the fisheye blog

Hello and welcome…

Firstly I’d like to tell you a bit about what to expect here. I will hopefully add new post once a week, and it could be about anything design-art related. It could also be about the vintage chair I’m learning to reupholster, something inspiring I saw or read, something I’m enjoying cooking, or something that I thought you’d find funny. Sometimes it might even be about book design. I would love your feedback of course.

In our office I’m creating a wall of interesting bits designed to distract me in a positive way, if that makes sense. Here it is. As I find things up they go. Among them presently is a favourite multicoloured doily (thanks for that one Jo), a cat I copied from one of my daughters picture books (The Cat with No Name), and a drawing from my son’s Spongebob period (ongoing). It’s a poor photo, complete with old coffee cup, might post some details of the wall using my camera instead of my phone 🙂 Bear with me as I learn more …

 

 

The Tree of Life – movie review

The Tree of Life – movie review

 

Well. I’m glad I’ve had a few weeks to let this one stew. I mentioned I was going to see this movie having heard both rave and damning reviews. I am certainly glad I was warned of how ambitions the project was. An obvious stylistic comparison for me was Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Long dreamy passages with no dialogue and cosmic explosions … However, ‘The Tree of Life’ takes it much further and for me, was an emotional experience. Perhaps as I’m a mum I react more extremely to a story of a mother’s loss. The remaining son’s dichotomous relationship with his remote father and seemingly perfect mother, compounded by the tragic loss of his brother, coupled with the dreamy retro-lit sequences of the family outside, made it a memorable movie for me. My only criticism is that some of the sequences of the cosmos/volcanoes/clouds/marine life went on too long and seemed ultimately self-indulgent. There were a few snorts and even a few walk-outs during these episodes at my cinema (Dendy, Newtown, so you’d expect an open-minded crowd). All up, I’d recommend it.

4 stars

Stand Up! (internal pages)

Stand Up! (internal design)

OK, now for some internals. These were a joy to work on – 32 pages in full colour, with a very open brief. For each issue tackled in the text (for example, Global Warming), there is a ‘for’ and an ‘against’ spread – each designed to be as persuasive as possible with emotive images. The student is challenged to see past all this persuasive stuff and identify the truth. We aimed to make every spread very different from the last, with lots of surprises and a bit of chaos balanced against usability. See what you think. 

 

 

 

 

 

Stand Up!

Stand Up!

 

I loved working on this. Stand Up! is a book aimed at early high school students, and it encourages students to analyse and question the written word and highly polished or emotive images to discover the true message therein. This group of kids are so accustomed to slick visuals wherever they look, so we went for a zine feel with loads of layers and textures and organised chaos throughout! I did the cover and internals, plus illustration where required.

Museum in a Box – Bats

Museum in a Box – Bats

Aimed at primary school kids – these 2 panels are all about bats in Australia. The subject lent itself to a midnight blue background with a glowing moon. The panels are slightly larger than A3 and double-sided, and formed part of a pack of goodies on the subject curated by the Australian Museum. All sorts of 3D objects, books and other learning materials were put into a large metal box with the panels, ready to be loaned out to lucky schools as an educational experience. The panels were printed on vinyl with a metal substrate.

Museum in a Box – Catchments

Museum in a Box – Catchments

These 6 panels are designed for high-schoolers. Slightly larger than A3 and double-sided, They form part of a pack of material on the subject curated by the Australian Museum. Water is a sensitive issue in Australia, and the earlier kids can understand the complex issues surrounding its management, the better. All manner of 3D objects, books and other learning materials were put into a large metal box with the panels, ready to be loaned out to lucky schools as an educational experience. The panels were printed on vinyl with a metal substrate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Museum in a Box – Echidnas

Museum in a Box –  Echidnas

Aimed at primary school age – these 4 educational panels are all about the cuddly echidna. They are slightly larger than A3 and double-sided, forming part of a pack of goodies on echidnas curated by the Australian Museum. Loads of books and other learning materials have been put into a large metal box with the panels, ready to be loaned out to lucky schools as an educational experience. The panels were printed on vinyl with a metal substrate.