Blog
Advice, musings, case studies & updates from the No Grey studioOne of the ‘joys’ of being a Graphic Designer
One of the ‘joys’ of being a Graphic Designer is the inevitable helping out a family member with their design work. This is not something that I make a habit of as it becomes time consuming for no money, can often create rifts in a relationship, the free clients are always the worst and it is just downright annoying. However, I do make an exception for my Dad, Stewart Hine. In the early stages of my business, he was at times the only person who not only believed in my ability to create a dream for myself but gave...
read moreThat branding seminar
For the last two years, Bayside City Council run Bayside Business Network have allowed me the great honour of putting on a business seminar for the people of the network. Last year 2010 was vey successful and as an added bonus I was able to gain a handful of clients that have been with me ever since. The seminar is something I really enjoy putting together. I take honest examples of good branding and bad branding and then dissect them in front of a live audience. I love appreciating good design having a giggle at really really bad choices...
read moreGuide Dogs Victoria– Our fave!
Remember filling out those dinky little questionnaires presented with a mixture of delight and naïve expectations from your bestest best friend in grade three. Usually bound in a “My Friends” journal, jam packed with adorning stickers and glittery butterflies fluttering across the pages. My memories of such ‘fun quizzes’ are thwart with worry and stress– stemming from the often painfully haughty remark from afore-mentioned ‘best friend’, “make sure you write ON the lines, and don’t scribble on the butterflies– it HAS to be neat. And you MUST use this pink pen. Oh, and if you make it messy, I...
read moreLiving the Instant Life
Gone are the days when living “the good life” was sufficient. Now, not only do we want to live “the good life” but we want this “goodness” to be instant. Living the instant life has superseded the relaxed life. No longer are our days filled with time consuming activities such as siestas, long walks on the beach, slow food, hour long phone calls to our besties or tediously long games of chess. Instead we want to eat fast Mexican food (most likely served from a oh-so-funky food van in some park in Brunswick), we want to play super fast,...
read morePANTONE wall of colour!
I work out of an awesome studio in Richmond (Gordon Studios) that is run by my long term friend and photographer Mackenzie and her sister Samantha. It is such a great place to come everyday because I really get the best of both worlds. An office environment full of laughs, lunches and friends and to be able to run my own business with no annoying managers, bosses or politics. I hope this situation never ends! In our studio I have a great little spot in the back room and the other day I realised that I have not been...
read moreBrand Memory Game
I just ordered this really cool game called brand memory. It reminds me of playing the original memory with my Mum when I was a kid (she would always beat me). Mums have good memories! This game is actually two for the price of one to get the old brain ticking. Not only do you have to match up the set of cards when you turn over from back to front and clear them from the board BUT trying to name the brands without their full logos present is a game in itself. Being a graphic designer this is what I...
read moreSanta Claus– the face of Christmas
Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, whatever the name, Santa has become a Christmas icon. Any man with a white beard, a portly figure or sporting a red suit and fuzzy hat immediately becomes a Santa-ly figure, even if his intentions are festively innocent. Even the colours red and green are steeped with Christmas cheer. The combination of such contrasting colours immediately conjures thoughts of Christmas. Santa and Christmas has become a brand. Perhaps the most universally recognisable brand ever to exist. Even Apple would be hard pressed to score the same level of icon-ism as Mr...
read moreDesigning and reading minds
I am not here to complain about the tough life of a Graphic Designer– because secretly (or not so secretly) I love the stressful, coffee-fuelled pace of the design industry. But, let’s face it; our job can be pretty tough sometimes. We have the ability to take your idea as a mere seed, then plant, fertilise and nurture it until it blooms into the most beautiful flower (got to love a nature reference). We put a lot of thought and effort into our creative solutions, endeavouring to cater for your every need and create something that both client and...
read moreToo Hot for the Web
The following site (or sight) may cause viewers to suffer from the following symptoms: acute headaches, mild confusion, extreme disjunction of thought and upmost distraction. If you suffer, or are prone to epileptic fits, please, for your own health and safety, refrain from scrolling down. George Hutchins is online – and, golly gosh, is he making his presence known! This over-the-top overtly colour-blazon site, raises many questions regarding the role of websites, and the how important it is for a business – small and big ‘to have a ‘good’ functioning website. Although George Hutchins’ sight attracts a surprising amount...
read moreRaised in a Foster’s Friendship
Shocking isn’t it? The sight of those gaudy, gradated phantom-like pitchers floating precariously above the poorly kerned type is enough to turn any graphic designers stomach. The relevance of which I still am struggling to understand – apparently they represent a wine, beer and martini glass, but really, who knows? I have been meaning to let off some steam on The Foster’s Group ‘new’ logo for some time now, and am slightly embarrassed to say, that I wasn’t even aware that it has since been updated (thankfully) for something much less, well, horrible. The relatively short life span of...
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