We first met Fi Nguyen when she came to us looking for a fresh, new logo and website for her business Girl Friday IP, a modern business that guides creatives and small businesses through the foggy world of intellectual property. Right from the get-go we knew Fi had that something special about her. She was smart, she was funny and just downright cool.

This is an excerpt from our Calling the Shots Ebook. I remember being a gangly-legged and gap-toothed 16-year-old back in Year 10 facing the long, hard, somewhat poignant decision of selecting my HSC subjects. Art, Textile Design and English were certainly high on the priorities list. IT, however, not so much. I always thought IT […]

Have you ever had a girlfriend call you up after a date gushing that she is falling head over heels for old Mr McDate-Date, only he has the personality of a stale bread loaf? Of course not, because your friends are clever and bubbling over with self-worth and discernment.

2017 was (to use a technical term) a doozy. We moved studios, launched a new website, launched our new portfolio, worked with over 100 new clients, wrote and launched an ebook and created an exciting new product (you’ll find out soon!). I bought a house, moved out of Sydney, did some renovations, brought on a […]

It’s our fault. We screwed it up from the start. We gave a word the wrong meaning. The dudes from Collins got it wrong. The peeps behind Merriam Webster missed the memo. Even the guys from Macmillan stuffed it up.

It’s probably no coincidence that the average urban commute time AND the average podcast duration both sit around the 40 minute mark. (That’s almost one million minutes over the span of a 44 year career.) Recently, rather than spending this pretty substantial chunk of time mindlessly scrolling through our teenage crush’s fiancé’s sister’s dog’s IG […]

In July last year, I threw the ultimate uppercut to city life. I packed my bags (and by bags, I mean 56 boxes and 2 truckloads of belongings and plants. Mostly plants) and moved my life and my little family, to Coledale. A sweet little suburb just an hour and a bit south of the Sydney chaos tucked in behind the national park.

I swear ten seconds ago it was New Year’s Eve. A night of pizza and beer, hopes and dreams. Just like the other 7 billion people on earth, 2017 was going to be my best year yet. Then I glanced at my computer, answered a couple of emails, looked up, and it’s December already.

You know it’s summer when your car smells like a fusion of coconut sunscreen and off mango skins that perish below your seat. The mozzies make you realise for the fifth year in a row that your fly screens still need fixing, and almost every time you look down you’ve got an alcoholic drink of some kind in your hand – who put that there?

Branding can be a labyrinth to figure out, especially when you’re fairly green in the game. Logos, taglines, marketing plans, strategies, social media — there’s a tonne of stuff to navigate, and a set of rules that typically apply to go along with it. Rules are a general given in life; Don’t cross until the little green man is showing.

You won’t find the answer to life’s big questions online (nor, as previously imagined, inside a delectable fortune cookie). So from where do we derive value? Is it as simply as the nature versus nurture discussion? Are we conditioned to value what those before us have valued?

If you’ve ever opened a beehive, you know why the saying ‘busy as a bee’ has lasted the test of time. Those buzzing little things quite literally don’t stop, won’t stop, can’t stop. Until they sting you of course, then the little buggers get karma and kick the bucket. RIP, stripey friend.

This morning, as I waited for my daily caffeine fix at my local cafe, I met a wonderful woman with bright eyes, vivid white teeth and that insanely curly hair that makes you wonder if human DNA could have been infused with strands of Maggie Noodles at some point in history.

The first time I listened to Survivor by Destiny’s Child, I was red-cordial high. It was at my year 6 Summer Disco and I was an awkwardly lanky 12 year old spinning out on sugar and the excitement of twirling round a school hall ‘rocking’ the dancefloor.

I don’t claim to be an expert on many topics, but I have learned a couple of things in my 27 cycles around the earth. And the chief pearl of wisdom that I’d like to leave as a legacy and pass on to generations to come is this: never share your email address with Alibaba.

Last Sunday eve I joined the masses of people on their weekly pilgrimage to scour the aisles of capitalism and stock their pantries in an attempt to both prevent starvation and summon euphoria in the shape of a colourful fridge. What should have been a menial task felt more like a scene from Hunger Games, but that’s not the point.