
Although the weather was stormy, with anxious talk of hail and gale force winds, it didn't stop Glide from getting on down to the
Semi Permanent
conference on Tuesday to get our share of inspiration. The conference has previously been held at the Regal Theatre and the Convention Centre, but this year it was
The Bakery's
turn - which was quite cosy (and served alcohol), so it was a win for us.
First speakers were John Durey and Sonja Danilovic from Nude Design Studio, based in Perth. Together, the ex-solicitor, and all-round graphic designer / illustrator / typographer / grid Nazi, showed off their minimalist contemporary style in a series of short stories. Their style is very refined, using only the elements that have a unique purpose to the overall design - ditching all the namby-pamby stuff... Respek-t!
Second were the amazing Supervixen guys, based in Surry Hills, Melbourne. When describing their business, they simply call themselves ‘Directors’ in a kind of non-specific way like ‘The Architect’ in the Matrix. They presented a broad range of work from major 3D motion graphics and commercials, to limited edition skate deck illustrations. Is there nothing they can’t do?
Next up – Gemma O’Brien, a SUPER enthusiastic typographer / illustrator. She’s crazy about all things type, evident by the long hours she spends creating, documenting, blogging, and talking about it (to anyone who’ll listen!) Before even graduating, she was being invited to attend conferences in Berlin, and had her work published in a number of books. More recently, Gemma has been designing and directing a new stop motion intro to ABC’s Playschool, which she’s hoping her kids will get to see one day - considering the last intro wasn’t updated for 10 years!
After lunch was Ken Taylor, who described how his first addiction - graffiti – (accidentally) led him to his new love, creating intricate screen-prints. He produces limited edition poster art, to promote bands and movies including the Decemberists, Bon Iver, Queens of the Stoneage, Thor, Hellboy, and Star Wars. Ken doesn’t actually get paid for his work… instead, the client allows him to receive a number of the posters for himself, which he then sells to devoted fans online.
To close the event was Fuel vfx, who have a pretty awesome list of clients, as well as a high reputation for their work in various Films. In particular, we were shown a commercial for Gucci’s Guilty fragrance. The Ad, which features famous actors and superior motion graphics, was broken down for us into the brief, ideation and development stages up to the finished product. Very Inspiring stuff.
We happily topped it all off with a sneaky bevvie, and a catch-up with fellow designery-types. Thanks to
Design is Kinky,
The Thousands, and
The Bakery
for organising and hosting the event. Looking forward to next years’!

