Australian INfront

Smirnoff Australia Limited Edition

Smirnoff Australia are releasing 2 limited edition "twisting" bottle designs. One by Beastman, one by Nanami Cowdroy. In an interesting social media move, Beastman has taken over the Smirnoff Facebook Page. The virtual peek into his studio is worth checking out. Visit: www.startpure.com.au

Live the Language

Somehow stumbled upon this today. Nice typography, shot, edited and graded nicely too. Client: EF International Language Centers. Directed by Gustav Johansson. Campaign site: ef.com/livethelanguage

Win Without Pitching

For years AGDA has been tut-tutting and wagging its finger at free pitching — unfortunately for all concerned, it's just how most clients operate and many studios and agencies are caught in a difficult situation — say no to 75% of new business that comes your way or engage in the stressful, expensive and moronic game of free pitching.

AGDA have brought Blair Enns, author of the manifesto 'Win Without Pitching' — and a better use of membership fees, I cannot remember. Nice one AGDA, very useful. I'll be in the front row.

Book online at AGDA's site.

The Ride Sydney Experiment - Prelude

Very cute viral video designed to generate excitement for a new concept bicycle store. Video by Angus at TheSkeletonKey and typography on the site by Daniel Dittmar from Flood Studio

For more, visit Ride Sydney

AGDA Question Time 3

AGDA QUESTION TIME

Series 3

THE PANEL
Tim Sutherland – Studio Brave
Matthew McCarthy — Clear
Mel Cousipetcos — Paper Stone Scissors

DATE
Thursday 17 Feb
6:30pm sharp

Limited seats, book now
vic@agda.com.au

VENUE
Canyon
31 Greeves St
St Kilda

COST
$10 entry
AGDA members only

Food and drinks supplied

QUESTION?

Each month, three AGDA members will be invited to sit beneath the spotlight, and poked and prodded by your questions on all things professional.

We aim to promote open, stimulating dialogue between students and professionals.

Seats will be limited to just 20 AGDA members. You may reserve a seat for the next series if you miss out on this one.

Brands with Purpose

Perhaps stretching the Australian thread here a little, but here's the site for Purpose, the clever peeps behind GetUp! and many other social movement brands. Yes they are in NYC, but I believe the owners and originators of the whole thing are Australian (please do correct me if I'm wrong).

Asia Now & Beyond

Asia Now & Beyond: Creative And Sensitive Design Across Cultures is a new event from AGDA NSW which looks to explore what knowledge and cultural sensitivity is needed in developing successful visual communications and works within the Asia Pacific region.

Through their work, Chris Bosse, James De Vries, Ian McArthur and Susan Saretzki will share their experiences, insights, observations, successes and challenges in designing for Asian markets and audiences.

WHERE
Monday 5 July
. 6pm start.
NSW Trade and Investment Centre

Level 47, MLC Centre

19 Martin Place, Sydney

COST
$35 AGDA/DIA/RAIA Members
$55 Non-members

$20 AGDA Student members
$35 Student non-members


RSVP
Anita Lyons
Ph 02 9975 4008
nsw@agda.com.au

Higher Learning - Day One Wrap

On Thursday and Friday 16th/17th of June, I attended the Higher Learning fashion conference at The Ivy Sunroom at The Ivy.  The audience was predominantly made up of fashion and accessory design students, aspiring designers and a sprinkling of PR and fashion retailers who had paid $250 a ticket to listen to a cross section of some of the most successful entrepreneurs working in the fashion industry.

The first speaker was Amy Sutherland from PR agency Sweaty Betty who provided an overview of the company and their approach to dealing with clients and the media.  A few helpful suggestions were provided regarding being consistent with ones brand and nurturing relationships with clients and the media.

Michaela Lease –Griffiths was next and she provided a basic introduction to the role of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) and its role as a business to business event and specifically as a marketing tool for fashion designers.  A few interesting questions were raised during question time such as “what is a lookbook?” and “what do we put in a linesheet?”.   It became apparent that there were numerous audience members who had never worked in fashion and this was their first introduction to the industry.  Although there were a few raised eyebrows from the more jaded participants, (I’ll admit to being surprised at some of the ‘greener’ comments) it’s important to acknowledge that events such as this are a great introduction for individuals trying to decide whether or not to pursue a career in fashion.   I’m sure retention rates in fashion or design courses might improve if students engage in some research such as attending conferences, before actually applying for a place in a course.   Overall, Michaela provided and informative session, specifically aimed at aspiring fashion designers and the role of RAFW in providing a means with which to sell designs and reach a greater audience.

Natasha Sefton, women’s buyer and fashion designer for General Pants had the audience twittering in anticipation of the advice that she might provide for aspiring designers.  She provided a concise and informative overview of her role in buying and designing apparel for General Pants.  More specifically, she advised potential designers of some of the tactics to avoid when trying to secure stockists. She advised designers to research a company, find out the role of employees and learn names before contacting a company.  The session was practical and also provided advice for designers to cull each collection and to remember that at the end of the day, “fashion is about selling clothes, not about what’s on the catwalk”.

Online entrepreneur Kath Purkis, was next and provided an overview of her company before outlining her strategy to developing a business brand and communicating it to a global audience. She provided technical advice regarding utilising only organic SEO and by strenuously researching for a web designer that would suit her business. She admitted to seeking a quote from anywhere up to 40 web designers and that she ‘gets rid’ of web developers after a while because they become ‘duds’. She recommended that when designing a website that there is no need to pay a developer to build an ecommerce system as there are plenty of off-the-shelf products available that allow business owners to cut costs.  
Kath also had some interesting suggestions when it came to the topic of fashion bloggers.  She described utilising fashion designers to promote products and the brand. An audience member asked where it might be possible to find these infamous fashion bloggers and she suggested that designers look into fashion magazines.

Luke Sales was the final speaker for the first day and rather than deliver a prepared speech, he sat down with host Glynis Tailor-Nash to discuss his label and their work.  Luke provided some interesting insight into the label such as where they draw inspiration from, their design process and Luke’s thoughts on the media response to their collections. Luke had a few interesting details about his approach to developing a range and presenting it on the catwalk.  According to the designer, his passion lies with putting on a show and he feels that when people attend a fashion show, that it should be more about the ‘spectacle’ of a dazzling show.  He described spending a significant amount of time preparing for a show and developing the characters for each show.
 
The first day was a whirlwind of information, although in summary the most important pieces of information communicated were:

1. Understand your brand. Know your target market and communicate your message effectively.
2. Understand your clients brand and communicate that through your work, but pay careful attention to the way that your brand is perceived with regards to the professional relationships you cultivate.
3. The fashion industry is hard work and far removed from the glamour and gloss represented on the pages of fashion magazines. Luke Sales pointed out that he was only able to start paying himself after five years of hard work. As an aspiring designer expect to work in a variety of odd jobs to make ends meet.
4. Fashion is a business and to make it in this business, you need to have strong business skills. Undertake a business course or pay someone who can provide you with regular advice and handle your financial accounts.
5. Do your research on supplying the necessary materials for your designs and ensure you can deliver quality products when you start taking orders.
 
Stay tuned for my day two wrap, coming soon...

How to position your design studio

From a client's point of view, we may not be as different as we think we are. This new article in Talk from Mark Pollard looks at a simple technique to give your studio focus: How to position your design studio.