Being Assertive

Throughout your journey in your design career, there will be many occasions where you will need to be assertive. These could include: Handling conflict (with clients, internal teams or suppliers). […]

6 years ago by

From The Archives: A rest will be better than a change

Remember that whole flag debate? Here’s Michael Symthe’s contribution to the conversation from 2016. Written by Michael Smythe Another damn flag article? Give it a rest — we are over […]

6 years ago by

What happens when you no longer care?

Say you are working on a substantial website job with a difficult client. The work has been going on for months, and the website is now overdue for release. Your […]

6 years ago by

Christmas Presents for Designers

It’s that time again! Stuck for what to buy your creative friends? Here’s a list of some top picks for Christmas gift ideas for the designers in your life, supplied […]

6 years ago by

Avoiding Studio Burnout

One of the saddest and most preventable reasons why designers leave their jobs is due to ‘burnout’. Burnout has been described as “a state of chronic stress that leads to physical […]

6 years ago by

Being Human: Notes and Reflection from Xin Cheng

Written by Layla Tweedie-Cullen Supported by Creative New Zealand Layla Tweedie-Cullen is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and funded […]

6 years ago by

Civic Lessons

Written by K. Emma Ng Supported by Creative New Zealand Emma Ng is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

Finding a mentor

Written by Sarah Ritchie The most successful agency people are those who care about developing their career, and who want to become the best possible version of themselves. One way […]

7 years ago by

Printed Matter and the Document: A Conversation with p. mule

Written by Layla Tweedie-Cullen Supported by Creative New Zealand Layla Tweedie-Cullen is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and funded […]

7 years ago by

Cultural Relevance in the Digital Age: Emotiki

Written by Lana Lopesi In 2015, The Oxford Dictionary named ‘emoji’ the official word of the year, revealing a major shift in consumer behaviour towards mobile and visual communication. Emojis […]

7 years ago by

Looking Back to Look Forward: In Conversation with Turumeke Harrington

Written by Lana Lopesi Supported by Creative New Zealand Lana Lopesi is the editor of Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

Igniting a Passion for Democracy: On the Fence

Written by Lana Lopesi Designers­—as communication specialists and image-makers—build election campaigns as we know them. They communicate political messages to the masses, and create pathways from the public to the […]

7 years ago by

The Reorientation of Objectspace: In Conversation with Kim Paton

Written by Lana Lopesi At the end of July Objectspace reopened their gallery doors to the public, with a new space, a reenergised mandate and a declaration to be Aotearoa’s […]

7 years ago by

Plans and Reality in Central City Christchurch: How graphic design works towards, shapes, navigates and imagines a future city

Written by Cameron Ralston Supported by Creative New Zealand Cameron Ralston is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and funded […]

7 years ago by

Adopting a kaizen mindset

The Japanese people have a word they know as kaizen, which means ‘change for the better’, or ‘good change’. Over the years, the business world has adopted and evolved this […]

7 years ago by

Interview with Todd Atticus

Written by K. Emma Ng Supported by Creative New Zealand Emma Ng is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

Murky In-between Spaces: An Interview with Nell May

Written by Layla Tweedie-Cullen Supported by Creative New Zealand   Layla Tweedie-Cullen is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

UX Homegrown: July 21st, Auckland

This year Auckland is playing host to UX Homegrown, a one day conference of 20 talks and workshops about UX practice in New Zealand. It takes place on the 21st […]

7 years ago by

Wearing Dissent: The Politics of the T Shirt

Written by Lana Lopesi Supported by Creative New Zealand   Lana Lopesi is the editor of Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly […]

7 years ago by

Who’s Winning? Graphic Design Competitions

Written by Cameron Ralston Supported by Creative New Zealand Cameron Ralston is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

Designers and account managers: a love/hate relationship

Written by Sarah Ritchie, AM-Insider Ask any agency person what the dynamic is like between their designers and their account managers and you’ll probably get a similar response: dog/cat, love/hate, us/them. […]

7 years ago by

Feeling Our Way Toward Election Day

Written by K. Emma Ng Supported by Creative New Zealand Emma Ng is a contributor to Aotearoa Design Thinking 2017, a series of commissioned critical design essays published by Design Assembly and […]

7 years ago by

Photographic Arts in Christchurch

Written by Hannah Watkinson In November of 2015, the idea for In Situ Photo Project, a new dedicated photography project space in the heart of Christchurch, was conceived. The aim […]

7 years ago by

Off Grid 17 

Written by Marine Bucher The first edition of Off Grid happened in February 2017 and I seriously wanted more. Great news they’re coming back in 2018! Let’s go back to […]

7 years ago by

Fresh from the Field — Lunchclub, Transformer

This week’s Fresh from the Field showcases the Lunchclub initiative devised by the fun-filled creative folk at Transformer. If you’ve got new or recent work that you’d like to share in […]

7 years ago by