Someone needs to go firstSmaller screens for surfing the web seem to be here to stay – at least for the next few years. During this time I'm campaigning for a hamburger revolution.In the last two months I've designed and built three new websites. All hugely different in their design approach and business need. And each one got me thinking about how we're all following the same mobile patterns without really questioning whether they're actually the best solutions.Why I don't do mobile firstI don't adopt a mobile-first approach to web design – and the reason for that is that I...

05 July, 2018 /

I've worked in busy offices for 17 years. Clocking in often well before 9 and putting in 8 to 11 hours a day, 5 days a week. Occasionally I could get a full hour for lunch but more often that not I'd be eating aldesko. So my new adventure in life to being free from the office and pursuing a contractor lifestyle has been an interesting transition. I realise now that the structure and routine of having an office and working in larger teams helped create the motivating force to get me to knuckle down and get shit done. I'm reading lots of differing...

13 June, 2018 /

As any graphic designer would know, it's a hard job convincing a client about the benefits of good design. But good design is good business. And in all my experience I think It comes down to a lack of understanding about what is actually considered to be good design – and how to recognise it. Most people in the general population don’t have an eye for good design. They can’t look at a design and see the balance, the hierarchy, the positive and negative space. They can’t see how the interplay of these principals make for a more appealing and effective presentation...

11 May, 2018 /

This is something I try to do every day – Take a pen and paper, wacom and tablet or anything and just play for 20 minutes. You have to have side projects that take you away from the paid work otherwise you'll probably go insane. Mine is undenk.com. I really should post there more often! I post most of my stuff on instagram because its so easy.They really need to make a better mailto function for wordpress...

20 March, 2018 /

I just wanted to do a quick shout out to a group of people I met during Sydney's Design Festival.  The people from The Rizzeria, in Sydney, were hosting an event on how to Risograph print… and what the hell is that?Risograph printing is a fast, affordable way of producing high-quality prints much like screen printing. It uses spot colours on plates to create a wide variety of print results.I won't go into the details because you can get super nerdy about it here at Wikipedia. I just wanted to say how much fun it was and also what an amazingly...

08 March, 2018 /

Without a doubt, one of the most important parts of being a successful designer is organisation and this starts with an organised job folder and file structure. Imagine this scenario: You're finishing a job for a client, they give you the approval to send it to print and in the mess of your "filename v8.6.indd" or "filename v9 old.indd" or "filename - this is the final version.indd" you package up the wrong file and send it to the printers and boom – waste $20,000!You now owe the client a lot of money!I've often picked up work midway through a job and...

06 March, 2018 /