recent editions of these eBooks.

Design considerations

Every project has its own unique range of considerations during our initial design development stage. With the Female Leader Conversations eBook, there were numerous factors that impacted the design and final output. Some factors include technical requirements, whilst other considerations provided us with a strong creative direction…

Colour palette

Our client’s design brief held a very definite stipulation regarding the document colour palette – that pink and purple were not to feature in any way whatsoever! What an awesome challenge – to escape the cliché and develop an aesthetically pleasing, feminine and empowering colour palette!

The 2020 colours, navy and teal, provided such a strong, professional balance being both subtle and the dramatic when applied to our design layout.

Image use

We encountered a technical limitation during the detailed design development process that needed to be resolved. Each featured professional supplied their own photographic digital image… some were landscape format; some portrait; some were close-up headshots; while others location-based. To accommodate each of the varying image formats, we designed multiple page layouts, with different image placement and orientations to ensure the most effective application of the supplied images. Our design solution gave the eBook a ‘magazine-style’ presentation – adding to the appeal and readability of the document.

Design for Social Media

Another factor which we set out to ‘solve’ with our design was that each eBook is distributed via Social Media. This required a design which enabled interactivity and compelled the reader to ‘click’ through to each Leader’s own website and social media channels.

Our client had previously encountered issues promoting the eBook on LinkedIn (their main distribution point). The platform would crop the cover image, cutting off the title and/or the featured Leader’s head. We designed the cover to resolve this issue and ensure all information was confined within the graphic boundaries stipulated for LinkedIn.

To assist in the digital promotion of each e-Book, we also designed digital images for Femeconomy’s blog, email signatures, Facebook and Instagram posts.

Pride in our purpose

Gender equality is a topic that we feel strongly about in our studio. We felt privileged and empowered to contribute to this inspiring and insightful project. Working with an organisation which actively promotes strong women, and female-led brands gave us both purpose and pride in our creative contribution to these impactful documents!

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

 

Femeconomy eBook design and social media assetsFemeconomy eBook design and social media assets

Brisbane // International Women’s Day 2019

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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.

Untitled. {The Design Conference}

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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

 

When the world is your oyster – you need to look as good as you taste!

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We eat with our eyes, so it made perfect sense for our client Freycinet Marine Farm to approach Salt Design to refresh their corporate identity. You can view our initial re-brand project here!

Wide format print production

Once again, Salt Design’s wide format print capabilities have proven so valuable to our designs! We have recently printed a suite of menu signs for the counter display! We are so pleased to have replaced the old make-shift signs with these delicious-looking posters!

Printed on our Roland XR-640 Wide Format Printer, using BJBALL Rhino W/F PP White Film Solvent SB300 ensuring the menus are easily cleaned and will continue to look like new!

Recent accolades

Recently, Freycinet Marine Farm came second in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards. Recognised nationally and internationally, this prestigious Award is proof of our client’s quality products, business acumen and progressive approach to tourism.

Congratulations Julia, Giles and all the Freycinet Marine Farm Team!

Next challenge

We have loved our involvement with Freycinet Marine Farm so far! We hope to begin designing a new website for them in the new year. . .

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

 

 

Learning the right way to be a Wayfinder

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AGDA Afterhours – Conversations with Despina Macris – 27 April

On Wednesday night our newest Salty team member (Gemma!), listened intently as Despina Macris, Managing Co-Director of Dotdash, presented a snippet of what it is like to be a Wayfinder.

Despina held the attention of the AGDA community as she described Dotdash’s creative process, the variety of professions which are employed to work together and the incredible projects her team has worked on. By the end of her presentation, it seemed everyone in the room wanted to adapt their Graphic Design career to become a Wayfinder!

Having a ‘scaffolding education’
To produce wayfinding systems that work well and stand the test of time, a range of professions must work to together; such as Visual communicators, Interior designers, Architects, Industrial designers and Urban planners to name a few. Despina pressed the importance of having a ‘scaffolding education’, which is reflected in the qualifications the team at Dotdash boasts.

Finding your way around Brisbane
Despina described a wayfinding system that I see on a daily basis, and am sure most Brisbanites would recognise – you know the yellow pedestrian street signs plotted around Brisbane’s inner city? This is a Dotdash award winning project! It is a Multilingual Pedestrian Wayfinding and Signage system produced for the Brisbane City Council. Have you ever noticed there are five different languages on each sign! FIVE! It’s a typographic nightmare, but necessary to help locals and tourists navigate their way around our beautiful city. All Dotdash had to begin with was the already standing street poles, the rest was up to them. With design precision Dotdash produced a system that is clean and understandable at a glance.

How to move millions from A to B everyday
For everyone who has hopped on a form of transport in Sydney, you would have definitely been directed by the next project Despina spoke about. Dotdash worked with Transport for New South Wales to design the Multi Modal Wayfinding System. On a daily basis millions of people rely on this beautifully designed wayfinding system and train signage to navigate around the HUGE city! Maybe that’s why I don’t get lost when visiting Sydney!

Good design takes time
One of the longest running projects the team has worked on was Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, which was 7 years in the making. Despina explained how important it was to get the wayfinding exactly right − especially to enable patients and family to find their way in a short space of time.

Wayfinding design plays a part in all our lives, to make our life easier – sometimes without us even realising. Imagine a world without this form of design – it would be a pretty confusing place.

AGDA Queensland holds these free, short and sweet speaker events monthly. Keep an eye on their Facebook for upcoming events and follow on Instagram.

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

 

To view a previous presentation by Despina visit The Society for Experiential Graphic Design Chicago 2015.
Wayfinding images credited to Dotdash. Event image taken by AGDA Queensland.

 

Typism Conference 2015

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The way we do the things we do
This week Salt had the amazing opportunity to attend the second annual “Typism” conference which was devoted solely to a topic close to our hearts {think our 2015 “Drop Caps” Salt Calendar} – TYPE!

The format
The format for the day was very simple – seven speakers each presenting a 45-minute review of who, what and why. The introduction to each speaker were brilliant visual presentations in themselves! And the speaker’s design capabilities shone even in their presentations.

The venue
The Conference was held at Event Cinemas at Robina on the Gold Coast. What a great venue for over 250 attendees! Comfy seats, easy-to-see speakers, brilliant visual presentations on a HUGE screen AND a speed-shopping opportunity at lunchtime!

The speakers
Jessica Cruickshank, Jamie Clarke, Luke Lucas, Carla Hackett, Barry Spencer, Dave Foster, Jasmine Dowling.

When we grow up we want to be just like Carla Hackett and Jess Cruikshank {the internet versions of course!}

It was great to hear how each speaker was in their own way challenged and motivated by the same creative drive as our own. Their experiences and the professional career paths were as varied as the many typefaces (and fonts) that we saw on the day!

Lessons learnt

  • As designers we have a responsibility not just to reproduce text – but to appreciate and execute type in such a way that enhances its impact and interpretation. We should consider ourselves the monks of this new millennia. If we don’t design type well – who will??
  • A typeface is made up of fonts (not the other way around)
  • We all have moments of self doubt. How we respond to them is key to where they may take us.
  • It’s not a case of “Do what you love” but rather “Love what you do”. Discovering a passion for type can result in an entirely new career path or simply provide reassurance that we are already in the right job.
  • To become a well-rounded human being one must pursue another hobby totally different to a passion for type. For us it’s interior design, shoes, cats and our families!
  • Don’t be intimidated by what you can’t do … “Say yes then shit yourself later!” {thanks Jess Cruikshank!}
  • A little OCD is a good thing (Dave Foster estimated he spent 2,500 hours to design one of his fonts! Now that’s dedication!!!)
  • Even creative people need a process. We may want to be free and easy to design from the heart. But unless we have a process by which to realise our ideas the result may not be what we had first envisaged.
  • Pants are optional (only for those freelancers fortunate to work from home)
  • Must try frozen grapes!

Congratulations
Congratulations to Dominique Falla who organised this splendid event! The diversity of speakers was testament to Dominique’s personal passion for type and her desire to provide a forum to share, educate, connect and inspire with fellow ‘type-geeks’. So Dominique – when’s the next conference???

What now . . .
Already our focus on kerning and font styles has been heightened this week. Now we’re yearning for classes, pinning new ‘hand-drawn type’ boards and ‘gram-ing’ all things typographical.

We’re also off to find a new hobby . . . perhaps a trip to the beach is in order this weekend!

salt-shaker-signoffBecause everything is better with a sprinkle of salt!
SALT.Shaker
Feature image and guest speakers by Typism.

Typism Conference Goodie Bag featuring: Thank you. Group // TypographHer // Type Worship // Mi Goals // Everyday Cre8ive // brandless. // Mail Chimp // Aurelie Maron // Maverik Studio // Monotype

Jess Cruickshank Typism Presentation // Love her home studio and design process!

Dave Foster Typism Presentation // And this is a picture of an Owl!

 

Happy Australia Day mate!

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G’day! While it’s been a very rainy day here in Brisbane today, we’re all hoping {fingers crossed!!} the weather will clear up for our long weekend to celebrate Australia Day.

So… the countdown to backyard cricket, a barbie with friends, fish ‘n’ chips at the beach and dressing up is on! How will you celebrate Australia Day this year?

We’re collected a few of our favourite Salty summer essentials below to inspire you {and don’t forget to pray for sunshine!!}

1. Beach Umbrella – Acapulco // 2. Pineapple Ice Trays // 3. Cancer Council Ultra Sunscreen SPF 50+ // 4. Vegemite //
5. The Beach People // 6. Sunny Spot Beach Towel // 7. Dotti Summer Trilby // 8. Inflatable Flamingo //
9. Jungle Fever Love Rug // 10. Slim Metallic Copper Havaianas {must have thongs!}

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

Why use Salt?

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Here at SALT, we live design and we love applying our creative expertise to increase the profile and most importantly, the success of our clients’ business!

Operating across a variety of disciplines, we’ve seen and done it all! And we strongly believe every project will benefit from our experience.

If you’ve been following our blog – or are a first-time visitor (welcome!) – here’s an overview of who we are and what we do:

Why Salt? Let's get creative together!

  • branding development and application
  • corporate literature and annual reports
  • magazines, newsletters, promotional catalogues
  • promotional material (brochures, posters)
  • direct mail
  • press advertising
  • event materials and displays
  • signage
  • multimedia presentations
  • web development.

To see even more great work from our portfolio – head over to our website. And please contact us, via email or phone (we do love a chat!) so we can work together and be creative!

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

Hello!

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Design. Typography. Paper. Colour. Kerning. Ligatures. Photography. Illustration. Digital Print. Spot UV. Diecut. Burst Bind. Emboss . . . Do words like these get your creative tastebuds tingling? Here at Salt – it certainly does!

As a graphic design studio based in Brisbane, Australia, we offer complete graphic design and visual communication solutions.

We’re so excited to say hello and introduce our new blog – SALT.Shaker. It’s going to be our place to express our creativity, share our ideas, swap tips, show-off projects, ‘sigh’ with inspiration – and have some fun along the way!

Stay tuned to find out more about who we are, what we do – perhaps even who we do it for! Subscribe to our Blog and connect with us on Facebook and Pinterest.

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