Finally, Prince is coming downunder, unfortunately not to Auckland, New Zealand. Booo!!

Will do my best to try and cross over the ditch to see him and get tickets!
Anyways, here is a quick design i created in Photoshop to celebrate the tour on my Facebook page.

Feel free to copy and use on your page if you’d like

This is a quick blog I wanted to post about my progress toward a list of To Dos and projects I have got on at the moment.

Today I completed my Facebook Timeline Design which is based on my personal brand development.
The Facebook Timeline layout has so much room for advertising space plus I love that i have the ability to personalise it and work with the dimensions provided. Although the majority of my Facebook friends don’t have the new profile yet I wanted to learn how to create one by making my own template, also i wanted to incorporate my profile picture in the graphic as well. I really love the tv and lips combined – it is my visual for “social  media”.

Using the existing elements and design from my Facebook Profile and Static HTML Welcome Tab I decided to liven up my Email signature with this. I have placed a hyperlink on this banner that goes to my Serentonin Facebook Brand page.

I have a few more pieces I need to work on to finish this set for my complete business identity pack. Then i’ll be right.
As always, I welcome the feedback and if you have any inquiries about how I created these or if you’re interested in a quote feel free to contact me.

Last night I got my RAW on and attended The AUT 2011 Art+Design Festival. It is a showcase of art work from a variety of media, design disciplines and art practices from Art graduates and students.
I went to support my friend, Visual Artist Cerisse Palalagi to check out her exhibition on display about “Polyslang”.

The exhibition is titled #SWWDT (See What We Did There) Polyslang – not just as a coded, hybrid language, but as a way of being and state of mind.
And is a documentation of research and body of work exploring language and colloquialism used on Social Networking site Twitter. Her artwork incorporates quotes and the use of words, abbreviations and neologisms from people she talks to online – From #Teampoly quotes, hashtags and topic streams her work shares the language from multicultural and Polynesian internet communities.

Through Cerrise’s work she explores and interprets what these conversations mean through a glossary of terms and provides explanations of how one not accustomed to or foreign to these conversations can interpret and come to understand what they mean. In a sense I feel it is positive having cracked up at a few of the quotes, because they are conversations I can easily relate to and understand, but through Cerisse’s works she is able to  shed some light and provide meaning into what these conversations are about to  a wider audience.

Be sure to check out Cerrise’s work from 10 – 12 November at AUT Wellesley Campus
St Paul Street / Mount Street
Auckland CBD

For more photos check out my set on Flickr!

Today I created a Facebook Welcome Tab for my personal Facebook brand page Serentonin

This design incorporates my personality, my likes, my interests and the content people should expect to see on my Facebook page. People have asked me why bother with a brand page? What are you going to use it for? What’s the purpose, what’s the point? What value will you get from creating one rather than just have a personal profile on Facebook…

As a Freelancer I enter a new phase in my working career and development and I want to use my page as a medium to share the content from my blog. My blog will be focused on topics ranging from Graphic Design Social Media and Popular Culture. Having a brand page will allow me to openly share my work on Facebook where I can gather inspiration, resources and get feedback. It will allow me the ability to socially connect with people online. With a brand page your page is visible by the public and therefore gives you the ability to open your page up for all to see.

So the reasoning behind why I created a Facebook Welcome Tab was to express in an image what Serentonin is all about and what people should expect from the page if they were to LIKE it – It’s difficult to show what your page is about when by default people land on your wall, thus relying on your first few wall posts to try an gauge the reasoning behind why they should like your page.

The Design – What’s it about?

I wanted to make my design fun, funky, organic and fresh, which is why I have used a coconut, a pair of jandals and a big can of corned beef – these items reflect my cultural background being part Samoan and the type of humour to expect from me in my use of words and language. I am a pop culture and digital media fiend so I have used elements and objects to summarize the content you’ll see posted on my page.

I am eclectic and music has a huge influence on me in my work, how I work, what I need in order to work. The boom box and cassette tape represents old-school, hip hop music; it’s a time specific genre as I love music from this era. Also I love the commentary in lyrics and sometimes music can be quite metaphoric and conjure up a lot of imagery in my mind. I mentioned in an earlier blog but I have a great memory when it comes to music lyrics, song names and artists.

The sheep is my symbol for being a Kiwi and the grass is to show that my content is organic, fresh and real! You can expect posts from me that are about good old New Zealand.

The dancing ballerina’s incorporate my love of dance and all things vintage – I am a big fan of monochromatic photography and an amateur photographer.

I used a map of the world because I gather and post content that I find useful and meaningful from all over the world. I love travel and learning about different cultures and traditions. The map is symbolic of who I hope to meet and make connections with – these are people from all around the globe, I just love how Facebook provides a platform to connect with anyone one – makes the world a smaller place and creates new opportunities.

I used Aphrodite from the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, this artwork symbolises my love for art and art history.

I used an old television with lushious lips to represent social media. A medium I use every day with Twitter, Facebook, Skype, foursquare and it is definitely a passion of mine to pursue working in this industry.

What do you think?

I will use my blog to document my progress and share things I’ve learnt, my struggles, challenges and hopefully through blogging I’ll have the opportunity to get some feedback that I can use to improve on my designs and their functionality. I’m also keen to hear about what you think of this design, do you like, dislike it?  Has my blog made you think about making a branded page? Or using Facebook this way?

Also do you want to know how to create a Facebook Welcome Tab or do you need someone to design you one? Feel free to contact me and drop me a line.

So yesterday I was a complete dodohead, having completely forgot that I ran out of business cards and needed to make some quickly! Here’s a few pictures showing my mock to finished result. Took me 40 minutes to mock up the template/design, 30 minutes to drive out and get them printed and around 20minutes to cut them out. All up, to print 96 business cards on cheap A3 card it cost me $17 bucks which included a new metal ruler.

STEP 1. – Mock up Business Cards

STEP 2. – Go to da shop and get them printed au!

(TIP: Make sure your file is CMYK, High resolution and PDF – flatten the fonts to eliminate font errors)

STEP 3. Cut them up! Ninja Blade & Steady hands required for cutting..

(TIP: You’ll need a cutting board, sharp ninja blades and a metal ruler + music to sing to and make you calm while cutting as this can require a bit of paitence)

Suffice to say the quality of these business cards weren’t anything to drool over like in American Psycho or anything but my quick fix it homemade solution was not too bad to fix a dodohead problem!

I’ll be working on making a more slick version with a full design on the front and details at the back. I was contemplating the use of a QRcode back to this blog but thought.. one day I’ll save the use of a QR code for something very special! Anywho, watch this space for my updates as I’m crafting up my Serentonin corporate identity pack – that I will be printing professionally.

Free Preserve-Making Workshop: November 9 at Papakura Art Gallery

Steve Lovett and Lorna Clauson will present a preserve-making workshop on November 9 at Papakura Art Gallery linked to the ideas of exchange in Tiffany Singh’s art installation, Preserve – which is one of two projects in the gallery’s current exhibition, Double Rainbow.

The workshop is aimed at passing on knowledge of the lost art of preserve making. The preserves produced in the workshop will become part of Singh’s installation in exchange for one of the wax sculptures in it.

When Double Rainbow concludes, Papakura Art Gallery will donate all the preserves to local community groups.

• Steve Lovett has been connected to the South of Auckland since 1995 through his work as a lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology’s School of Visual Arts.
• Lorna Clauson has lived in the Papakura and Drury districts since 1947. She is a Queen’s Service Medal holder and retired Justice of the Peace, whose extensive career has included secondary school teaching and contributions to the music and entertainment industry.

Wednesday November 9, 2011 from 11am to 2pm.
Please bring two clean jars with matching lids.
Limited to 20 participants.
To book a place in the workshop please phone 2977510 or email kate.hart@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

All current events are part of the present exhibition at the gallery, Double Rainbow, for the Southside Arts Festival 2011 and are linked to the work of one of the two artists in the show – Tiffany Singh’s installation Preserve. Singh’s project began as a work of colour, rice, spices and handmade wax sculptures. The sculptures can be exchanged, causing the appearance of the installation to constantly shift. Both projects in Double Rainbow explore the notion of cultural diversity and question the value systems of commodity culture – and are also intended to have a direct conversation with the Papakura community. The other artist with work in the show is Tessa Laird who is presenting Post-Post-Poster.

All events are FREE and will be held at:
Papakura Art Gallery, 10 Averill Street, Papakura 2110.

The Southside Social! An evening of creative networking, live art making + good times!

Bring questions, business cards, game face + get your network on! Perfect for anyone interested in the Creative Industries!

Meet the panel!

Harry McNaughton | Actor
Areas of Expertise: Performance – Devised and physical theatre and performance across media
Prose – short prose writing, fiction as artist’s statement
Study/Career balance (studying while trying to maintain a creative career

Ron Brownson | Senior Curator, New Zealand and Pacific art, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki
Areas of Expertise: New Zealand and Pacific Art, Photography, Video, Tribal textiles

Jesse AKA COCO SOLID | Musician, Writer, Artist
Areas of Expertise: Independent music, DIY publishing and Creative writing

Ema Tavola | Artist + Curator, Pacific Arts Co-ordinator | Fresh Gallery Otara
Areas of Expertise: Engineering an online presence: being searchable, professional and interesting.
Working with curators – what to do, what not to do.
Career planning – what an exhibition means in the big picture.

James Pinker | Visual Arts Manager | Mangere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku
Areas of Expertise: Journey as an artist, Curating, Cultural Awareness and engagement

Lisa Reihana | Visual Artist
Areas of Expertise: Exhibition, Application writing and Digital image making

Lisa Taouma | Producer Fresh TV
Areas of Expertise: Storytelling for TV, Pacific Art history, Pacific performance

Richard Orjis | Artist & Lecturer of Art & Design (MIT)
Areas of Expertise: Finding a gallery, Work experience and Art school

Robert Sullivan | Published Poet
Areas of Expertise: Writing, Publishing and Editing

Fiona Jack | Lecturer, Elam School of FineArts, the University of Auckland
Areas of Expertise: Exhibiting, Making Art, Activism

Vera May | Assistant Director | ST PAUL St Gallery
Areas of Expertise: Curating, Exhibiting and how to be nice!

Outdoor Video Projections curated by Leilani Kake

• Live Graffiti Painting performed by Monty Collins
• Excellent music provided by DJ Al’Goodie

WHEN: 7-10pm, Thursday 3 November
WHERE: Fresh Gallery Otara Community Courtyard, Otara Town Centre, South Auckland
TICKETS: $10 presales (from Fresh Gallery Otara) or door sales

Check out the Facebook page for more information: www.Facebook.com/SouthsideSocial
Or follow Fresh Gallery Otara on Twitter for updates: @Fresh274

Proudly part of the Southside Arts Festival

Enquiries: Nicole Lim // 09 271 6019 // Nicole.Lim@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Pukekohe Student Wins Te Tuhi Youth Art Award

Media Release

Hanako Chatani from Pukekohe High School is this year’s winner of the 2011 Te Tuhi Youth Art Awards.  Her prize is to see her artwork reproduced on a giant scale. Hanako’s winning design is being displayed on a 10m x 5m billboard, to be viewed by 100,000′s of motorists on the Southern motorway over the next month.

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Fresh Gallery Otara is proud to present…

This will be Fresh Gallery Otara‘s first outdoor Pecha Kucha so bring a jacket, in case it rains there will be an inside option but regardless Pecha Kucha will happen.

Pecha Kucha – which originated in Tokyo – is a unique, rapid-fire format in which each speaker shows 20 images, each for 20 seconds. With each presentation lasting just 6 minutes and 40 seconds, the audience experiences an exhilarating variety of ideas and projects. Pecha Kucha is fun, fast, information. It’s a mix of the old-fashioned slide show and public lecture – a great chance to interact with the local community, meet new people.
Pecha Kucha has spread virally to over 400 cities worldwide. The Southside editions of Pecha Kucha Nights are always very special in their regard for showcasing the ‘soul of the community’. So, be inspired and informed by creative people with a Manukau connection.You’ll hear from artists, architects, scientists, musicians and more. Read more »