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.

Reknit it

Waste not want not - the old adage has never been more appropriately applied than in the case of mother and son team, Reknit.

This guy's mum will knit a brand new piece of clothing for you if you send her an old 'sweater' (it's in America). She'll unravel it, knit it into something and send it back to you for the very reasonable price of $US30. Each month they have a new offer, this month it's a scarf, and if you're not much a of a scarf person, you can vote for what the item will be next month.

There's a downloadable shipping label on the website and nothing to suggest you can't be a part of the fun from outside of the states.

So if you're sick of people mistaking you for Don Burke in winter, you best visit the website.
www.rekn.it

Behind the 'blong - A work in progress…

Welcome to the first installment of 'Behind the 'blong'. A look into the seedy underbelly of New Farm's most feared design studio - Oblong + Sons.

Here's a scale mock up of a signage job in progress for a property client in Sydney and Oblong's own in house Prima ballerina, Emma, executing a textbook jeté.

Emma would jeté all day if we didn't tell her to stop.

The new growth area in packaging

Soon we might be throwing our old packaging on the garden as fertiliser.

In the world of packaging, it's hard to avoid polystyrene because it can be made cheaply in whatever shape you need. Unfortunately, it comes at a price – it's made from petroleum and doesn't biodegrade, making it one of the biggest forms of pollution on the planet. In the US it makes up about 30%(!) of all landfill.

Now two young New Yorkers have developed a way to grow packaging which does many of the same things as polystyrene. It uses agricultural byproducts such as rice husks and cottonseed and binds them together with mushroom roots. This is all grown in moulds to create an infinite variety of shapes.

The result is compact, light and can resist extreme temperatures. Best of all, it's fully biodegradable and its manufacture takes about one tenth of the energy of polystyrene. Learn more about it on their site.

Eben Bayer, one of the twenty-something brainiacs who came up with it, says the long term goal is to "replace all plastic and foams and mitigate their environmental consequences." Here at Oblong we'd love to see him succeed, and quickly.

MAPS for Artists

MAPS for Artists is a support management service for artists involved with producing independent works at Brisbane Powerhouse and Metro Arts. MAPS is dedicated to helping raise the bar of Brisbane’s new creative works to an international standard. After the success of Lisa O’Neills ‘The Pipe Manager’ in November, it’s clear they are already reaching their goal. Due to MAPS helping hand for artists, Brisbanites are able to see more and more progressive and dynamic performances in our city - cheers to that!

We at Oblong had the rare opportunity to work with MAPS to create a new, easy to use website www.mapsforartists.com.au. We have since become inspired by the range of works spawned by this innovative service and are looking forward to a provocative season of events in the new year.

Just rewards

Oblong had a pretty good showing at the 35^th Annual 2009 Brisbane Advertising and Design (BAD) Awards recently, picking up two bronze awards for corporate identity and self-promotion.

Black Sheep Coffee won it for us in the corporate identity category. Their logo was designed to give them their own distinctive, cheeky personality in a traditionally cluttered and serious market. It’s worked well so far.

The other award was for our little Oblong ice cream truck do-it-yourself postcard model. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback for this piece and really enjoyed putting it together.

We love what we do, and it’s good to see that it’s reflected in the final product. Nice work, us!

BITS Festival 2009

The Brisbane Independent Theatre Sampler (BITS) Festival 2009 is a raw and rapid one day event showcasing the most exciting acting talent this town has to offer.

The festival is a 'sampler' to test the waters for a fully blown Brisbane fringe festival for 2010 and participants only get 10 minutes to show what they can do, so it is destined to be a whole lot of chaotic fun.

Oblong thought it was such a great idea we offered to do all the design work and a website for it. BITS Festival 2009 will be held at four different locations around central Brisbane including The Fringe Bar, The Joynt, Book Nook and Top Floor.

Registration closes November 10, and the event is taking place on one action-packed day on November 28.

For more information on BITS Festival 2009 visit bitsfestival.com

We love our Nanna

It's a proven scientific fact that nannas are the most resourceful and intelligent people on earth. These freaks of nature are part of a super breed of humans who can make, fix, mend, grow or bake anything they choose.

In a world where consumerism rules and wasteful living is an afterthought to convenience, a couple of inspired Australians have created 'Nanna Techonology'. This online resource paves the way for a better future by channeling nanna skills and applying them in a modern day setting.

Nanna Techonology draws from lessons learnt in simpler times like growing your own food, sewing to repair clothes, and saving and reusing household items.

It sounds simple, but it works.

The blog relies on reader ideas and contributions so give your nanna a call for some tips and get cracking!

www.nannatechnology.com.au

Oblong + Sons + Daughters

In the immortal words of Sister Sledge, “We are family. I got all my sisters with me. We are family. Get up ev'rybody and sing.”

Yes, Sister Sledge, we are family and we do like to get up and sing here at Oblong. We are a family bound not by blood but rather by a burning desire to design stuff and be creative.

Our little Oblong family has changed shape lately as we said 'bon voyage' to designer Thom Stuart as he sailed off to old London town and 'bongiorno' to Emma Harrison.

Emma is not Italian, but she is a talented designer. Up until recently she was an actor plying her trade in Sydney, until one day she realised that graphic design was the best profession in the world. So she changed careers accordingly.

Emma won’t just be limiting her talents to design, she will also be liaising between Oblong and our clients to make sure everyone is happy.

Thanks for the memories Thom, and welcome to Oblong Emma.

The guilt filter

As you are probably aware by now if you've read a few of our posts, Oblong likes smart ideas which are good for the environment, and conversely, dislikes dumb ideas which are bad for the environment.

Scientific terminology aside, how good is this smart idea which is good for the environment!

It's called 321 Water and it's an extremely viable alternative to the evils of bottled "spring" water (see a couple of posts down for more on the evils of bottled water).

But it's just tap water in a container I hear you say? Kind of, but you filter out the impurities through a cool plunger mechanism which means you never have to buy bottled water again! It'll pay for itself after just one week!

And if you purchase them directly off their website, you get a handy little discount.

Do something great for yourself, and the environment with 321 Water.

www.321-water.com

Suki!

This is Suki.

Suki is doing some freelance work for us at the moment. His areas of expertise include pottering around, collecting shiny things, and 3D rendering.

Welcome to Oblong Suki!

Let the good lies flow

Bottled water is evil.

Find out more here and here.

A keeper of an idea

Disposable coffee cups are not recyclable which presents a bit of an eco-disaster considering we use about half a billion of the things every year in Australia alone.

It came as a big surprise to me as I think I'm pretty environmentally savvy but I've never thought twice about washing my paper cup and throwing it into the recycling bin. Well, don't I look the fool now after finding out about the nasty bleaches, dyes, and polyethylene which are present in most disposable cups and make them just about impossible to recycle on top of an already inefficient manufacturing process.

Get excited because there is an answer - the Keep Cup. Innovative Melbourne couple, Abigail and Jamie Forsyth came up with this brilliantly simple solution after feeling a wee bit guilty about the number of disposable coffee cups they were handing out in their catering business and cafes. Designed and manufactured in Victoria, the Keep Cup is made from durable, reusable, and environmentally friendly materials and is available in a number of colours and sizes. They can also be customised for businesses! Pick one up off the Keep Cup website for about $10. I know I will!

www.keepcup.com.au

Twitter - the future is now

A little birdy once told us that the Internet was a useful medium for marketing and spreading the good word of Oblong right before it pooped on our bromide camera and flew away.

This bird was a twitter bird and prejudiced against the more traditional and proven forms of marketing we’ve successfully been employing at Oblong + Sons since 1881 such as telegrams and horse-drawn loudspeaker sulkies. Well, thanks to the Twitter bird we have realised the benefits of the Internet and more specifically, Twitter. The future really is here.

Click here for our Twitter page!

Twitter is great, we are on it and you can follow us as we discover more technological wonders like shortwave radio frequencies and dynamo lights. Moreover, be the first to know everything that is happening in Oblongland including things which inspire us, make us laugh, or make us cry. See you in the future, we're already here and it is exactly like this…