Online Archives - Design Assembly

Freelancing Diaries: Pros & Cons of being a Sole Trader vs Company

In this FREE webinar we’ve teamed up with Hnry to bring you ‘The Freelancing Diaries’ | a series helping freelancing creatives find financial success and navigate self-employed life.

Who this webinar is for:
– freelancers
– self-employed individuals
– anyone considering starting their own creative business

You are invited to join us online as two designers walk us through how a project worked. Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk and additional time for live Q&A.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day.

Costs:

Non-Members | $40 +gst + booking fee

Members | Free with access code

Please email events@designassembly.org.nz with any questions…looking forward to seeing you on Zoom!

Not a DA Friend? Sign-up to help DA help you! We’ve got options for everyone.
If you’re a DA Friend and would like to attend this webinar, email info@designassembly.org.nz for your access code.

You are invited to join us online as two designers walk us through how a design project worked. Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk and additional time for live Q&A.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day.

Speakers:

• Jade Kake (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hau me Te Parawhau, Te Whakatōhea & Te Arawa), architectural / urban designer, researcher and housing advocate. As the founder of Matakohe Architecture and Urbanism (her kaupapa Māori design studio) and an AUT university lecturer, she’s not only educating the next generation of architects but, redefining spaces in not just Te Tai Tokerau, but across the motu.

• Speaker 2 TBA

Costs:

Non-Members | $40 +gst + booking fee

Members | Free with access code

Please email events@designassembly.org.nz with any questions…looking forward to seeing you on Zoom!

Not a DA Friend? Sign-up to help DA help you! We’ve got options for everyone.
If you’re a DA Friend and would like to attend this workshop, email info@designassembly.org.nz for your access code.

You are invited to join us online as two designers walk us through how a design project worked. Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk and additional time for live Q&A.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day.

Featured Speakers:

• Emma East | Design Director at Q Brand Builders | At Q I lead the visual direction for our clients, working alongside our Creative Director and wider creative studio. I have over a decade of experience designing and art directing in NZ and the UK. For me, design is all about having a purpose. Understanding the unique and intriguing aspects of that purpose, and then maximising them to create a design aesthetic that’s clear, engaging and appropriate for the audience.

• Stacey Morrissey | Design Director at Spruik | I’m a firm believer in critical thinking and the crucial connection between strategy and creative. In my role as Design Director at creative agency Spruik, my objective is to build, lead and inspire the design studio by setting the creative standard. That is; continually striving and encouraging our designers to demonstrate high-level conceptual thinking, combined with strong design craftsmanship. I have been fortunate to have worked around the world over the past 17 years, building my experience in design and advertising roles in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. As an award-winning Art Director, I have extensive experience in consumer advertising, brand marketing and health and wellness communication. Working on brands from Bluescope Steel, to Toohey’s Brewery, to National Influenza Vaccination campaigns. My communication and design experience means that I’m always looking for the perspective that connects to the strategic thinking. Taking brands into the future. My passions are art, landscape painting and my kids! All fantastic sources of inspiration for rich cultural meaning and creative storytelling.

Costs:

Non-Members | $40 +gst + booking fee

Members | Free with access code

Please email events@designassembly.org.nz with any questions…looking forward to seeing you on Zoom!

Not a DA Friend? Sign-up to help DA help you! We’ve got options for everyone.
If you’re a DA Friend and would like to attend this webinar, email info@designassembly.org.nz for your free access code.

Freelancing Diaries: Preparing for the end of the financial year

We’ve teamed up with Hnry to bring you ‘The Freelancing Diaries’ | a series helping freelancing creatives find financial success and navigate self-employed life.

For many sole traders, the end of the financial year can be a stressful and confusing time. In this free webinar Hnry’s Customer Care Manager Staci Knox will take you through some top tips for preparing you for the end of the financial year so you can get ahead as a freelancer come tax time! And it’s FREE!

Who this webinar is for:
– freelancers
– self-employed individuals
– anyone considering starting their own creative business

What you will learn:

• An introduction to tax returns
• How to prepare your tax return
• How to claim business expenses
• Key IRD forms
• Dates and deadlines
• How Hnry helps

About the speaker:

Staci Knox has a comprehensive work experience that spans various roles and companies. Staci started her career at BNZ as a Customer Service Officer and worked in various banking sector roles until joining Hnry in January 2021 as a Customer Success Representative. Staci later transitioned to the role of Customer Finance Agent in April 2022 and is currently working as the Customer Care Manager at Hnry.

This is a free event. Please register by following the link to tickets.

This year we’ve teamed up with Hnry to bring you ‘The Freelancing Diaries’, a series helping freelancing creatives find financial success and navigate self-employed life.

In this free webinar Hnry’s Customer Finance Manager, Sophie Parrott, will be taking us through some of the key things creative freelancers need to know about ACC – including how to know whether you’re overpaying on ACC.

Who this webinar is for:
– freelancers
– self-employed individuals
– anyone considering starting their own creative business

What you will learn:
– What is ACC? And why do I have to pay levies as a sole trader?
– What does ACC cover me/my business for?
– CoverPlus Extra
– The three different ACC levies
– Your job type, and how it’s used to calculate your ACC levies
– What happens if you’re on the wrong job type?
– ACC & Hnry, what they do so you don’t have to

About the speaker:

Sophie Parrott is the Customer Finance Manager at Hnry and has been part of the team for the last three years. Helping self-employed individuals navigate their way through managing their taxes and finance is a huge passion of hers. With a partner who is self-employed she knows all too well the awful feeling of an unexpected bill come tax time.

This webinar is free to attend. Registered attendees will also be able to watch the recording on-demand. You must register before the event to receive access to the on-demand recording.

**Please note: By registering for this event, you give Hnry permission to contact you via email and you will have the ability to opt out.

You are invited to join us online as two creatives walk us through how a design project worked. Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk and additional time for live Q&A.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day.

Costs:

Non-Members | $20 +gst + booking fee

Members | Free with access code

Please email events@designassembly.org.nz with any questions…looking forward to seeing you there!

Under The Hood March 2023

Get Tickets

You are invited to join us online as two creatives walk us through how a design project worked. Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk and additional time for live Q&A. For the month of March, to honour International Womens Day, we are highlighting and celebrating (as we always do) women in our industry. If you cannot attend this event but would like to see the content, register and you will be sent a private link post-event to enjoy on demand.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Christine Luiten, Senior Creative at StudioC
Christine is an illustrator, designer and Storyline developer from Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her passion for working with value-aligned organisations at StudioC Design has produced work for a broad range of clients, including National Library of New Zealand, CreativeHQ, Ministry for Pacific Peoples and New Zealand Red Cross. Christine’s design experience, tertiary teaching, and her deep empathy and attention to detail have helped her to dive headlong into the world of eLearning.

Katherine Rayn, Senior Consultant at Catalyst IT
Katherine works at Catalyst IT in eLearning and learning management system design. Katherine helps organisations design and implement systems and strategies that engage and grow people throughout their working lives. Katherine’s collaborative approach creates long-term partnerships with clients. Having worked in the Learning Design field for over 20 years in a range of sectors, Katherine has a lot of real-life experiences to bring to the table. Katherine has recently been involved with  projects for Family Planning, Te Whatu Ora, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Business and Innovation’s Building Performance Team. Katherine is passionate about learning design and matching the right solution to each client’s needs.

Fiona Kerr, Head of Creative Content at ZURU Edge

Fiona has spent the last decade working as a designer and art director in New Zealand and the UK, and is now the Head of Creative Content Strategy across ZURU Edge’s portfolio of brands. Working with well-known brands across multiple sectors including food, fashion, home interiors and retail, Fiona honed her skills at fashion brand Boden in London.

FREE for DA Friends
Not a DA Friend? Sign-up here to help DA help you.

—

Thanks to our Design Assembly Partners BookPrint, mychillybin, Portfolio, Rocketspark and Streamtime

Is your workplace inclusive? Do they prioritise your mental health? Are you happy?!
Big questions, that hopefully the results of the 2022 Mentally Healthy Survey can shed some light on for our industry. Join us for a Webinar with Co-Chair of the Mentally Healthy Change Group and Founder of Never Not Creative, Andy Wright to discuss the results and see what we can do better to push our industry forward.

Get Tickets

The third Mentally Healthy survey set out to measure the mental health and wellbeing of the media, marketing and creative industry in Australia and New Zealand. The biennial survey was conducted by Never Not Creative and UnLtd and supported by the Mentally-Healthy Change Group and follows the surveys conducted in 2018 and 2020 that identified that our industry was 20% more likely to experience signs of depression than the general public. The survey measures the levels of depression, anxiety and stress using the standard DASS scale but also dwells deeper into areas that impact mental wellbeing at workplace.

“Whilst the depression and anxiety levels remain high in our industry, the last results showed a reduction of stigma around mental health. Over the last four years we’ve seen employers make a real effort to address mental health. Mental wellbeing is now much more normalised a topic than when the survey first started in 2018. Now in the last few years, we’ve had external issues like the pandemic to deal with on top of the systemic industry issues that were already there. We use the results to drive our initiatives and work in this space, so we’re more intrigued than ever to uncover this year’s results and help our industry further.” — Andy Wright.

Andy Wright — Streamtime / Never Not Creative

Andy is the creator of the Never Not Creative community and co-chair of the creative, media and marketing industry Mentally-Healthy Change Group. Never Not Creative runs mental health support groups for creatives, mentoring initiatives, events a podcast, and the Never Not International Women’s Day platform. He’s been working in the creative industry for many years. From running the local offices of global agencies like Interbrand and R/GA, he was also an original co-founder of For The People in Sydney. He’s run successful and award-winning projects for GOMA, Australia Post, Telstra and Streamtime. It’s the latter where Andy now spends his time as CEO of the project management software business, with a mission to create healthier creative businesses. When not doing any of the above, you might find him somewhere in Scandinavia chasing the Aurora Borealis and a bit of peace and quiet.

You are invited to join us online as two design studios walk us through how a design project worked from go to whoa!
Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All of these insights in a quick conversational talk with screen sharing.

Join us on zoom for a candid walk-through with creative agencies, Libby & Ben and Milk.

Featured Speakers:

Ben Reid, Managing Director at Milk. Ben has accumulated more than 20 years experience in the creative industries, working with industry leading design houses in Europe and New Zealand, and developing award winning projects for local brands and international clients. Milk is an award winning, multi-disciplined creative studio that unpacks businesses, finds the truths and builds transformative brands.

Charlotte Sowman, Design Director at Libby & Ben. As well as leading the studio’s creative direction, she works collaboratively with clients, and hands-on alongside Libby & Ben’s awesome design team.

Ben Crawford, Co-founder and Strategic Director of Libby & Ben. Before starting the brand studio with his sister Libby 10 years ago, he held senior brand management roles in New Zealand, Australia, North America and the UK. With studios in both Auckland and Christchurch, Ben takes care of clients, strategy and business development.

Under the Hood is a live event from 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Grab your sandwich, tea, coffee or kombucha and pull up a chair with your studio friends or in your WFH office. You can enter the event from 12.15pm on the day. When you register you can submit your questions and we’ll pick a selection to ask the designers.

FREE for DA Friends
(Not a DA Friend? Sign-up here to help DA help you.)