Behind the 'blong - Photo shoots

Big photo shoots are pretty exciting. After weeks (and months) of preparation and build-up, it all comes down to one day full of frantic activity. On a recent shoot down in New Farm Park in Brisbane, we were expecting to endure a long day of frenzied activity but what we actually experienced was quite the opposite.

Thanks to a lot of preparation and a well-drilled, professional team, the day went off perfectly with plenty of great snaps taken. Anyway, we can't go into much more detail due to the nature of the job, but thanks to everyone involved and mother nature for making the day a perfect one! We'll blog again with the final results when they're all finished.

Can you spot the Black Sheep?

The Oblongers went for an excursion recently to a little Birds Nest - no we didn't gather twigs and chirp at each other, rather we sipped on some great coffee and ogled beautiful homewares and vintage bits and pieces. Birds Nest is a delightfully quaint little shop and coffee shop in South Brisbane and it stocks our favourite coffee, Black Sheep. Black Sheep is very close to our hearts after having won us some awards for the branding.

We like supporting this little Black Sheep and he keeps raising his woolly head across the country in various restaurants and shops. We were, however, surprised to see him hanging out in the alleyway next to the Birds Nest. Ten points if you can spot him...

Behind the 'blong - Get educated

We never stop learning here.

If there's something out there that will make our work better, we're on to it. And suffice to say, these things don't always have to be up with the latest technology. Sometimes it pays to take a step back and look at things 'outside the oblong'.

Working in front of a computer screen all day can negatively effect the good ol' creativity levels sometimes, so when the opportunity arises to get out of the studio and try something new, we're all for it. One of our senior designers, Jenna, has done just that.

Jenna has always been a fan of the technical and handmade side of design elements. When she heard about an old-fashioned letterpress class at one of the only original letterpress print shops in the country, she jumped at the chance. Now we have our very own letterpress guru.

Flockin' brilliant!

Infamous British chef Gordon Ramsay recently expanded his vast restaurant empire to include the unofficial food capital of Australia, Melbourne. Maze opened in February 2010 and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the eatery has a little bit of Oblong inside.

One of our clients, Black Sheep Coffee, who we did all of the branding and naming for was personally chosen by Chef Ramsay to be the official coffee for Maze. Apparently Gordon liked the different packaging. He was quoted as saying, "That packaging is F*CKING amazing!" *

This latest honour for Black Sheep will go nicely with the BAD Award the design won at the end of last year! Oh and the coffee tastes pretty nice too. Keep your eyes peeled for a Black Sheep website (the temporary one is at www.blacksheepcoffee.net.au) and make sure you grab a cup from the Black Sheep Coffee stall at the Rocklea Markets every Saturday.

The power of good design wins again!

*Not entirely accurate. He probably said something to that effect though, or 'bollocks'.

Behind the 'blong - Performance Anxiety

Welcome to the second installment of 'behind the 'blong'.

This exciting, cutting edge series takes you behind the scenes of one of the most talked about and controversial graphic design studios in Brunswick St - Oblong + Sons.

Today's entry showcases the Performance Anxiety journey. Our very 'hands on' designer, Jenna, decided to get a little scratchy with this promotional campaign for nationally acclaimed performer and choreographer, Brian Lucas.


Jenna sourced some really cool paper where the top layer of paint was able to be scratched off, giving the piece a very edgy, anxious appearance.


The angles she used to frame the type were taken from the angles in the accompanying photo of Brian. We reckon the result really captured the rough, confronting feel of the show.

Let your fingers do the clicking

Why do we need the Yellow and White pages books in these futuristic times of the world wide web?

I can't remember the last time I used one. They just take up precious space in my cupboard and make me feel guilty every time I have to move them to get to the vacuum cleaner. I know they're probably recycled, and Sensis claim to be carbon neutral, but not making them at all would make them even greener if that's what they want to be.

There's a little number you can call to stop receiving these stinky paper blobs, it's 1800 008 292.

Save a few trees and use the internet to do your Yellow and White Pages searching.

Brian Lucas Performance Anxiety giveaway

The winners have been drawn for our Brian Lucas Performance Anxiety ticket giveaway! As you can see, it's a very technical, yet very fair process.

If you've entered, you'll be notified of the result of your entry on Monday February 1. Congratulations to the winners in advance!

If you didn't win tickets, please take comfort in knowing that there are still plenty remaining for this great show through the Powerhouse website.