Watch this space…

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Sean Pethick

Australia Post have once again engaged XSD to design and develop a stamp series for them. While we are not at liberty to discuss the subject matter we are very excited about this latest series and look forward to announcing them when they launch.

Posted in Creativity, Design, xsd News | 2 Comments

2012 Mothers Day Classic…

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Sean Pethick

David Gilbert-Kent climbs Anderson Street Hill (AKA: Heartbreak Hill)

 

Well it’s been run and done! David and Sean proudly represented their Mums and Xsd on the weekend in far from perfect conditions at the annual Mother’s Day Classic. 7.30am saw them both standing in the rain, waiting for the starters horn for the 8km run. With over 7,013 other participants ready to take part, the thoughts of a warm bed and hot breakfast were distant memories.  The horn sounded and off they ran, David taking an early lead over the much older and wiser Sean.

The first lap was cold and wet with every breath visible in the air. Running with that many people is an exhilarating experience, one that Sean and David are keen to do again. During the second lap, Sean said he noticed a lot of people run past him. David was busy blasting his way to a PB somewhere in the distance. Exactly 37 minutes and 4 seconds after crossing the start line David Gilbert-Kent crossed the finish line. Waiting patiently for Sean, David was ready with with Sean’s family, Leanne, Liam and Leila to administer whatever aid may be required. Thankfully Sean crossed the line 49 minutes and 55 seconds after the start, unaided and required no medical intervention!

Thank you to all those that supported our run. The Mother’s Days Classic is a fantastic event that raises an amazing amount of money for a wonderful organisation. You can count on the fact that both David and Sean will be at the 2013 event, rain, hail or shine to again show their support. They hope to see some of you at next years event!

Posted in Events, People, xsd Culture | 1 Comment

The 16-bit history of cameras

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Tim

Polaroid

Some eye candy for your Friday afternoon! Watch it here.

This video was put together by Brazilian motion designer Antonio Vicentini, check out more of his work at boobiesareawesome.tv 

One of the better URLs getting around I reckon.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Design you can feel.

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Sean Pethick

When St Catherine’s approached XSD to develop a new Letterhead for their Annual Giving Campaign the brief was simple and concise. Make people stop and take notice. The letterhead has been perfectly and beautifully embossed with the St Catherine’s crest and brand. The overwhelming sense of quality and sophistication is immediate as soon as you are presented with the letter. Understated yet demanding attention this project is a stunning example of the  ‘less is more’ concept.

Posted in Brand, Creativity, Design | Leave a comment

Conceptual thinking…

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Sean Pethick

Not all projects come to fruition but that doesn’t mean the conceptual thinking should be shelved.
While we are disappointed this project was not completed by the client we are delighted to be able
to present the work that was developed by the studio.

Posted in Brand, Creativity, Design, Typography | Leave a comment

Caine’s arcade

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Tim

Caine

As far as imagination and creativity goes, I think this kid gives us all a run for our money!

During his summer holidays, 9 year old Caine Monroy built an elaborate cardboard arcade in his Dad’s used auto parts store. This inspired one visitor (his one and only customer!) so much, that he decided to make a short film about Caine and his arcade.

The results are heartwarming to say the least! But I won’t spoil it for you, check out the film for yourself.

LINK// Caine’s Arcade short film

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Mother’s Day Classic 2012

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Sean Pethick

AMAZING STORIES
OK Folks, some of you may be surprised to hear that I have entered the 2012 Mother’s Day Classic (with a little encouragement from David Gilbert-Kent here at XSD). Well surprised or not, I have. Training started a couple of months ago and I am pleased to say I should make the distance! Two laps of the Tan (8km).

Why am I telling you this you ask? Because I want you to sponsor me! It’s a fantastic cause and there wouldn’t be many of us out there who have not known someone who has been affected by Breast Cancer. My own Mother is a survivor.

So, please help me raise funds for the 2012 Mother’s Day Classic!

LINK// Sponsor me at my fundraising page!

Regards,
Sean Pethick
Creative Director, XSD
(Legs like toothpicks!)

Posted in Events, People, Uncategorized, xsd News | Leave a comment

The solution should always fit the space.

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Sean Pethick

Etgar Keret’s House

No problem is unsolvable when it comes to design. A crack in a wall is not just a crack in a wall. It is a space waiting for a solution. Like a blank piece of paper is waiting for ink to be applied.

Michelangelo considered that “to sculpt” meant “to take away”, not “to add”, as the sculpture already existed inside the block of marble. The stone was just the covering that contained a work of art; the sculptor only had to chisel away the excess. The notion of the statue that potentially existed inside the marble was expounded in several of Michelangelo’s letters as well as in a famous sonnet.

The Etgar Keret House was the filling for a space created between two buildings in Warsaw. This amazing structure has been built where others saw no solution.

The same has often occurred at Xsd. We have had many clients come to us with problems they had been told could not be solved. We believe that all the solutions are already out there, we just uncover and develop them so our clients can see what before they could not.

 

 

Link// Etgar Keret’s House

 

Posted in Architecture, Creativity, Design, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Your online, mobile office with Google Documents.

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Sean Pethick

For those of us that are embracing the mobile office philosophy then Google Documents may well be an excellent extension to that idea. With Spreadsheet, Word Processing, Presentation, Form, Drawing and the New Table (Beta) facilities there is really nothing else that any SME would need for the day to day functions of communicating with employees and clients alike.

The ability to share live, your document with anybody you choose to share with is a fantastic feature in itself. Being able to create a document onscreen and edit with another party in real time is a feature that could save a lot of time.

All you need to do is sign in with your Gmail account and click on the “Documents” Item in your Google Menu and Bingo! Mobile office at your fingertips.

Check out Google Documents: Link// Google Documents

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Find a match made in heaven…

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Tim

As a self-confessed type nerd, I’m a sucker for these online type games (there’s a few around now, see this previous post). This one in particular aims to educate in the art of matching typefaces. Now this may not seem like such a hard task, but when performed clumsily the results can be pretty damn ugly. When you find a good match however, the outcome is typographic harmony! So have a go at Type Connection – A typographic dating game.

Type Connection

 

Posted in Digital, Interactive, Typography, Websites | Tagged | Leave a comment