Archive for July, 2012

July 26th, 2012 | Category: WhiteRhino

Introducing Student Spotlight

Hey there, as part of our ongoing commitment to fostering young talent in our community and contributing to the training and development of the next generation of graphic designers, we’re pleased to be introducing STUDENT SPOTLIGHT. Each month, we’ll be featuring one exciting up and coming designer here on our blog whose work we think shows talent and potential. We’ll also promote you through our social media channels, giving you maximum exposure and a leg up in the industry.

The invitation is open to all students and recent graduates (must have finished study no more than a year ago), and all you have to do is post a link to a piece of your work or portfolio via the comment box below and make sure you Like WhiteRhino on Facebook so we can share the love.

We’ll be launching other mentoring initiatives throughout the year including studio Q&As and work experience opportunities so make sure you check back to see what we’ve got going on in the studio and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Entries for August spotlight close Friday 31 August.

By WhiteRhino // Posted in: WhiteRhino // Comments (0)

July 25th, 2012 | Category: Art & Design, Branding, Studio Insights

A designer’s best friend

iStock Friend Trends

Ever get the feeling that you know someone, but you can’t quite pinpoint where you’ve seen them? Maybe you catch the tram with them everyday, perhaps they went to your high school or maybe they work in your local KMart.

We designers get these feelings too, but for us it’s slightly different. Sometimes a sign or poster will catch my eye and I’ll think, “that person looks familiar”. I’ll rack my brain trying to put my finger on who they might be and then it hits me…

“You’re my iStock friend!” Yep, the lady on that sign does not work at my local accountant’s office (despite being in their ad), she’s the number one result for “female businesswoman”. That man advertising a retirement village is not someone I see on the train, he’s on page one for “beautiful retired gentleman”. And that family representing the childcare centre down the street are not my next door neighbours, they’re in the first row of iStock results for “happy family”!

We designers do rely on stock images as a resource, but some of these images suffer from extreme overuse – so much so that some of these people almost feel like old friends or acquaintances.

Buck the trends and start being creative with your iStock search terms. Perhaps try sorting by number of downloads and avoid the first 5 pages, or just try using words that other people might not automatically think of.  Whatever you do, don’t just pick the first image that comes up, because chances are, 8,600 other designers have used it too.

For more information on iStock trends, click here.

By Nadia Hisheh // Posted in: Art & Design, Branding, Studio Insights // Comments (0)

July 13th, 2012 | Category: Social Media, Technology

Talking Point: How TV brings us together

Television brings us together. Not just physically as we converge on the lounge room, hustling for space among family members and pets, but in a greater much more social way too.

It wasn’t so long ago that you couldn’t skip ahead of a channel’s programming and sneak a peak at yet unaired episodes on the Internet. Instead, we all waited for the same night next week, speculating in the mean time on what would happen. Not knowing gave us a conversation, and we shared in the anticipation.

Then we started to stream episodes online at our convenience and without the ads. We downloaded whole series ahead of time and watched them alone at home, regardless of commercial schedules. We went from sharing the chapters of each story, to racing to the end of the book, only to get there alone.

There is no doubt that the convenience and flexibility of watching our favourite shows in our own time, on our own schedule, is entirely more appealing than fitting our lives around the columns in the Greenguide. But somewhere along the way to streamlining our viewing, the social side of television got misplaced.

For a little while it just seemed to disappear, but upon closer inspection it seems it has found a new host in the form of live variety or panel shows which can’t be leaked ahead of time. And our conversations have become live too, conducted as we watch, and shared over social media.

Every week, millions of viewers tune into programs where panellists debate current affairs, contestants perform or cook to avoid elimination and celebrities give exclusive interviews with popular talk show hosts. These are now the timeslots we race home for, not wanting to miss what everyone else is seeing for the first time. Not wanting to be the only one not in the loop.

Like before, we want to be part of the conversation about what we’re watching, but unlike before, this now takes place as we watch. A 2009 Neilson pole revealed that 57% of TV viewers in the US simultaneously use the web. It is impossible to guess how high that number has risen in the last three years, suffice to say that while people’s attention may be split, they are far from disconnected with what’s going on around them.

Every week the ABC in Australia reports thousands of unique users engage with popular panel show Q & A via Twitter, tweeting questions and responses both to the panel and each other in a flurry of conversation and debate. Talent shows like channel nine’s The Voice encourage their viewers (often in excess of a million) to vote via Twitter and even iTunes. Putting your money where your mouth is has never been such a simple click away.

So while the forum may have moved, the conversation is very much still taking place and we’re clamouring to be involved. Live programming coupled with social media has proven to be the ultimate social occasion and there are more people at the party than ever before.

By Grace Taylor // Posted in: Social Media, Technology // Comments (0)