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5 Mins With… Johnson McKay, Creative Strategist at Fly

Ahead of two workshops Johnson McKay is running for Design Assembly covering Client Attraction & Relationship Building Skills and Applying Design Thinking to creating Māori Graphic Design in both Auckland and Wellington, we sat down with the Creative Strategist to find out a little more about his work and the influences behind it. First off, can you introduce yourself…

2 weeks ago by

Graphic Design & Photography: Tash Hopkins

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with photographer Tash Hopkins to find out more about her work and her passions. This article is proudly brought to you by mychillybin.   The Europeans Project Hi Tash, can you tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do. I’m a photographer…

4 months ago by

From The Archives: Into the White

Way back in 2014, Design Assembly had the opportunity to speak with Craig Lucinsky from Into the White, a Wellington-based design and letterpress studio: I make small letterpress goods: cards, prints and hand bound notebooks at the moment. I use a mix of handset wooden type and digital polymer plates. All the items are designed…

4 months ago by

Creative Spaces — Voice

Creative Spaces is a series exploring New Zealand creative and design workplaces, giving you a sneak peak into the space and behind-the-scenes. This series is proudly brought to you by Atomic Coffee – Fuelling creativity. In the fifth instalment of this series we went into Voice  —  who have been dedicated to creating, evolving and transforming brands for over…

4 months ago by

5 Minutes with… Print Designer & Illustrator, Lisa Baudry

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with Lisa Baudry to find out more about her transition from graphic designer to award-winning textile artist: Hi Lisa, can you tell us a little bit about your background. I grew up in rural Waikato and moved to Auckland to study graphic design in the early ’90s. After…

5 months ago by

2017 DA End of Year Wrap Party: Auckland

Great turn out for our DA End of Year Wrap Party that took place at Objectspace on Thursday November 23rd. Thanks to Matt Dawkins for documenting not only our end of year celebration, but also our inaugural Auckland Poster Exhibition.

5 months ago by

Off Grid 18

Off Grid 18: The Experiential City 3 Days 4 Cities Multiple Venues Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne 23 February 2018 Wellington 26–27 February 2018 Off Grid 18 is a different kind of design conference that will engage you in a conversation about designing for the ‘experiential city’ using exciting locations throughout the city.  Off Grid 18 is the next international…

5 months ago by

Graphic Design & Photography: Thomas Seear-Budd

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with landscape photographer Thomas Seear-Budd to find out more about his work and his passions. This article is proudly brought to you by mychillybin. Hi Thomas, can you tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do. My name is Thomas Seear-Budd.…

5 months ago by

5 Minutes with… comic artist/illustrator, Li Chen

Design Assembly recently got the chance to chat with Auckland-based comic artist and illustrator, creator of Extra Ordinary, Li Chen: Hi Li, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what your background is, and how you first got started in the industry. I was born in Beijing, China and moved to…

5 months ago by

From The Archives: 5 Minutes with… Mike Collinge

This article was originally published in 2015. Hi Mike, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. Well here’s the condensed somewhat simplified version: I’m from Wellington originally, well, at least this is where I spent the majority of my formative years as we moved around a bit when I was…

5 months ago by

DA Conversations Podcast with Stephen Richardson, November 2017

Welcome to Design Assembly Conversations. In this series we talk to New Zealand graphic designers, hear their stories, and celebrate their work. In this episode I spoke to Stephen Richardson. Stephen works as Pastel City, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Auckland. He provides the full-range of creative and design services and some of his…

5 months ago by

Creative Spaces — Skunk + Robot, Upper Moutere

Creative Spaces is a series exploring New Zealand creative and design workplaces, giving you a sneak peak into the space and behind-the-scenes. This series is proudly brought to you by Atomic Coffee – Fuelling creativity. In the fourth of this series we went into Skunk + Robot — an Upper Moutere, South Island-based textile design…

6 months ago by

5 Minutes with… Illustrator, Malcolm White

Thanks to our friends at Portfolio Recruitment, we recently got the opportunity to chat with freelance illustrator Malcolm White about his work, his career path, and what motivates him:   Hi Mal, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what your background is, and how you first got started in the industry.…

6 months ago by

Graphic Design & Photography: Michael Lewis

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with photographer Michael Lewis to find out more about his work and what makes him tick. This article is proudly brought to you by mychillybin. Hello Michael, can you tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do. My name is Michael Lewis,…

6 months ago by

DA End of Year Wrap Party, Thursday November 23rd, Auckland

Save the date for the Auckland End of Year Wrap Party to be held on Thursday 23rd November at Objectspace in Ponsonby. Join your fellow designers and creatives and celebrate the end of 2017 and the start of summer! As part of this social evening we will be showing a curated New Zealand Poster Exhibition 2017…

6 months ago by

DA End of Year Wrap Party, Thursday 30th November, Christchurch

Save the date for the Christchurch DA End of Year Wrap Party to be held on Thursday 30th November at the XCHC. Join your fellow designers and creatives and celebrate the end of 2017 and the start of summer! As part of this social evening we will be showing a curated New Zealand Poster Exhibition 2017…

6 months ago by

From The Archives: By Day/By Night — Jonty Valentine, Whitecliffe

This article was originally published in 2016. Welcome again to our 2016 By Day/By Night series. Here we profile a range of design teachers from our tertiary institutions to find out what projects they’re involved in outside of work hours, and how their personal creative endeavours feed back into their teaching roles. Today we speak…

6 months ago by

Graphic Design & Photography: Fraser Chatham

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with still life/studio photographer Fraser Chatham to find out more about his work and his passions. This article is proudly brought to you by mychillybin. Hi Fraser, can you tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do. I’m a still life/…

6 months ago by

How Do We Encourage Collaboration?

A short while ago, Sam Allan from Onfire Design initiated ‘Battle of the Birken’ — a bowls competition between Birkenhead-based studios Onfire Design, Marx Design, Inhouse Design, PHD3 and Forever After. Sam says, “I organised the event to get together the local design community — it’s ok to have friendly rivalry in business, and is a…

7 months ago by

Now and Then: Sefton Marshall

Now and Then is a series where we catch up with designers who’ve been recently placed via Portfolio Recruitment. We get their thoughts and feedback about their new roles and their work. Our latest Now and Then is with Sefton Marshall who joined the team at Moa Beer a few months ago as their in-house graphic designer. Thanks for…

7 months ago by

Graphic Design & Photography: Michelle Weir

Design Assembly recently got the opportunity to chat with architectural/lifestyle photographer Michelle Weir to find out more about her work, her passions, and her studio, Studio: Weir. This article is proudly brought to you by mychillybin. NZ Fashion Week 2015, Twenty-Seven Names © Michelle Weir Hi Michelle, can you tell our readers a little bit about who you…

7 months ago by

In Celebration: the DA+SPAKL 2017 Speed Dating Portfolio Evening

On August 16th, Design Assembly hosted its Speed Dating Portfolio Evening at Spark Lab featuring 20 young graphic designers and 20 professionals in a fast-paced evening of networking, portfolio reviews and feedback. Thanks to all our amazing professionals who gave up their time to provide valuable advice to our new designers. Thanks also to photographer Matt Dawkins.

7 months ago by

Catching up with Greg Straight

Design Assembly recently caught up with Auckland-based, illustrator/designer Greg Straight to find out more about what he’s recently been doing. (Seems like he’s been keeping pretty busy!) So, what’s been happening in the world of Greg Straight? It’s been another busy year and I’ve been trying to expand on what I do and what I…

8 months ago by

By Day/By Night: Caroline Powley, Whitecliffe

Welcome again to our 2017 By Day/By Night series. Here we profile a range of design teachers from our tertiary institutions to find out what projects they’re involved in outside of work hours, and how their personal creative endeavours feed back into their teaching roles. Sixth up we speak with Senior Lecturer Caroline Powley from…

8 months ago by

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