The collection

We love seeing a brand in it's entirity. Makes you realise that there's so much more than just a logo. This beauty for "The Collection" was created by Mind Design over in the UK. It made us seriously swoon.

The Collection is a restaurant, cultural event and retail space created in collaboration with Tom Dixon. How awesome is it and the identity design?!

Do you Pinterest?

It's the latest craze, we've hopped on board. Stuff all the paper sticking, stapling, scissor cutting - pinterest makes it easy to virtually create moodboards for things like home ideas to the ever popular wedding inspiration boards. But for us, we're using it as a tool to find design inspiration. Follow us on pinterest here.

In the meantime, this pinning craze has also been used for marketing promotions and brand enhancement. Two recent campaigns that have utilised Pinterest are Kotex and Kikki K.

Kikki K teamed up with Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) and asked pinners to create a digital fashion inspiration board using pinterest, inspired by Kikki K's new seasion collections for a chance to win; tickets to LMFF, a funkis prize pack & Kikki K's new collection. In order to be in the running to win and also to judge all the pinterest boards, the pinners had to submit their board onto Kikki K's facebook page.

Such an innovative campaign, that got users interacting n' getting inspired by current brand collection but also linking a primarily stationary based brand to a wider fashion audience. Clever stuff!

Next on the Pinterest boat, but more of an international campaign - is this well researched and genius campaign by Kotex. It gathered big numbers in terms of interactions between consumers and saw its online profile skyrocket simply by pinning. See the whole thing come to life in the video below.

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March Madness at 31STHQ

March already?! Geez, this year has run away from us. We've been heads down, go, go, go with a heap of new work completed, a H.U.G.E. move to a new office space (if you haven't heard already) and after months of artworking, organising and uniform-finding our B.I.G campaign for Impulse Love Story went live. Wow-wee it's been great to see all the hard work, sweat finally come into fruition.

Check out the whole March Newsletter here & in the meantime take a peak at our campaign for Impulse Love Story too below.

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Sound & Visions Design Talk

We love a good collaboration - don't you? On top of that a freebie - even better!

Australian Infront is presenting a series of talks (ALL FREE) called Sounds & Visions, which will see a panel of experts talk about the wonderful world of design and music. The lineup for the first one looks pretty neat too; Sonny Day of WeBuyYourKids with Rhett Wade-Ferrell from Moopjaw, David Homer from Debaser with Andy Kelly, director of Winterman & Goldstein.

I'm sure there will be an opportunity to get amongst the chit-chat and ask some questions. As its a freebie, make sure you get in early for the very best seat. Meanwhile for more updates check out the Sounds & Visions facebook page.

The Tate

Can you feel the buzz in the air? It's a really exciting time in Sydney; really interesting new cafes popping up from warehouse spaces to hole in the walls to laneway pop ups and a whole heap of new bars, to give us Sydney-siders an alternative to those big bar guns and our usual hidey-holes.

Last week, The Tate launched - just above the Toxeth Hotel in Glebe (which looks like a good food hole too!). Comprising of a rent-free n' commission-free gallery space and rent-free artists studios by Sydney’s Lo-Fi Collective: co-founded by Peer Group and Riversdale Group and co-curated by Marty Routledge and Christopher Loutfy. It's about housing a curated family of artists from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, with the objective of re-invigorating Sydney’s arts and cultural scene.

What a great initiative, hand-down we need more of these spaces to bring back the arts culture and a move into a more community based city.Artists can apply for shows and spaces by emailing their CV and examples of work to chris.loutfy@peergroupmedia.com.

Interactive Videos

Although this kind of video has been around for a while, it's only just popping up and being used with purpose. An Interactive Video utilises clickable interfaces to link  a series of streaming videos online - some might say a little bit of a mind-mish-mash cause you are clicking on buttons and interactive areas of the videos, then going down a virtual youtube path. Weird but somewhat addictive.

This is one of the best Interactive Videos we've seen. One, cause we're huge Mad Men fans and as it is a teaser to the upcoming season of Mad Men 5 - it really takes the fan down three possible paths that relive previous story-lines and take the mickey out of the characters as well. So click and watch away!

Bookmarked Lately

Pop Up House

What happens when a blog wants to move into the real world and really engage their readers? Well, for The Design Files it was by finding a house in Fitzroy, Melbourne, then decking it out (all rooms) with totally divine objects, furniture, bedding, seating even rubbish bins - so that readers could come and experience the "real-world-Design-Files".  Crazy idea huh?!

From this vid, it looked incredible and really touched base with the readership whilst engaging Australian design talent, gathered new devoted readers and showcased the faces behind the blog. Quadruple-whammy! Check it out.

For all our lovely email subscribers click here.


The Design Files Open House ! from The Design Files on Vimeo.

Cut and Slot

Don't you just love a diecut that can then transform into a 3D object? Ahhh, the simple joys. But this little a promotional piece for The Rabbit Hole Ideation Cafe, definitely makes an impression, and a super cute desk mate too. Add a touch of fluoro n' letterpress we are *swooning*.

It's a green-volution

We just adore this simple idea that makes the ugly and problematic things in life so much better n' beautiful. Clever little cookies!

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To win or not to win

Well we weren't winners at the Adnews Awards last week, but we are definitely grinners - check out all the photos over on our facebook page. Go on - get on over there and have a giggle.

We've been keepin' an eye on lotsa great campaigns, promotions and activations happening around Australia. This one is still running so get amongst it and check it out. This beauty is at the top of our list as it combines our love of food and unlimited eating.

Do you want to win a years worth of Burritos? Well, this announcement doesn't make it a big deal of it BUT hello, we'd go arriba arriba over mean mexican meal AND for a whole entire YEAR? Hells yeh. Just make a food purchase at any Mad Mex Store by 22nd March to be in the running - scha-weet deal.

Sydney's Night Life get a well deserved boost

After small bars this is positively the best thing to happen in Sydney in a long time. We are tres excited! Bring on the food trucks and a late night eating option that doesn't involve those kebabs?!

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What type of consumer are you?

Conservative, smart shopper, bargain hunter, bulk buyer, convenience, frivolous - which one are you? Our directors took to the Unilever halls to find the answer to this question - something we ask ourselves each time we start a new brief.

Thankfully, we think they have cracked it.

It's the small gadgets in life

It is about the small things in life. Can it get any better than this little USB Clap Camera?
 
Tiny USB + 2 Megapixels + SD card built in = Genius!

Imagine snapping away then opening the cap and downloading these snaps by pluging the USB into your computer?! The only downside, the quality, sadly 2 megapixels is teeny-tiny and our digital photography expectations are so high these days. But applause for a clever little package. 

Coffee Anyone?

All of us are mad coffee caffeine addicts. We debate where our last best cup was, which flavour of the nespresso we like best - then do you want it long, short, double. Well, you know the lingo. We love this vid by Monocle which outlines the worldwide team behind the coffee craze.


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It's only February and all of us at 31STHQ can't believe what a year it has been already. In case you didn't know we have been;

Selected as 1 or 4 finalists for  'Emerging Agency of the Year' in the Adnews Awards

Been recently published in Adnews and Mumbrella for our work on Impulse Love Story campaign, a through the line campaign consisting of instore point of sale, Priceline promotion and a sampling component complete with roving mini in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne - spreading the love story. Look out for this on the streets!

And we celebrated two birthdays this month, happy birthday Rachael & Vaughan, you both are looking hawt for thirty!

Wowzers!

Collect Magazine

Have you seen this little mag at your local Magnation? If not, it's worth having a little sneak peak as these niche publications compete with all the other mega-mags and need more attention. Love this behind the scenes video, makes you appreciate how much work goes into publishing.

COLLECT MAGAZINE from FILMTRAITS on Vimeo.
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Clever Little Cards

We swooned as soon as we saw these little beauties gorgeously letterpressed by the uber talented The Hungry Workshop in Melbourne. We bow our heads for taking letterpress out of the classic era of floral motifs, serif fonts and normal colours. Instead embracing fluoro, bold stripes and a little Australian iconography. Too cool. Buy these little beauties here.

Some Shameless Self Promotion

Along with all the other briefs currently in the studio we also managed to 'fit in' and produce a book for the Adnews 'Emerging Agency of the Year' award. Here's a sneak peak of what put together for our submission. Because it has been manic busy at 31STHQ we totally forgot about this submission until we received an email last week saying that...

31st Second was selected as one of four finalists for the 'Emerging Agency of the Year' award - woohoo! 

It's pretty impressive the growth we've had over the last 2 years. Here's to more good news at the awards dinner. Wish us luck! In the meantime, head over to our facebook page for more updates.

The (very swanky) Roosevelt

I was extremely lucky to be invited to try the new "5 Course Cocktail Degustation" at The Roosevelt. Tension was high as this was the owners (Sven and Graham) true test as friends judged their latest venture. 

We were not let down. I will not give anything away as the theatre is of the utmost importance. I will say that it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.


You must add this venue to your list. Get in quick so you can be one of the first to experience the very best.

Potato Talk

Who knew the humble potato could be so complicated. Our resident 'pom' aka Shell Bell has a thing about the potato and it's many forms. Let's just say we 'Aussies' are on the same platform whilst the 'Poms' make things a little more complicated.

AUSSIES "Chips" vs POMS "Crisps"
Wikipedia says it's technically "potato chips"
AUSSIE 1 POMS 0