Gillian's Blog

Westpac Women’s Markets RUBY- Lunch at Aria in Sydney

Larke & Rachael out did themselves yesterday with their business women’s networking lunch at Aria. Their guest speaker was Kim McKay.

This was a Ruby Connection Initiative. For women in business who want to know more, connect with others and learn, we suggest you look at the Ruby site and join.  http://rubyconnection.com.au/

If you want to be inspired, read more about Kim’s achievements and see how an intelligent, motivated risk taker with passion can make a difference.

About Kim

Kim McKay's international career in media, social marketing and communications spans over 25 years and every continent.  A highly skilled communicator and entrepreneurial marketer, Kim has created and managed many visionary and large scale international projects.

She was recognized by the Australian government for distinguished service to the environment and the community and was awarded an Order of Australia (AO), one of that country's highest civilian honours.  

She is currently a director of Momentum2, a Sydney based social & sustainability marketing consultancy working on local and global projects for National Geographic Society & Qantas among other clients.

Kim has worked consistently in support of the local and global environment for two decades starting when she co-founded Clean Up Australia and then later Clean Up the World with Australian of the Year, Ian Kiernan, AO.  Along with a group of friends, they were on a mission to raise awareness and take positive action in support of their local environment - the message that everyone can make a difference has been the driving theme behind her actions . . . . . . . . . . . .        For much about Kim more click

http://www.ovations.com.au/presenter_detail/kim_mckay/50163/1

Messages - that actually communicate their intent.

It is important to remember that many messages we send out do not necesarily connect up with our customers.  Mostly they are text and image floating into the ether. To communicate exactly what we want, to whom is the challenge of our time. There are so many platforms and so many segmented audiences all getting masses of messages fired at them constantly. How to stand out and connect is the challenge.

I found the TED.com talk by Chip Kidd illuminating. He very cleverly articulated the key ingredients that make text & image work in his work as a book jacket designer.

This book jacket has had life well beyond this book and is a classic!

“Chip Kidd doesn’t judge books by their cover, he creates covers that embody the book -- and he does it with a wicked sense of humor. In one of the funniest talks from TED2012, he shows the art and deep thought of his cover designs"

 A very amusing talk on TED

http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_kidd_designing_books_is_no_laughing_matter_ok_it_is.html

(From The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)

Click below to see the book jacket art of Chip Kidd.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1853737,00.html

Ira Glass - stories about This American Life- a radio program.

              
On Wednesday I went to hear Ira Glass speak at the Sydney Town Hall as part of the Sydney Festival. He was entertaining and stimulating- a great show. His ability to wrap stories into inspiring mysteries is a real art.

 For more information about Ira, and This American Life ( it is also available in Australia). See below

“This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 1.8 million listeners. It is produced by Chicago Public Media, distributed by Public Radio International, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards. It is also often the most popular podcast in the country, with around 700,000 people downloading each week. From 2006-2008, we produced a television version of This American Life on the Showtime network, which won three Emmys. We're also the co-producers, with NPR News, of the economics podcast and blog Planet Money. And a half dozen stories from the radio show are being developed into films.

The radio show and TV show follow the same format. There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There’s lots more to the show, but it’s sort of hard to describe. Probably the best way to understand the show is to start at our favorites page, though we do have longer guides to our radio show and our TV show. If you want to dive into the hundreds of episodes we’ve done over the years, there’s an archive of all our old radio shows and listings for all our TV episodes, too.

There are several ways to get the show:

• Stream radio episodes for free from the archive
• Listen on the radio
• Subscribe to the free weekly podcast
• Download the most recent episode a la carte, free, from the homepage
• Download old episodes for $0.99 on iTunes or Amazon MP3
• Stream episodes through our apps for iPhone, Android or iPad
• Purchase greatest hits collections on CD
• Purchase DVDs of our TV seasons
• Download TV Season One or Season Two on iTunes
• Rent TV Season Two on Netflix”

www.thisamericanlife.org       www.smh.com.au/.../stage/interview-ira-glass-20111117-1njn4.html

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA

 

Artist Francois Perez - Latest Works

 

I recently received an email from Francois Perez who we first met when we launched Corban & Blair in 1988. He introduced us into the Japanese market, which was successful for a time.

His true calling is as an artist. He has great insight into people - and things globally, that actually matter. His creative imagination is both poetic and political.

Bio. French nationality, born in Germany, University of Toulouse, majoring in French, English and German Literature, lived extensively in Algeria, France, England, Australia, Japan. Spent 3 years (2000-2003) in a Tibetan monastery in North India, then worked  with natural Indigo in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Now living in Cairo, Egypt.

Go to Francois's website to be delighted       http://perezfrancois.webs.com/

 

True Grit Performance- an event in Brisbane next week

Its always useful to look at new ways to inspire and motivate new ideas and ways to do things.

More information contact info@truegritperformance.com

Elliot Mason- New Zealand Artist

My nephew Elliot has just had his debut exhibition in Tauranga, New Zealand.

“Elliot Mason is a 'rising star' in the New Zealand art world. He feels a strong connection and awareness with his surroundings, both land and nature. His perceptions and vision are captured in his own 'unique style' “

See You Tube link illustrating the natural surroundings he is inspired by and the context in which he works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNGcc5mcIhc&feature=player_embedded#!

Works can be purchased from http://www.harrisonsgallery.com/

THE STRANGER’S LONG NECK by Gerry McGovern

This book was recommended to me by my friend Jill Ruchel. http://www.praxisfundraising.com.au/

So, what is the Stranger’s Long Neck?

If you manage or design a website or intranet, knowing the needs of your customers (employees) is essential for success. But every customer is a stranger to you – you don’t know them and you can’t see them – so how can you understand what they need? The Stranger’s Long Neck will help you to realise that your customers are intelligent strangers and that when they come to your website they have a small set (long neck) of top tasks they want to complete quickly and easily. This book gives you the methods for identifying and professionally managing these tasks. It helps you to understand and empathize with your customers, and to deliver what they want.

Packed with practical information and essential advice on web site management, including case studies from Microsoft, Tetra Pak and the NHS, the Stranger’s Long Neck will help you to maximize your organization’s performance online.

Gerry McGovern has been involved in managing websites since 1994. He is the author of several influential books, including Killer Web Content (A & C Black, 2006). He is a sought-after speaker at international conferences on Web management and has worked with many leading organizations, such as Microsoft, Cisco, and Tetra Pak.

“Gerry’s customer-centric approach to website development has helped us re-shape and dramatically improve Cisco’s Partner Central by focusing on and addressing the needs of our global partner community.” Luanne Tierney, Vice President, Worldwide Partner Marketing, Cisco

HAVE A TREAT - with elegance and a hedgehog.

I read a lot, mostly to do with business especially new media, things online, marketing and how remain relevant and creative in the 21st Century.

Recently I read a book that I just loved (apparently 2.5 million other people did also). The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. If you enjoy art, culture, psychology, philosophy and ordinary people you will enjoy it.

‘Muriel Barbery...commands the sophistication, polish and mental agility that often distinguish French fiction...Barbery has a warm heart and a heart moreover that knows that great art and the best philosophy may (just possibly) possess redemptive qualities, or at least make life bearable in a materialistic and self-indulgent world'. Sydney Morning Herald