Launch of Never Sit Still
Aug 1, 2016
Having worked tirelessly over the last few months, I’m extremely proud to announce the launch of our new motion design studio, Never Sit Still.
We are an award winning creative team of motion designers based in Sydney, Australia. We specialise in motion for brand and collaborate with designers, creative directors, studios, musicians, developers and companies from all over the world to help tell their stories.
The website is live, the business cards are fresh off the press and the posters are up on the wall in the studio.
A massive thanks to Christopher Doyle and Co for the awesome name, identity and tone of voice. And to Macadamia for the super slick website. Check it out at www.neversitstill.com
TEDxSydney
May 25, 2016
TEDxSydney is the leading platform for the propagation of Australian ideas, creativity and innovation to the rest of the world.
The annual event takes place at the Sydney Opera House and begins with opening titles that reflect the theme of the year. The theme for 2016 was ‘together’.
We were invited by Common to contribute a short animation to be included in the title sequence, and it was an honour to have our work featured alongside the likes of Buck, Fin, Collider, Photoplay Films, Cutting Edge and White Chocolate.
The titles looked and sound fantastic on the day with a great atmosphere in the concert hall.
Check out our case study and process reel
You can also watch the complete opening titles that were played at TEDxSydney 2016.
Enmore Talks
May 18, 2016
Had fun speaking to students, teachers and guests at the Enmore Design Centre for Enmore Talks, an event organised solely by students of the college.
'Into the labyrinth' was the theme I was asked to speak on so I shared my journey of how I got into the industry. I spoke about working in different studios, my time as a freelancer and what it means to run my own studio. And of course I shared a few tips and tricks I've learned along the way.
Also had the pleasure of speaking alongside Tony Ibbotson from The Creative Method and local artist Daniel O'Toole AKA Ears.
Adobe Make It Titles
May 5, 2016
Incredibly proud to share a project that I worked on for Adobe with Tim Clapham from Luxx.
We created the opening titles for the Make It creative conference, which took place at Carriageworks in Sydney on May 5, 2016. The titles were played to a full house with 1400 people in attendance.
View the complete case study on Behance, where you can check out the titles, along with a process reel.
We're also well chuffed that this project was featured in the Inspiration section on Motionographer, the holy grail of online motion sources.
Guest on Australian Design Radio
April 11, 2016
Australian Design Radio is a podcast to provide Australia and the world with conversations and commentary on Australian Design. Hosted by Flyn Tracy and Matt Leach with regular industry guests.
This was such a fun way to spend an hour hanging out with Flyn and Matt. We covered a lot of ground, from my involvement in the industry, to my time as a touring didjeridoo player and electronic music artist.
Check it out via the link below, along with plenty more ADR episodes with awesome Australian designers.
I hope you enjoy it.
Speaker for Creative Mornings Sydney
January 29, 2016
Creative Mornings is a breakfast lecture series for the creative community.
The concept is simple: breakfast and a short talk one Friday morning a month. All the events are free of charge and open to anyone.
There are over 130 cities that participate worldwide and talks given are based on a global theme that changes monthly.
The Sydney chapter is hosted by Flyn Tracy at Tractor Design School. About 120 people attend Sydney's event and all the talks are recorded and shared with the global community.
This months theme was 'language'. I spoke about the power of visual language and motion. You can check out my talk on the Creative Mornings website.
I've been stoked with the feedback so far and look forward to doing more talks in future. I hope you enjoy it.
Talk at Martin College
January 14, 2016
For my first talk of 2016, I presented a case study to students and teachers at Martin School of Design & Technology.
I focused on a project that came my way because an agency in the UK saw one of my side projects online. They thought something similar would be a great solution for telling the story of their client's new product.
When you create work that you're proud of and you share it with the world, people will respond to it. And it might even lead to paid work like it did for me in this particular case.
Side projects are also a great way to learn new skills and build the portfolio.
NSW AGDA Council election for 2016
December 10, 2015
We had the AGDA NSW council elections for 2016 and I’m extremely happy to be on the council for another year. I feel like I’ve just started scratching the surface in my quest to unite AGDA with the motion community. Even though we made some fantastic progress in 2015, I can’t wait to see what we can do with another year.
The NSW council consists of nine members from the professional creative community.
Graham Barton - Creative Director at Folk as Chairman
Linda Jukic - Creative Director at Hulsbosch as Vice Chair
Matt Morgan - Design Director at Landor
Nerida Murphy - Independent Creative Director
Christopher Doyle - Founder of Christopher Doyle & Co
Mark Stott - Founder of Common
Cat Burgess - Strategy Director at Frost* Collective
Lauren Argenta - Senior Service Designer at Wilson Fletcher
Mike Tosetto - Independent Motion Director
AGDA Awards Creative Response Curation
November 14, 2015
This year I worked on the branding for the AGDA Awards with two other Sydney studios, Garbett and End of Work.
2015 has been about collaboration between AGDA and the creative industry. So we asked the question, "What does the pinnacle of design mean to you?”, to selected studios across Australia from a range of disciplines. Their brief was to make a creative response, which was loosely based around the triangular shape of an AGDA Award.
I curated all the responses from the motion community and I was blown away by the support. This was an initiative that gained more traction than we could have ever hoped for with artists and studios from all over Australia keen to contribute.
In the theme of collaboration, our AGDA Awards video is a mash up of all the creative responses. We’re extremely proud of all the work and extend a huge thank-you to all the artists and studios involved. A massive thanks goes out to Sydney duo Alba and their label Plastic-world for allowing us to use their awesome music.
Watch the AGDA Awards video
See the full collection of Creative Responses
Behance Sydney - Portfolio Session
October 31, 2015
As part of a series of worldwide, creative networking events, Behance Sydney held a Portfolio Session at Work-shop.
As one of the Spotlight Speakers on the day, I gave a short talk providing industry insights and advice to help launch a creative career.
Up-and-coming creative talent was invited to bring along their portfolio. I reviewed some stellar work and met a bunch of friendly creative folk.
The event was completely free and there were also live creative demonstrations including sign-painting by Pocket Design and screen-printing by Free the Reef.
Industry Connect at NSI TAFE
October 29, 2015
One year ago, I gave a talk to students and teachers at NSI TAFE, just as I was about to leave full time employment and join the world of the self-employed.
They asked me back a year later to talk about my first year flying solo at their Industry Connect event.
Momentum Ensemble Launch
October 22, 2015
Landor have worked with the Australian Youth Orchestra for many years. For the launch of the Momentum Ensemble, I worked closely with Landor to create an animation series of the new identity.
The ensemble was launched in Sydney at Telstra’s innovative new Insights Centre. With an extremely tight deadline of just over one week, I used a combination of 2D and 3D to deliver three completely different animations that would complement the performances and deliver a truly immersive brand experience for the guests and musicians alike.
The animations were played during the concert to welcome the musicians to the stage. They were also played in the foyer on 360 degree screens before and after the show. It was a fantastic project and extremely rewarding to see the work being played at the concert in front of a live audience.
Motion Graphics Madness at Work-shop
September 19, 2015
Work-shop collaborate with local artists and industry experts to teach classes in life skills and alternative art. They’re located in a fantastic old warehouse in Redfern and their ethos is all about making their courses affordable and accessible. So when they asked if I’d be keen to teach a one day animation class, I said of course.
The class was lots of fun and a great way for beginners to learn about the wonderful world of animation, along with how to start animating with After Effects.
Western Digital Demonstration
September 16, 2015
As a Creative Ambassador for Western Digital, I gave a demonstration and short presentation about how I use their MyCloud services for my creative workflow. This event coincided with the launch of the next generation of the MyCloud operating system.
I quickly made an animation of the Western Digital logo using After Effects to show how easy it is to upload it to my personal cloud, so I could retrieve it from anywhere while out and about.
Moved into shared studio space with Bullet
September 14, 2015
Having worked from my home studio for the best part of a year, I felt it was time to step it up a notch and move back into a studio. I’m still doing my own thing, but now I'm hanging out with the lovely folk at Bullet Studios in a fantastic location on Reservoir Street in the heart of Surry Hills.
My new studio is right above a great little cafe called Bang Bang, so if you're ever in the ever in the area, be sure to join for me a coffee.
General Assembly Speaker
September 10, 2015
It was great to be part of a General Assembly panel on design, tech, innovation and motion for a full house. At least until the fire alarm cut things short! Also really enjoyed hearing what Tim Buesing from Reactive and Jack Maxwell from USTWO had to say on this topic.
Before the panel discussion I gave a quick presentation about how my skills as a motion designer are being used more and more on digital projects. Whether it's to explore how an interface might move, or to create an interactive video in WebM or OGG format, I've been kept very busy with digital teams over the past year.
I've really enjoyed working closely with both developers and digital designers and the demand for this kind of collaboration seems to be on the increase.
AGDA Awards Finalist
September 8, 2015
Super stoked that my first project as a lone ranger is a finalist for the 2015 AGDA Design Awards.
I was approached by online startup Stashboard, to make a short, punchy animation that would get new users excited about the platform and help them understand how it works.
Stashboard is an online resource for all your creative stuff. Images, vectors, textures, sketches, websites, links, video & music—in fact, everything you ever come across or create.
The design and storyboard was produced by Thom and Alaster from Stashboard, Ribongia supplied the beats and I worked on bringing it all to life through animation.
It was a super fun project to be a part of and if you haven’t checked out Stashboard yet, you most definitely should: www.stashboard.com
AGDA New Frontiers - VFX, Motion & Sound event
September 7, 2015
VFX, Motion & Sound was an event that I curated, organised and hosted for AGDA's New Frontiers series. We had three awesome presenters including the legendary Tim Clapham from Luxx, VFX artist and Pro-Video coalition author Chris Zwar, along with Tone Aston and Johnny Green from Rumble Studios.
We held the event at the Powerhouse Museum and it was a great way to get the Sydney motion community together. I also made an animation to help promote the event.
It's worth mentioning that there's no way any of the events we do for AGDA would be possible without the hard work of our amazing National Events Manager, Anita Lyons. She really is the glue that holds it all together.
AGDA First Five Out
July 1, 2015
This popular AGDA event focuses on four very different designers whose career paths have taken them on an interesting journey.
I told the story of my unconventional foray into the design world. From driving coaches as a tour guide in Central Australia, to touring Europe with a band as the didjeridoo player, life experience is just as important as design experience.
I also dug into the archives, sharing some of my earlier work - the good, the bad and the ugly. It was a fun night and I had some very positive feedback following the event.
I-Manifest at VIVID Ideas
June 18, 2015
I-Manifest is a not for profit organisation helping disadvantaged high school kids pursue a creative career.
Over three days of the VIVID festival, I-Manifest ran a program for over 100 high school students from 9 schools. With the help of industry mentors, the students worked on some incredibly creative projects across photography, digital media, film, animation and design.
I was proud to be one of the industry mentors.
Featured on AGDA Website
June 2, 2015
Great to be profiled on the AGDA website this month. A short article about my ride in the industry so far.
New Views On Design at Newcastle Uni
June 1, 2015
For this AGDA event I made an early start with two other creatives from Sydney, for a day trip to Newcastle University.
Myself, Jo Roca and Cat Van Der Werff spoke about our careers in our respective fields - motion, branding and packaging.
We touched on how we approach both the thought process and technical side of our jobs, and included case studies of real world projects we've done.
AGDA x VIVID Event
May 30, 2015
AGDA teamed up with VIVID Ideas to host an event called Work In Progress. We brought together seven distinguished thinkers, makers and innovators across art, design and digital to share their ideas and experiences of always-on projects.
Targeted at graphic, motion and digital designers, the event tapped inside the minds of the brilliant talent who are ‘Always On’.
Elliot Routledge, Numskull
Georgia Booth, Broadsheet
Sacha Coles, Aspect Studios
Daye Moffitt, Principals
Tania Debono, Cake
Ross Raeburn, Soap Creative
Lucasz Karluk, Julapy
Watch the animation I made to promote this event
Visit the AGDA x VIVID event page
D&AD Graphite Pencil for IR
May 22, 2015
Delighted that one of the last projects I worked on at Interbrand, IR (Integrated Research), has been awarded a D&AD graphite pencil.
Our intention was to tell a clearer story of optimisation. Using a metaphor to turn complex case studies into simple stories, we gave IR a visual language of dots and dashes to show things that are optimal and things that aren't. The new brand uses wit, humour and tech references to communicate in a way that's straightforward, entertaining and, most importantly, optimal.
Talk at Tractor Design School
May 15, 2015
Gave a talk to students at Tractor Design School about the power of motion in modern design.
I spoke about adding flare to projects by bringing static design to life. And how much motion design impacts the branding projects I regularly work on.
Modern motion is changing all the time and can be plugged into almost any project. From a simple identity animation, right through to an entire system that dictates how a brand or interface will move. I often say the power of audio and visuals combined can be exciting, engaging and emotional.
Creative Ambassador for Western Digital
March 24, 2015
Western Digital make awesome hard drives, which is perfect for motion designers like myself who need lots of storage for large video files.
Fortunately, they really like my work and I was asked to be one of their Creative Ambassadors for an event launching their new NAS line of hard drives (that's Networked Attached Storage if you're curious).
Showreel featured on Australian Infront
February 24, 2015
Awesome to see my brand new showreel featured on Australian Infront, a highly regarded Australian design portal.
Speaker at Pause Fest
February 14, 2015
I’ve been attending Pause Fest since it started in 2009 so you can only imagine my excitement when I was invited to speak on the 'World In Motion' stage.
I was talking alongside some of the best in the business and I wanted my presentation to have a point of difference. So I told the story of how I got into branding through my role as a motion designer at Interbrand.
Coming from a background in production, I had no idea what branding was when I took the job, but I was really inspired by the Creative Directors who interviewed me, Mike Rigby and Chris Maclean. I talked about the highs and lows of my 4 years at Interbrand, along with why it’s more important than ever for motion to be included as part of any brand.
Elected onto the NSW AGDA Council
December 11, 2014
I'm super stoked to have been elected onto the AGDA state council for 2015. The NSW council consists of eight members from the professional creative community and I’m extremely proud to be rubbing shoulders with all of them.
Having been heavily involved in the recent rebrand of AGDA, I felt closely connected and keen to help AGDA truly connect with the motion community.
Jason Little - Co-Founder/Creative Director at For the People as Chairman
Graham Barton - Creative Director at Folk as Vice Chair
Linda Jukic - Creative Director at Hulsbosch
Ben Miles - Creative Director at Interbrand
Mark Stott - Founder of Common
Julie Faktor - Creative Partner at Concept
Matt Morgan - Design Director at Landor
Mike Tosetto - Independent Motion Director
Leaving Interbrand to fly solo
November 1, 2014
Following three fantastic years at Interbrand, I've made the decision to go out on my own. I've done lots of work that I'm incredibly proud of and made some life long friends along the way. I'll be sticking around to the end of October to finish off a couple of big projects and then I'll be entering the world of the self employed. Excited and a tad nervous about what's ahead but looking forward to the challenge.
Teaching at Miami Ad School
October 9, 2014
I'm looking forward to teaching motion graphics at Miami Ad School, where I'll be running a three hour class for ten consecutive weeks.
The classes are limited to a small number of students being taught by industry professionals.
Interview for The Artful Club
August 16, 2014
I answered some questions for an interview with The Artful Club this month about my take on identity design as a Motion Designer. I always enjoy doing these kinds of things and appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts on design related subjects.
AGDA Shot Down Speaker
June 18, 2014
With a reputation as one of the not-to-be-missed events on the AGDA calendar, I was honoured to be a guest speaker at the AGDA Shot Down event. Shot Down is an opportunity for speakers to talk about work that's been unseen, unheard, unrealised and under appreciated.
The Loop Interview
June 3, 2014
I was interviewed by The Loop in the lead up to their 'Film, TV and Animation Portfolio Masterclass’, sharing my story as a visual communicator, along with some tips on how to make it in the industry.
VIVID x Adobe x The Loop Portfolio Masterclass
June 7, 2014
The Loop's 'Film, TV and Animation Portfolio Masterclass' took place recently as part of Sydney's Vivid Festival. I was stoked that I was asked to be a mentor. I met some talented motion designers looking for their break in such a competitive field and did my best to give useful feedback and constructive advice to help them progress.
In our industry, a portfolio is more important than a qualification or a job title. It often doesn't matter where you've worked or for how long, it's all about what you're capable of and a portfolio allows you to showcase your strongest work and put your best foot forward. Portfolio masterclasses are important because they offer the opportunity for people to share their work with peers who are constantly reviewing portfolios when looking for prospective people to hire.
Darling Harbour featured in Computer Arts Magazine
May 23, 2014
We made an inflatable brand identity at Interbrand for Darling Harbour and it's been featured in Computer Art's Magazine.
The article is about the process behind the rebrand, including how we came up with the original idea and then executed such a project. From modelling and rendering the 3D letters, to creating a system with guidelines that we handed off to the design team.
We also had 30 foot inflatable signage made that was installed in the precinct. An epic project all round.
D&AD In-Book award for Darling Harbour
May 22, 2014
Thrilled to receive In-Book recognition for the Darling Harbour signage at the D&AD Awards.
Celebrating advertising and design, D&AD is known for being one of the toughest creative awards programs in the world – so this is a massive honour for us and a great way to start the week.
A lot of credit must go to our client, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA), for their belief in our creative vision for the Darling Harbour brand and commitment to realising it. And a big thanks to Diadem and Fabric Structure Systems for turning our concepts into reality.
Check out the Darling Harbour award on the D&AD website
Adobe Generation Pro
May 15, 2014
I was invited to participate in an online classroom as an expert for the Adobe Generation Pro animation course. It was a really cool experience to enter a virtual classroom and talk about what my job entails, previous experience and workflow. I showed some of my favourite projects and talked through my process.
Brand New Awards 2013 - Best in Show for Opera Australia
April 3, 2014
The Brand New Awards celebrate the best brand identity work from around the world. A rebrand for Opera Australia that I worked on while I was at Interbrand has been awarded Best in Show for 2013.
There's so much more to opera than just the performance on the stage, and this new brand seeks to express the idea that opera isn't one-dimensional – it's multi-dimensional. The costumes, the sets, the stories, the music, the emotion, the stars, the venues, etc.
This was expressed this by introducing vertical bars, based on musical notation, to separate the different dimensions of opera. Bars change thickness, vertical position and pace to represent the music.
In motion, they move at different speeds, representing different instruments and voices; overlapping each other to open up and wipe content in and out. Essentially revealing opera and opening it up, making it more accessible for new audiences
Motion talk at Billy Blue college
November 10, 2013
I gave a talk at Billy Blue College about how we use motion design at Interbrand. I spoke to students from both the 'digital media' and 'visual communications' streams, focusing on why we've heavily adopted the use of motion design and include it as an integral part of the creative process on every project.
Bronze Canne Lion for IGLOO
July 22, 2013
Very excited by the news that Interbrand were awarded a Bronze Design Lion at the 'Canne Lions International Festival of Creativity' for IGLOO.
This is a project I've been involved with since starting at Interbrand and it's a very special one for all of us. Find out more about the IGLOO brand, for Sky TV New Zealand on Interbrand Sydney's blog.
Digital Tutors After Effects Training
July 13, 2013
Digital Tutors are one of the most respected online learning portals for digital artists with the world's largest training library.
Over ten years ago I purchased a training DVD from Digital Tutors to learn Flash so I was blown away when they presented me with an opportunity to create a motion tutorial for their Creative Development Series.
This particular series is aimed at more advanced users. The course covers my workflow for an entire project from start to finish. I included lots of useful techniques, tips and tricks along the way. The end result is four hours worth of video training.
Interbrand Stand-Apart Award
December 21, 2012
Stoked to be the winner of Interbrand’s Stand-Apart award, which is voted on by everyone in the studio to celebrate those who stand-apart for their hard work, ideas and attitude. Mighty nice to be recognised by talented people I respect so much.
Featured on Motionographer
December 12, 2012
Fascinated by flags and their simple geometric designs, I made a self-initiated project about the history of the Australian flag for a not-for-profit organisation called Ausflag. I researched the subject, wrote the script, designed all the elements, created the storyboards and then animated it.
This project was featured on Motionographer, the holy grail of motion websites. Motionographer seeks to be a source of inspiration for filmmakers, animators and designers by sharing outstanding motion projects. Extremely chuffed to have my work included.
Interview with The Proust
October 17, 2012
The Proust is a website that explores the personalities, habits and mannerisms of exceptional people using an adapted version of the Proust questionnaire.
By using 20 set questions the project investigates the similarities and exposes the differences apparent in the answers provided by the individuals interviewed.
The name derives from the French writer Marcel Proust, as he famously answered the questionnaire on two occasions, once when he was just 13 and again seven years later when he was 20 years old.
The manuscript of Proust's answers from 1890, were found in 1924 and auctioned in May, 2003 for €102,000.
