Author Archives: Chris Bowden

Seen and Liked

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I’m really loving the collaboration between Cul-de-sac Creative and illustrator Chris Edser for the Australian String Quartet’s Season brochure. I used Chris’ illustrations in a similar way for a fashion spread in The Adelaide Magazine I did a few years back (I think he’s stepped it up a notch or two here though :). His style seems to interact really well with such beautiful photography. Well done to both parties for producing something fun and engaging for what could typically be a pretty staid solution in lesser hands. Cul-de-sac are really on a roll with this and the beautiful work they’ve also produced for the Adelaide Fashion Festival. You can check out more of the work on the ASQ’s website, or of course, just pick up a copy of the brochure!

Nerissa Douglas Kickstarter

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One of my favourite local illustrators, Adelaide designer Nerissa Douglas is raising funds for a new series of greeting cards, notebooks, art prints and a 2018 Planner. Spread some love and cash her way in exchange for some decorative goodies on offer over at her kickstarter page.

Designers Who Are Better Than Me

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I haven’t written much about the numerous digital agencies that inhabit the great metropolis of Adelaide, slackness on my part, because as you would imagine, there is a lot of well designed content being produced by these aforementioned creatives. I’ve had my eye on local firm Lightbulb Digital ever since designer extraordinaire Dan Vaughan mentioned  his work with them to me. They’ve recently uploaded a dedicated website displaying some of their work,  the aesthetic is a pared down design style that is instantly pleasing and pleasingly functional. It’s easy to get carried away with the bells- and-whistles possibilities of the modern digital medium, but these guys seem to have their heads around it, it’s a refreshing  experience to view these locally produced websites, built and designed to be functional, easy to navigate and also beautiful to look at. They work with an interesting and diverse range of clients, take a look for yourself at their link above.

Word-Form

Word—Form is a new project by Motherbird Director Jack Mussett, which aims to explore the workings of the creative mind through words. Creatives are too often asked the same questions about their processes, practices and background. From these questions, we rarely gauge a true or honest understanding of what it means to be creative from a personal and professional point of view. Word—Form opens a dialogue by challenging creatives to reflect on their processes in an indirect way. Every month, 3 creatives write on a new topic, sharing their thoughts, experiences and opinions based around a single word.

The first Word—Form is “Pleasure” and has pieces written by wordsmith and Creative Director Christopher Doyle, Art Director and designer Leta Sobierajskia and local design guru and Director of Mash, James Brown at his ‘James Browniest’ – worth checking out alone for this piece.

OMGLORD

OMGLORD is the weekly newsletter of thoughts, resources and news delivered to your inbox weekly (upon subscribing) by Gabby Lord. Gabby is an extremely talented expatriate Australian designer now living in Berlin. Her newsletter OMGLORD is a welcome resource arriving in my inbox every Tuesday morning. She has a very impressive pedigree having worked with the likes of of Christopher Doyle and The Houston Group, and an obvious passion for design and passing on the best tips and resources she stumbles upon. I’m particularly fond of her ‘Broads Down Under’ feature which each week highlights some of the awesome female design talent we have in Australia, you’ll find a lot of talented creatives here that you may not have been aware of before. Also be sure to check out Gabby’s portfolio of work, it’s, as you would imagine, awesome.

Designers Who Are Better Than Me

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One of the first ‘Designers Who Are Better Than Me’ posts I did back in 2009(!) was about local firm Black Squid (still going strong, by the by). I made a particular point of singling out employee Melane Terrett Leš and her illustration led design chops – well, she now has her own studio called 3 Bags Full and is still producing some very nice work. Lots of illustration led projects as you would imagine, but there’s also some great typography such as the above bottles for S.C Pannell (this being a South Australian design firm, you can bet there’s lots of wine work on the site). Melanie and her husband Daniel are also exceptional visual artists, demonstrated by a separate section showing some of their exhibit and mural work. Beware the sheep on the home page if you have the volume turned up full!

Vale

I was saddened today to hear of the passing of local creative Geoff Robertson. I had the pleasure of working with Geoff briefly when he was at Clemenger and found him to be an incredibly patient, kind and inspiring talent to work beside. I know he was also a dedicated mentor to many up and coming and established Adelaide creatives and will be greatly missed amongst that close knit community. My condolences to his family and friends and to his workmates at Nation.

In Wild Air

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In Wild Air in a weekly subscription newsletter from ever industrious friend of mine Heath Killen. Each edition features six interesting things selected by an interesting guest, and believe me, Heath knows some really interesting and and creative people who contribute every week. Running the gamut from photographer Ingrid Weir and her love of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch detective series of books to environmental scientist Cameron Webb discussing his childhood love of classic Kenner Star Wars action figures, it’s a great insight into what drives and inspires these fascinating individuals. Arriving in your ‘inbox’ on a Monday morning, it’s the perfect panacea to the back at work blues. Heath is one of the most passionate advocates for Australian design and creativity that I know, and is always producing something worth paying close attention to, this may be his best project yet. Subscribe now and be sure to catch up on the previous weeks entries for a quick dose of inspiration!

Designers Who Are Better Than Me

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I’m a big fan of South Australian design firms that locate themselves outside the environs on the city and suburbs, actually it’s more probably the case that I’m jealous of designers who are able to practice their craft outside the city limits. I first came across Brady & Co Creative through my Instagram account, though I’ve been noticing and admiring their work for a little while longer without knowing who produced it. Erica Brady and Kim Jericho design mostly for the wine industry as you would imagine from a design firm that makes their home in the Barossa Valley. Lots of great label design (such as pictured above) on their site and very civilised working hours as well.