Browsing: design

News
Sven Baker finds a silver lining in rejected flag designs
By

Designworks chief executive Sven Baker was at good odds to get one of his designs through to the final four of the Flag Consideration Project given he had five make the first cut. Alas, it was not to be, and after the decision was announced a few days ago, there’s been no shortage of commentary about the chosen options, with ‘lost opportunity’ being the prevailing theme among the design community and the opinionated folk of social media. But rather than wallow in self-pity at the injustice of it all, he decided to make the best of a bad situation. And what better way to drown a few design-related sorrows than with a nice vintage.

News
Turbulent Tweeters and the fickle fallibility of the national memory: the NZ flag saga continues
By

Today the Flag Consideration Panel announced the shortlist of the flag designs consisting of four, which eligible voters will rank in the first binding postal referendum later this year. Twitter responses on the matter range from ambivalent, to angry and some of them are, from our view, quite funny. The somewhat heated responses reminds us of other flag designs and national symbols which people loathed to begin with before they became beloved national icons. We take a look at a few examples after sharing some of our favourite tweets on the shortlisted designs.

News
OMD’s swanky new home
By

OMD Group vacated its College Hill premises, its home for over a decade, to shift into a stylish new office space in Mt Eden. Here’s the lowdown on the new space and the thinking behind it.

News
Back to black: Best Design Awards finalists aren’t afraid of the dark
By

It would be fair to that the Kiwi brand is somewhat synonymous with the colour black (or shade if you want to be pedantic). Not only do Kiwis have a penchant for donning black clothing (and other dark hues), with several online articles devoted to the fact, our national sports teams also rock it. The announcement of the finalists of this year’s Best Design Awards revealed a familiar thread – Kiwi graphic designers who work magic with the beloved hue.

News
Around the corner from everywhere: celebrating 100 years of the Coke bottle
By

If you were to drive your car across New Zealand, along the way sporadically visiting small towns with populations rarely exceeding 87 people, you’d encounter an assortment of experiences that vary as much as the topographical makeup of our two islands. But no matter how different each of these pitstops might be, one thing that you will almost invariably see wherever you go is Coca-Cola bottle. And this year, one of the most ubiquitous brands in Kiwi consciousness celebrates the 100th anniversary of its easily recognisable bottle.

News
The fate of the flag: the design thinking behind NZ’s biggest brand refresh
By

The re-design of the New Zealand flag has been a source of vigorous debate. New Zealanders have questioned whether we can afford the $26 million when so many other social systems need attention. Other New Zealanders have wondered whether we ought to redesign it at all when our forefathers fought and died under the flag while others think the change is long past due and we ought to rid ourselves of the Union Jack for another emblem more befitting of our current identity. Then of course there’s the design perspective. Some have questioned whether sourcing designs from the public was the way to go and have wondered whether the panel has enough design nous to make the right decision. We asked Designworks owner Sven Baker who had five designs make the long-list what he thinks and also had a chat to panel member and Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive Nicky Bell to see what the panel thinks a good flag should represent.

News
Better Burger’s delicious design
By

Burger joints appear to be popping up left right and centre, emerging as a better quality alternative to traditional fast-food chains. And Britomart-based Better Burger is trying to create a point of difference with its eye-catching branding.

News
Studio Alexander’s geometric effort wins Gareth Morgan’s flag comp
By

Over 9000 designs were submitted online as part of the government’s $27 million flag consideration campaign (and many of them were ‘avin’ a laff). But businessman and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, who is a big proponent of changing the flag—”to bury this artefact that tells a lie and is an insult to Maoridom”—didn’t feel the brief was adequate, didn’t feel people understood the history of the existing flag and didn’t feel the Treaty of Waitangi was being placed at the core of the process. So he decided to stump up $20k for an alternative competition and incentivise designers to come up with something that would tell the story of New Zealand. And Auckland design agency Studio Alexander beat out around 1000 entries for the prize with ‘Wā kāinga / Home’.

News
Study shows that trendy office spaces keep employees happier
By

A nationwide survey of office workers conducted by research agency Perceptive shows that 81 percent of Kiwi office workers believe the physical environment at their workplace has an impact on their happiness and job satisfaction, while nine out of ten workers agree that if they are happy at work, they are more productive. So StopPress looks at a few examples that are getting spatial design right. PLUS: galleries of hip office spaces from ad land and beyond.

News
A vexing question: Clemenger BBDO asks Kiwis what they stand for as the flag goes to the vote
By

As Eddie Izzard showed in one of his typically entertaining stand-up routines, flags were crucial when it came to claiming territories. The mark of British colonialism still sits in the top left hand corner of the New Zealand flag that was first flown in 1902, but not everyone wants it to stay that way, including John Key, so, as part of a $27.5 million two-year project, the government has launched the first public phase of a campaign that aims to get Kiwis engaged in the process of deciding whether we need a new one. PLUS: some of the ideas suggested so far and lessons from vexillology.

News
Bauer, Designworks and Accenture play the acquisition game with a purchase apiece
By

Rather than developing capabilities from the ground up, acquisitions provide an effective means by which companies can incorporate new skills into their offerings. This has been seen internationally in purchases by the likes of Google and Facebook. But this trend is by no means exclusive to the residents of Silicon Valley. On this side of the world, Bauer Media, Designworks and Accenture have all recently acquired businesses to consolidate their offerings.

News
BMD spruces up runway vehicle for Hawaiian Airlines
By

In celebration of Hawaiian Airline’s upcoming second anniversary on the New Zealand market, a secretive pair of New Zealand street artists, who work under the name BMD, were commissioned to paint one of the airline’s ground service trucks in their distinctive style.

News
Danielle Barclay on leading the Auckland charge for Greater Group
By

Founded 25 years ago and based in Melbourne, retail design specialist Greater Group recently crossed the Tasman to open an office here at the Steelworks Building in Mount Eden in Auckland. This is the fourth arm of the business to open and follows on from the opening of the branches in Hong Kong and Shanghai. And to lead this latest addition to its operation, Greater Group has sent across its general manager of global brand and strategy, Danielle Barclay, someone who is quite familiar with working in New Zealand, having worked her for several years earlier in her career. So StopPress asked her a few questions about what she hopes to acheive now that she’s back on this side of the ditch.

News
Capturing the essence of a shoe: Designworks and Yours combine art and retail for new season launch
By

To accompany the launch of its new season, shoe retailer Yours has collaborated with Designworks on a series of posters that “capture the essence of each shoe”. And while this might sound like a footwear-related reworking of a Zoolander line, Yours is treating the launch, which occurs at the new Designworks offices at 36 Lorne Street on 4 December, as part art exhibition, part retail showcase.

News
African safaris to prison cells: Gull service station spruces up its restrooms with themes
By

If horror films are anything to go by, then the restrooms of petrol stations aren’t necessarily the best place to visit—not so much because of the boogeymen lurking in the shadows, but more so because thought of bringing bare buttocks into contact with the toilet seat is genuinely terrifying. So, in an effort to make the pitstop experience slightly more enjoyable, independently owned fuel chain Gull has refurbished 14 of its petrol stations, giving them themes that would be more congruent with a quirky hotel than a petrol station.

News
Pams and Brother earn Pent Award plaudits for private label packaging
By

Known for bucking against the trend of plain-as-Jane packaging for grocery house brands, Foodstuffs’ latest investment into the design of its Pams flour range is proving to be a winner, with Auckland-based agency Brother picking up a gold award at the 2014 Pentawards, a global competition which recognises the best of packaging design.

News
Best Awards 2014: Alt Group dominates with haul of 14 gongs
By

Winners of the Best Design Awards, the Oscars of the New Zealand design industry, were announced last Friday night at Auckland’s Viaduct Centre, and showed off how talented our country’s designers are. The night belonged to Alt Group, which scooped up six gold pins, four silver pins, three bronze pins and a coveted purple pin, recognising its designs for Auckland arts organisation Studio One Toi Tū (formerly Artstation). The studio was also host to one hell of an after party.

News
Inside: Ocean Design
By

Wellington’s Ocean Design has been around for 26 years, but it’s been content to float under the radar. Now, after adding some new business to its list of very longstanding clients and bringing a few new staff onboard, managing director Blair Mainwaring pipes up.

News
Design working: a rundown of the Best Effect Award finalists
By

Design, said Apple founder Steve Jobs, is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. Or, put in a commercial context, whether it helps a company make money. And the Best Design Awards’ ‘Best effect’ category, whose finalists were announced this week, celebrates design that has produced a measurable effect on the success of an organisation or product, whether it be productivity, staff engagement, sales growth, bottom line or customer experience.

News
Lion launches a Kiwi product with a Scandinavian name, aims to give non-drinkers an adult choice
By

Scandinavia is so hot right now. So hot, in fact, that when Lion decided to launch its new range of low-sugar sodas, the company chose an old Skaldic word thought to mean ‘connected’ as the name of the product. Dubbed Hӧpt and sold in bottles that that seem more suited to beer or cider, Lion’s new range of non-alcoholic drinks is currently being advertised via billboards as a soda alternative that “contains less than half the sugar of leading regular soft drinks”.

1 2 3 4 5 … 9