23 Mar 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Thoughts, 0 Comments

Location is where it’s at.

By now you’ve probably heard that the next big thing in social media is location. Certainly if my trip to South by Southwest Interactive is anything to go by, location is all anyone is really talking about. SimpleGeo, FourSquare, Gowalla and to a lesser extent Loopt were highly visible. In a small city with over 10,000 geeks attending the festival location services make a lot of sense. If you want to be at the same panels, parties or bars as your friends, it’s a hell of a lot easier to check an app than to text everyone. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Blog, Thoughts, below the fold, 1 Comments

LoFi Melbourne, a photo project.

Like most designers, we’re big fans of analogue photography. There’s nothing we like more than taking a Holga or a Lomo out for the day and seeing what happens when you shoot from the hip. But like they say, the best camera is the one you have on you, and the camera we all have on us these days is the iPhone. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Featured, Project Stories, 0 Comments

SafeZone Film Festival

Of all of the ways to encourage young Australians to moderate their drinking, a film competition is certainly one of the most innovative ideas. That’s exactly what  our client (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Thoughts, 0 Comments

A note on language

One of the things I learned back in journalism school was that you get paid as much for a short word as a long one. I wish a lot of companies could pick up the same lesson. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Thoughts, 0 Comments

Starting at the middle

If you work in design, you’re constantly asked to do project-based work.

“Can you please create a brochure/website/package/logo for our company?”

The problem with many of these projects is that the outcome has been conceived before the problem has been outlined. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Thoughts, 0 Comments

On your brand’s priorities

During a rebranding, or any communications re-assessment, it is very tempting to think only of the things that an organisation does well. That’s what we normally do – sell our good points. It’s what we’re used to, and it makes sense viscerally. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Blog, Thoughts, above the fold, 0 Comments

In praise of ISO 216, or PC LOAD LETTER?

Not only does America not use SI (metric) measurements — and the less said about that the better — but the USA and Canada comprise the only two countries in the world who don’t use ISO 216 paper measurements. (more…)

27 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Blog, Partners, above the fold, 0 Comments

Partner Profile : James Braund

James Braund and Floate go way back. Back before Floate was even founded, in fact. James and Ross Floate first met while working on the same publication for Fairfax back in the mid 1990’s. They struck up a friendship based on a mutual appreciation of each other’s work, and have been firm friends ever since. (more…)

24 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Blog, Thoughts, above the fold, 0 Comments

Non-designers on design

We’re interested in what non-designers have in mind when they hear the work ‘design’. Here, we ask engineer Paul what he thinks graphic design is.

24 Feb 2010, Posted by Ross Floate in Blog, Featured, Thoughts, 0 Comments

Graphic design’s credibility problem

One of the problems with the client/designer relationship is that most designers don’t take the time to get interested in what their clients do. They spend so much time thinking as designers that they worry too much about looks, and not enough about results and substance.