design, process, research & other bullshit

  • Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) Awards 2008

  • One of the subjects at our final year at university asks each student to collaborate as a team in an effort to get us familiar with working in a quasi-studio environment.

    We were presented with a brief which involved the visual branding, design and production of a suite of strategic visual communication materials designed to promote and add value to the fourth year design professional creative studio at the University of Western Sydney. The objective was to create a visual brand that: » Expresses the professional standard of the students » Is recognised outside the confines of the university » Is fun yet professional

    Branding your own identity is possibly one of the hardest things you can do as a designer; and after toying with ideas ranging from the playful and rude (4th Base?), we settled with - ‘Rabbit Hole’. A name which probably won’t grab your attention at first glance, but will no doubt grow on you. The name Rabbit Hole stems from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The Rabbit Hole is forever changing and expanding, is a place that is creative and unexpected. Not to mention, the studio is hidden away in our humble building, much like a rabbit hole.

    Our brand identity included a number of applications and promotional items; from flyers, stationery, website, motion graphics, to a gallery space and environmental signage, this project was in no means a small undertaking, but it was something which we poured everything into, and something which we are very proud to have completed. You can see more images here.

    Months ago we had decided to enter this project into the AGDA 2008 Biennale Awards and had almost forgotten about it, until a week ago when we were asked to attend the awards evening in Adelaide. Not sure if we had won anything or not (and not expecting to, either), Fiona and I hesitantly packed our bags and headed down - hey, if we didn’t win, at least we would get some free booze and possibly meet Shaun Micallef or Adrian Shaughnessy, right?

    Adelaide, the city of churches, and ‘the city that always sleeps’. I guess Adelaide isn’t really known as a design capital, in fact, all I know Adelaide for is for Coopers beer - which, to be honest, is what I was looking forward to most. I’d never been before, but AGDA’s set of call for entries posters were quite reaffirming.

    “It’s pretty much a small going nowhere town with a lot of dark seedy murders/child mollestations/rock spiders/ etc etc not the sort of town one would move to in a hurry. It has nothing going for it and is boring and gossipy. Turn the clock back to the 80s is what this boring town is all about. Who wants to go there? Delta Goodrem’s mother lives there and Lleyton and he’s a mindless jerk. Who else? A few nobody celebs might call Adelaide home. Why is anyone’s guess.”

    Not surprisingly though, Adelaide is quite a beautiful city with a lot of charm. Though after a 6 am flight, and arriving at our hotel completely ragged after an hour of sleep, the first thing we did was have a nice long nap. This was a recurring motif during this trip, because, despite Adelaide’s charm, there’s absolutely fuck-all to do there.

    On the Friday night we headed to the National Wine Center for some free booze and a chance to see some of the entries and winners. Typically, there were plenty of mentions of Frost, Landor Associates, Saatchi Design, M & C Saatchi, Saatchi & Saatchi, etc. and although it’s expected, their work is usually deserving. There was a lot of hit and miss throughout the exhibition (generic ‘branding swooshes’ of Boystown & spaghetti in a bowl as a visual identity? Please.) but the definite standout to me was Mark Gowing Design - a name which has been around for a while, but was new to me. The poster entry ‘Oil Kills Peace’ deservingly also won the 21st International Poster Biennale in Warsaw, the first Australian designer in its history to have won the gold medal. This is definitely what good poster design is about - simple, bold, and hits straight to the point. ‘Oil Kills Peace’ has such a clear message without ever reaching that cliched territory that most anti-war images do.

    It was definitely bizarre seeing our work hanging up next to some of these designers, like some Disney story where two kids from the shitty side of town go against all odds and make something good out of their lives - but I think that it’s a testament to the work we put into the project, and proof that there’s more to Western Sydney than domestic abuse and junkies. The other student pieces entered were also really amazing. Evi O’s book ‘The Dream Thief’ was a work which I recognised from last year’s UTS Design Graduation Exhibition and really blew me away at the time.

    Our (tiny) work on display at the Wine Center

    Saturday night’s awards dinner hosted by the wonderful Shaun Micallef at the Adelaide Convention Center was a really fancy affair, red carpet and all - although Fi and I almost thought we were in the wrong place as we seemingly wandered through a sea of baggy pants, unshaved moustaches and the stench of Lynx deoderant from the year 10 formal that was being held next door. All of a sudden we didn’t feel so young anymore.


    being cheesy / the room / our work / accepting the award

    The first award announced on the night were the student awards, which myself, Fiona, and five other students received (Shaun Micallef pointing out that while we were the youngest people there, at least our collective ages were older than him). The CEO of Wacom Australia presented this award, and we not only won a golden spoon, but also a new 6x8 Intuos. Expect more doodles from me in the near future.

    The afterparty was fun while it lasted, especially when the DJ spun Make The Logo Bigger. If they had played Original Design Gangsta then we probably would have stayed longer. Hopefully next time.

    Adelaide’s a bit of a shithole but overall, this was a really fun night. It’s not often that everyone from this small industry can come together and stroke each others’ egos pat each other on the back.

    Photos courtesy of Fiona Yap and Samantha Edwards

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  • booze, process, visual identity // // 01:57 am 10-28-08