White Night 2015

 Photo by White Night Melbourne

 Photo by @mattchinaski

  Photo by White Night Melbourne

Photo WNM 2013 John Gollings

White Night Melbourne is a State Government of Victoria initiative created by the Victorian Major Events Company, and produced by White Night Melbourne Productions. The original concept for White Night (Nuit Blanche) was born in Paris in 2002, with the concept to make art and culture accessible to large audiences within public spaces. Paris’ Nuit Blanche (White Night) has inspired an international network of White Night events in over 20 cities globally, with each city adapting the event to reflect its unique artists and creativity.

White Night Melbourne joined the ranks of these global cities on Saturday 23 February 2013. Melbourne has embraced this unique opportunity to showcase local and international artists and provide a platform for their work. White Night Melbourne returned for its second year on Saturday 22 February 2014, increasing in popularity and quickly becoming Australia’s most celebrated major cultural event.

White Night Melbourne will again be held on Saturday 21 February 2015 and bigger than ever. With a programme of over 80+ free events, you may not be sure where to start your journey. Head over to the White Night Melbourne website and check out the suggested itineraries to guide you through the streets. Cultural highlights include music, film, interactive displays, light shows and international performances.

If you make it past 2:00am we recommend seeing our friends Total Giovanni at the Indie Music stage. They start at 2.15am. ‘Total Giovanni is an experience. It is a feeling.’ It is a must do. Also don’t miss I could have danced all night, presented by VicHealth. It returns for the third year and is another fun-filled dance extravaganza! It’s part of VicHealth’s Art Arts Strategy which encourages Victorians to get physically active and improve mental wellbeing.

We can’t wait to see what Melbourne has in store for us this year! See you there.

Supergraph Exhibition 13, 14, 15 February 2015

Photos courtesy of Supergraph

If you are free this weekend go and check out Supergraph (February 13, 14 and 15) at The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton www.supergraph.com.au

Supergraph is billed as a contemporary graphic art fair which celebrates everything design, print and illustration. Its a three day event that features a feast of graphic artist and new upcoming talent, showcasing original and limited edition artwork at affordable prices. 

Look out for the creative workshops, artist led masterclasses and fun family events for all ages. 

We're booking in for the masterclass 'Felt-tastic' with Kitiya Palaskas, where you can cut, paste and stick to make your very own colourful felt pennant. If you're not familiar with Kitiya, she's a is a craft-based designer and creative workshop teacher, who's colourful and playful props, costumes and decorations have been commisioned for clients such as InsideOut Magazine, Sportsgirl, SBS and Etsy. Check out her website kitiyapalaskas.com.

If you can't make it to the exhibition take a look at their online shop, which features works by participants involved in this year's exhibition, but also previous past fairs.

Creative Mornings Melbourne

The amazing photos by Mark Lobo Photography

Creative Mornings is a breakfast lecture series for the creative community. They run free monthly events it cities all over the world. In 2008, Tina Roth Eisenberg started Creative mornings out of a desire for ongoing, accessible, creative events for the New York Community. Any event would be free of charge and open for anyone to join. They would be held one Friday morning a month, early enough for people to make it to work after.

Today, they are hosted in 106 cities and organized by talented volunteer hosts and their teams. These volunteers organize local chapters that celebrate the cities creative talent and promote open spaces to connect with like-minded creative individuals. Some have called it “TED for the rest of us.”

Each talk has a different theme and speakers vary from design legends, hometown heroes and creative leaders. Creative Mornings are free thanks to support of local sponsors, venues and partners. Melbourne’s Creative Morning breakfast is supported by Red Bubble, Clement coffee, Billy Blue College of Design, Skillshare and held at the DonkeyWheel house.

Some past speakers have included Jack Mussett from Motherbird, stylist Phebe Schmidt, artist Ghost Patrol, graphic designer Andrew Ashton and many many more.

The first Creative Morning for 2015 was certainly one to remember. Adele Varcoe talked on the global theme of UGLY and made participates get involved in an uncomfortable but fun group exercise that made them rethink the way the thought about fashion and beauty.

The next theme is Climate. We look forward to seeing what creative mornings Melbourne has in store for us!

Anyone can attend. Just register beforehand to reserve your spot. If you need a little help convincing your boss to let you attend, Creative Mornings have you covered.

Finally, a marketing tool that actually works!

In an over-saturated and technology driven world, how do you market yourself and drive business? With the rise of social media many believe that online marketing is key to reach potential customers, however traditional methods of print and advertising still have a place. It's all about balance.

Adcore Creative celebrates 25 years in business this year and like many graphic design studios aims to be continually pro-active and forward thinking in our approach to marketing. Sometimes easier said than done; daily commitments and deadlines still need to be met. In order to grow the seed must be nurtured.

After a team brainstorming session we concluded that maybe we should concentrate on our existing clients and potential customers in and around our surrounding area. Situated in the heart of Carlton and on the fringe of the CBD, we find ourselves perfectly situated and surrounded by new business. It occurred to us that many may not know that there was an established creative design studio right there on their doorstep.

Initially, we updated our signage with refreshed branding and a clear message letting passers by know exactly who we are and what we do. In order to gain attention we designed an eye catching and thought provoking 'A Frame' to sit on the footpath outside the studio.

            

Front of the 'A-frame', a simple 'Hello' attracts attention

Back of the 'A-frame', eye-catching bold graphics with the marketing message 'Shape your 2015 with Adcore Creative'

To our delight many people stopped took notice, smiled and some even took photographs (hopefully making way into a facebook, instagram or twitter account). Our clever marketing strategy payed off when the phone rang and a new client was gained, how did they find us? The 'A-frame' situated on the footpath. Finally, a marketing tool that actually works! 

How many Christmas cards did you receive this year? Not many I'm sure. We have all become complacent and let's say a little lazy in reaching out to those around us. A simple message received in the mail speaks volumes. We decided to send out a special Christmas card to all our existing clients re-enforcing that yes you are indeed special to us and we value your continued professional relationship. 

 Personalised message inside 

Design was carried onto the envelope

The design of the card followed on from the 'A-frame' with the tag line 'Shape your 2015 with Adcore Creative'. Upon receiving the card many of our existing clients called to say thank you. We have all become reliant on email and rarely speak to our clients. The days of jumping from one meeting to next are over but are we losing touch with our valued customers? A simple call to say "Hello, how are you?" "What have you been working on?" can lead to "Actually, I was thinking of doing...can you help with that?" Testament enough to say that sometimes the old principles of marketing really do work. Invest in your existing clients and embrace those around you, you never know it may just work.

The Design Files Open House.

Photos from Broadsheet, photographer Peter Tarasiuk

If you were lucky enough to visit The Design Files Open House over the weekend you were in for an inspiring visual treat! This was the fourth installment for Lucy Feagin - the editor and founder of one of our, and Australia's favourite blogs The Design Files.

This year Lucy converted an airy, multi-level industrial warehouse in Smith Street Collingwood, into a space that showcased the wares of more than 70 artists, designers and creative brands.

As in past years, everything was for sale. With local artists such as Moya Delaney, who stiches together old parachutes and flags to produce large-scale light fittings, to homewares by Marble Basics and my personal favourite - gorgeous kids and adults bed line and homewares by Hunting for George.

This year also marked a new venture for Lucy, she collaborated with potter Robert Gordon Australia to produce a range of exclusive (and stunning) tableware and vases, her first product collaboration.

We hope you enjoyed it!

Christmas card inspiration.

Can you believe it's that time of the year again! 

Inspired by some beautifully designed Christmas cards, that are both stylish but with a little humour, we are getting into the spirit.

Two companies that we are loving at the moment are - The Adventures Of and the Hungry Workshop.

The Adventures Of is a husband and wife design and stationery studio who 'make greeting cards to put smiles on faces and art prints in invite happiness into a room'.

The Hungry Workshop is a favourite of ours (we've featured them here before and you can buy from here), their whimsical letterpress cards are sure to bring a smile to your face. 

And for something new for your Christmas tree, we can't go past these laser cut thick black card graphic decorations from The Minimalist

Stay tuned for a sneak peak at our own Adcore Christmas card coming soon!

Four&Sons Magazine.

As avid dog lovers here at Adcore, we are excited to see the end result of a stunning magazine come together from a friend of ours - Marta Roca from Four&Sons.

I've been a big fan and a keen supporter of this Melbourne online publication (www.fourandsons.com) since they launched in 2011. This beautifully presented website describes itself as a space where 'dogs and culture collide' and has been an ongoing labour of love for Marta. Four&Sons shares stories and interviews with creative dog lovers the world over, for whom creativity and canine companionship is inseparable.

As told by Marta "Four&Sons came about as a way to cover art, design, fashion, music and lifestyle, Four&Sons brings together an eclectic mix of inspiring 'dog-centric' content to dog-lovers passionate about culture and creativity. Curated with a strong editorial approach and written by people who find dogs a constant source of inspiration."

The second issue of the magazine is just as stunning as the first, it's such a well executed, clever, engaging and thoughtfully produced publication. Whats not to love about this! 

You can pre-order the magazine on the Four&Sons website www.fourandsons.com for $20 (plus postage and handling).