New Soap, Old Bottle

Amron Experimental is a design company based in New York who have the courage to do something that the big companies who frequent our supermarket shelves are too scared to do.

They sell a variety of brand name liquid soaps in old bottles, drastically cutting down on waste and other unnecessary packaging.

'New Soap, Old Bottle' is a great example of a simple yet extremely effective idea which benefits both nature and your hip pocket in equal measures.

Less packaging + less freight + less manufacturing = cheaper, greener, and smarter. That is the kind of combination that Oblong really likes.

There isn't a great deal of shipping info on their website but they are contactable, and all things aside it is a bloody inspirational idea!

www.newsoap.org
www.amronexperimental.com

Oblong + Puns

Here are the photos from our 5th birthday "Oblong + Puns Party". From a Star Spangled Spanner to A Frayed Knot, there was no shortage of sickening puns. The effort put into some of the costumes was truly outstanding, inspiring even, and it definitely made for a great party where it appeared as though every dad joke ever conceived had materialised and decided to celebrate bad humour in Oblong's basement studio.




Punch and Judy. Awesome.




A Pregnant Pause enjoys a bit of Pork Barreling.




A really punny shot.




Can you karate chop me a piece of that swan cake, Karate Kidney Bean?




"A film, two words..."




Everyone wants a little P's on earth.




Ms Chief, Ms Print and the Lesser of Two Weevils.




No one messes with the Karate Kidney Bean. "Sweep the legume!"




Surf n' Turf - Prawn Star wooing Mary Had a Little Lamb. She's a glutton for mutton.




What are you going to with all that junk that is in your trunk, J-Mo?




Everyone knows Flacido Flamingo is a tenor.




Chicken catch a Tory!




Baberaham Lincoln watches Channel No.5.




Ms Print and Mail Dominated make sure A Little Horse has had his cough stirrup.




The Mime of the Ancient Mariner doesn't have a great deal to say to Ms Chief.




J-Mo and Freudian Slip discuss personal grooming.




Aubergine Simmons talks pun policy with Baberaham Lincoln.




Assaulted Nut discusses kitchen related topics with Fridge Magnet.




The Star Spangled Spanner wasn't a tool at all.




A Frayed Knot left early to tie up a few loose ends.

Oblong grows up

1825 days ago, Kellie Oxford and Tim Smith combined their creative powers. These two right angles wanted to shape their own futures as well as shaping the future of graphic design in the world, and more ambitiously, Brisbane. Things had fallen into place, the planets were aligning, the right angles had united – the shape was an Oblong.

So, here we are five years and over 1000 jobs later - a happy little team of creative minions pumping out high-quality visual communication (we’re not conceited, just confident) for a healthy list of satisfied clients.

However, Oblong has never been one to rest on our laurels, we are always looking forward to new opportunities and ways to improve our work. We’re always asking ourselves, “How do we get the most out of our design? How can we make things greener? How do we attract new clients? What can I make for dinner that is quick and easy but is also both healthy and delicious?”

What we have discovered is that there are no instant solutions to these questions, rather the answers are unravelled as we keep our values strong and our minds open at the right angles.

We celebrated five with an Oblong + Puns party. The folly was frivolous and the outfits were atrocious - stay tuned for photos...

Happy birthday to us!

Delivering tasty design treats

Coinciding with the launch of our brand new website, we've created a hands on self-promo piece to help whip up a bit of excitement.

Oblong has been busy designing for just on five years now, so we have a considerable amount of ideas, creations, and a whole heap of other miscellaneous goodies to share with the world. This little Oblong van was designed to help spread the good word.

With our new online brief forms we can deliver tasty design treats quicker and easier than ever before.

Check them out at www.oblong.net.au

Say no to cash cows

Wallets are pretty boring. They're a bit of a right-wing extremist conservative accessory - they only come in brown or black, they're safe, made of leather, and obsessed with money. And why should a cow die just so you can have somewhere to put your money when you go to the shop to buy its rump again for dinner? But what is the alternative?

VINYL! Vinyl wallets featuring unique designs by artists from all over Australia! This is the answer, this is the future of wallets. How much better would you feel whipping out a piece of art to buy that rump steak at Woolies? Poketo wallets look like leather, feel like leather, and the best thing about it is you are supporting budding Australian artists.

You can purchase Poketo artist wallets from just $30 at robio.com.au.

Totally wasted.

Most of us have good intentions to recycle and minimise waste, but sometimes you just don't know where to dispose of your old pharmacy medicines or drums of hazardous chemicals.

Thankfully the The Brisbane City Council has heard our frustrated sighs and has been proactive enough to put together a list of recycling services for everything from car batteries to cooking oil. The beauty of this directory is that most of the services included won't just break down your unwanted crap and turn it into landfill, they'll make something useful out of it or give it a second life.

So don't just dump those old mattresses in the bush, check out the BCC services directory (it's a PDF) and start minimising your waste!

Oblong way down

For the annual Oblong Christmas fun day this year we decided it was time to climb some vertical cliff faces.

The cliffs were at Kangaroo Point and the day was a hot one. Luckily for us we had a cool-headed Kiwi called Gareth or Garry or something like that with our lives in his weathered and muscular hands.

The trepidation we all felt as we stared up at the 30m cliffs was quickly forgotten as Gareth or Garry's calming tone settled our nerves. As he spoke, he used his muscular hands as visual aids, waving them about the air with gay abandon.

Anyway, here are some photos...