Interview: Jac & Jessie DiBlasi, recipe book publishers

By Tess McCabe As I well know, self-publishing a book is no easy task, so I'm always interested in how other creative people, who may not have a background in traditional publishing, work through all the steps to get their book to market. Jac and Jessie DiBlasi are sisters, and CWC members, who conceived of a unique idea for a recipe book and pooled their creative skills to produce  the beautiful 'Nonna to Nana' (in stores now). Here, they share their individual career paths and how they collaborated to produce this heartfelt legacy item honouring the special women in their lives.

Tell us about your individual creative paths to this point. Jac: I studied Communication Design at Swinburne University. In that time I did a 12-month work placement in New York as part of my degree. I’m pretty sure this is where I realised that publication design was for me! After returning from there, I finished up with an Honours Degree and have continued working for various design organisations ever since.

Currently, I’m the senior Designer at Destination Melbourne, the regional tourism organisation for Melbourne, which is my 9-5. However, in my spare time I’ve been working on Nonna to Nana, with the hope to continue working on interesting book projects!

Jess: Street and documentary photography is something I began exploring in my early 20’s while working/traveling overseas. It starts out as a hobby and I questioned, for a number of years, if I could have a career as a photographer. I know that working in a creative field will be challenging, and there are no shortage of fantastic photographers already out there! In 2009, I’m working in the corporate world and lose my job as a result of the global financial crisis. It’s at this point that I realise if I don’t give photography a chance now, I might never get the opportunity again to change my career. As a result, I apply for courses and end up being accepted into the Diploma of Photo Imaging at RMIT (TAFE), graduating in 2011. As part of the course, we have to produce a final folio of work and Nonna to Nana becomes the project I start, with the hope to continue working on it/ complete it as a graduate.

How did you conceive of Nonna to Nana and when did you begin working on the book?

Nonna to Nana started out as a (joking) conversation Jac and I have at our grandparent’s house, about three years ago, sitting around the extendable table at their house. Our dad is eating something delicious that our Nonna has made that day and he turns to Jac and I and asks ‘who’s going to cook like this, once she’s gone?’. Dad’s one of eight boys, so it’s no surprise that they all loved eating the food she would make, but none of them really knew how to cook any of it! Jac and I, on the other hand had spent lots of time with Nonna in the kitchen cooking and learning over the years. It’s at that point that we think it might be a great thing to do, to document Nonna cooking some of her signature dishes. It doesn’t take long before we realise that there are so many amazing women that have wonderful stories and recipes to offer and Nonna to Nana is born.

Jessie begins working on the project as part of her final folio for RMIT, while she is a photography student in 2011 and Nonna Giovanna is her first photography shoot for the book. Nonna never really loved Jessie taking too many photos of her, so to convince her to participate in the project she decides to shoot the Ricotta Cakes recipe, on Jessie’s birthday. It is such a fun day for us and the portrait on the cover is from that very first shoot!

Have you worked together on projects of this kind or scale before, or was working together in this way a new experience?

Nonna to Nana is the first project of this kind we have worked on together, but something we’ve talked about doing for a long time. Jessie and I have been working in our respective creative fields for a number of years now, and so it was no surprise in what might be involved in publishing a book, but once you actually got into the project, it was a real eye opener into the world of self publishing and what comes with it! Not only are we a photographer and designer, but also now that the book is out in the market place, we’ve found ourselves learning about publishing, marketing, accounting, social media, sales and distribution.

What challenges did you face conceptualising and self-publishing your own book, and how did you overcome them?

Keeping to a schedule that no one is setting for you is really sometimes a tough thing to do. Especially when family commitments and other important matters come up and the book was sometimes the first thing to go on hold. As it was a project that was an extra commitment on top of our regular 9-to-5 jobs, we really had to be dedicated in putting the time in after hours, even if sometimes it was exhausting.

Self funding this entire project has also been pretty huge for us. We were always determined to create this book and do it to the highest quality level we could. Being the first of this type of project, even when we thought we had our budget all planned out, sometimes expenses we hadn’t anticipated crop up.

This is our first book project together and while we have the skills to produce the content and make the book, there are so many things we need to learn and do along the way. The best way we’ve discovered to overcome some of the big obstacles, are to use professionals in the field to help us. Everything from copy editing and pre-press, right through to public relations. One of things we realise pretty early on is that we won’t ever be able to produce and distribute the highest quality product without collaboration. We have been so lucky to work with an amazing crew of industry partners and mentors. Some of the highest compliments we’ve received from industry, are based around the fact that the book doesn’t look like it was self-published. That’s a real buzz for us!

What are some of the things you learned throughout this process, either from working together or from the women you worked with to compile the recipes?

In terms of the project, again, being our first book and also the first time we’ve worked together as a creative pair, that means, the learning curve has been incredibly steep. I think we’ve learnt a ton about the steps you need to go through to produce a book like Nonna to Nana! Collecting the recipes and photographing them was definitely our first hurdle, because it was just so time consuming. Coordinating with each of the nans and photographing mostly on weekends, or when they were available. We also travelled interstate a few times, so all of the logistics involved go well beyond just photographing. Throughout production of the book, there was ongoing contact with many of the women to confirm recipes and then all of the testing and production, to make sure everything worked perfectly. However, having the book completed is really just the first step along the way. We are now learning a great deal about the process involved in marketing a book and while it’s so lovely to have it completed, now our aim is to get it out into the world!

From the perspective of the nans, what they’ve taught us is limitless. If we consider our own Nonna (Giovanna) and Mum (Nonna Nina) encourage our love of food and cooking and teach us so much, but spending time with each of the women, hearing about their families and working in their kitchens with each of them has been an experience we will never forget. Without a doubt, it’s like we’ve inherited an additional 14 nans for ourselves - which makes us incredibly spoilt!

What we have learnt from each other is endless. The main thing we have learnt is that we can work together and have a great finished product at the end. We’ve learnt a lot about each other and ourselves and just how important communication and compromise are to help bring together our separate creative fields into one final product, which is really amazing.

Any tips to share for working on a creative project with a sibling or family member?

Stick to it! The creative collaboration and how great that can be far outweighs the few disagreements you might have with your sister/ brother/family member. Sometimes it’s almost better to work with a sibling, because you can be totally honest with each other, the way only families know how. Working as a sister team, a lot of times we would argue through our issues and then move on, getting on with the job, instead of holding onto grudges. But the flip side of that is the laughter. Even when the pressure was on, we could sometimes get a bit silly and just laugh.

We would also suggest trying to keep work and your personal life separate. We were great friends before we started this project. My neighbour, at one stage, thought Jessie lived with me because we spent so much time together! Half way through the project we realised that we hadn’t really been just hanging out, because almost all the time we were spending with each other was about the book! It was only a few weeks ago that we went out and spent the day together, and the book wasn’t the main focus. And although it hasn’t been horrible by any means, we’ve loved working on this project, it’s just something to be mindful of. There is no point producing something, and then realising you’ve lost your friend in the process. We’re glad to say in this case it hasn’t happened, and really it’s proven just the opposite. Jessie and I are great friends and now great collaborators too!

What's next for both of you?

We are still enjoying the exciting developments that launching Nonna to Nana is bringing us. We’ve had our Melbourne and regional launches and Jessie is now focusing her attention on a solo exhibition she’ll be having in Sydney, as part of the Head On photo festival in May (May 19th-June 1st, 2014).

After Nonna to Nana has been promoted and in market for a little while and we have learnt everything we can from this big project, we might take a little holiday… we probably need one! Jessie and I have talked about taking our Nonna to Nana concept into other countries. Just as learning and investigating multicultural Australia has given us so much, we are considering producing a USA version. We have both lived in New York and even just that one city is a fantastic melting pot of amazing food. We can only imagine it's also full of amazing stories! When you have so many cultures and cuisines working together in one place, we think the concept of documenting recipes from the older generations is something that could work anywhere. Also having women tell us their stories from across the globe and documenting food, which may not be so familiar to us, could be very interesting and take us on a journey that we can’t even imagine.

Nonna to Nana is available online and through bookstores Australia-wide.

(All photos by Jessie DiBlasi).

Interview – Kylie Lewis, Of Kin

By Andrea McArthur

Kylie Lewis is a Social Media Guru who guides businesses through the waters of online media and content. Her daily mission is to move and inspire people to think more about the things that truly matter to them. Kylie is a woman with a passion for what she does and has a passion for life.

Where did your passion for communication come from?

In primary school I wanted to be a nurse. Then a teacher. In high school I wanted to be journalist, then a youth counsellor. So way back in the day I did a double degree in psychology and sociology. While I was studying I also became a Fitness Instructor and taught group fitness classes. Graduating in a recession, the social sector didn’t seem so lucrative, so I tumbled my way into the business admin and then deliberately pursued ‘internet’ opportunities in the late 90s.

I landed in the first Melbourne Fairfax rollout team for US startup CitySearch, hitting the road selling template websites to small business. I loved how the web offered these little, local businesses a level playing field with the big guys, and that they had a new and powerful way to communicate their messages to the world (I still love this today). This was before most people even knew what a web address was. We were converting email messages to faxes, and Zuckerberg was in kindergarten (*sigh*).

Throughout the years I worked in startups in both the business-to-business and consumer sector, did a stint in a traditional marketing role and then came back to another startup, just as social media was starting to take off. I then jumped to head a small digital agency for a while before grabbing a dream role as Head of Digital for one of my all time favourite brands, kikki.K.

Somewhere in the midst of that I did a Masters in Business (eBusiness & Communication) and started a family. I went back to Fitness Instructing after I had my first child, and started freelance blog writing about 3 years after my second was born.

While I loved my time at kikki.K, I’d reached a point in my life when I needed more flexibility than the job would allow, and I craved the time and space to design a working life that could work around me. Deciding to leave was really tough, but I’d crafted myself a motivating Pinterest board (pinterest.com/kylielewis/wisely) to help push me in the right direction, and already had a few freelance gigs under my belt to help get me over the line. After that it was holding tight, taking a breath and making the jump.

A few of my biggest strengths are a love of learning and curiosity. These have definitely helped me work in the digital space, given how fast it changes, and the scope of knowledge there is to digest. And I love a good chat, a nice cup of tea and have a severe stationery addiction. So it wasn’t a stretch to become a consultant!

I realise now that my work as a digital strategist and fitness instructor, my childhood aspirations of becoming a nurse, teacher, journalist and counsellor have all actually come to be!

Can you describe the function of a Digital Strategist for us?

I help people come to grips with social media, content marketing and digital strategy in a way that makes sense for them. I’m driven to move people’s thinking and build their confidence, so that they’re empowered to help themselves. I do this by sharing what I know with people through one on one coaching, consulting with small business teams, and public workshops.

As a digital strategist, my favourite question to ask is ‘why do you do what you do?’ My next favourite question is ‘where do you want to be?’ And then ‘what are your biggest challenges right now?’ When we can get those three things sorted, we can start building a strategy and crafting solutions. This could be facilitating a team discussion to define their content marketing mission statement, to identifying their buyer personas, to category sorting their proposed blog content, to running customised masterclasses on Pinterest and Instagram, to planning out a content calendar. I’ve worked in digital for over 15 years, so you can throw pretty much anything ‘webby’ at me, and I’ll help you find your way through it.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

At the moment I’m writing a book, so I’m trying to be an early riser and get a few hours writing in before the rest of my house wakes up. Then its making breakfasts, school lunches and going for a run while the kids get taken to school. I’m loving listening to podcasts while I’m running at the moment – NPR TED Radio Hour, and HBR Idea Cast and Dan Pink are my favourites at the moment. I bypass my local on the way home and while I’m waiting for my takeaway chai latte to steep, I get a bit of stretching in.

Home to shower where I do a LOT of thinking! I’ll reconfirm my priorities I set the night before (a great tip from Lyndall Mitchell, my life coach, is ‘tomorrow starts today’) and get started.

Sometimes I’m onsite with client doing a coaching session or a team workshop, sometimes I’m at my studio planning, researching and writing, and sometimes I’ll squeeze in a lunch with a friends or a nana nap (because those 5am starts catch up on you!). I’m constantly surprised with how much planning goes into managing my week – I spend a good portion of Mondays planning out the weeks ahead and setting myself up to be productive (well, that’s what I tell myself!).

I’m trying to get better at checking my emails only at set points during the day (another tip from Lyndall – only check your email when you’re ready to handle it), so that I find flow with my writing and thinking. I’m also drawing on the Pomodoro Technique (of working in 25 minute spurts) and using Focus at Will for music designed to help keep focus when writing.

School pick up zooms around pretty quickly, and then it’s the usual kids activities and food prep shenanigans. After the kids go to bed, I might do a few more hours work, teach a fitness class, read or actually have a meaningful conversation with my husband!

What was the experience like, to go from being full time employed to becoming a self employed Communications Consultant?

Terrifying. I woke up every day for three weeks in a heart pounding panic saying ‘what have I done?’ I loved my job, but was worn out and needed more flexibility than the position could offer. We spoke to our bank manager before I left my job and knew I could afford to take the risk for a decent length of time. I was still freelancing on the side which helped. I kept saying ‘worse case, I’ll get another job.’ So far, I haven’t needed Plan B.

My biggest challenge in working for myself is boundaries – trying to pace the amount of work I take on at a given time, and carefully choosing who I want to work with and the type of work I want to be doing. I’m a work in progress.

Who have been your business inspirations and how have they inspired yourself or your business practices?

Tony Schwartz and his Energy Project movement. I read ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ three summers ago and it changed my life. I knew in my heart of hearts I could not sustain the pace of full time work, running a family, a house and doing freelance, but it took me a while to work out how to find a way through it. I now try to honour my needs for rest and renewal and be mindful about managing my energy across my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. I don’t always get it right, but I’m chipping away at it.

Then along came Brené Brown and her work on vulnerability, perfectionism and scarcity – the ‘scarcity’ of never being/doing/having enough. This woman has decoded what it is to be human. I’m sure if her research was around when I was back studying sociology and psychology I would have run away and formed a cult in her hometown in Texas (I still might…!). Given the anxiety many business people feel about trying to do it all perfectly, particularly about participating online and in social media, I draw on her work a lot to build people’s confidence, and help give themselves a break.

In your CWC bio you write that you are a blogger. Is your blog a mirror of who you are as a person?

My personal blog/journal on my website is something new for me, which I’m still developing and exploring. For the last eight years I’ve blogged for the businesses I’ve worked for and rarely had the time to blog for myself. I still blog for businesses (over at Life Instyle  and Reed Gift Fairs), but I’m loving curating my own stories in my own space. And yes, it’s very much a journal of the things, people and words that personally move me (and I hope you too!)

Your journal is an inspiring read, especially your journey of 2013. What a big year... how can you top that in 2014?

You know, I didn’t set out planning to have such a big year in 2013. In fact, my plan was to take a sabbatical for a few months! What I found was, when I started giving myself permission and space to go towards the people and places that I was drawn to, and honour my true interests, doors opened up. And then there was the serendipitous universe… a guy I hadn’t spoken to in 17 years contacted me on LinkedIn out of the blue with a job opportunity (and I hadn’t even changed my position title from kikki.K at that stage). That kind of thing happened a lot last year.

Stuff just happened when I learned to breathe. So for 2014, I really want to keep doing more of that.

Have there been any social media brand strategy's that have inspired or engaged you lately?

Most recently it would have be Target USA teaming with top pinners to create party products to sell in store. The first collection is with Joy Cho from Oh Joy who has over 13million Pinterest followers (while Target themselves have 150k). The collection is beautiful and my feeds are full of pretty party set ups. Well played, Target.

Who Give’s a Crap is a social enterprise selling toilet paper, with 50% of profits going to improving sanitation in developing countries. They crowdfunded their initial seed fun with a great campaign on IndieGoGo - they live streamed the founder sitting on a loo until the initial $50,000 was raised. You can watch the video and read all about it on their website. Their product is beautifully designed, surprising and delighting. You can’t help but Instagram when your order has arrived. I know. I never thought I’d 'gram TeePee either.

Wittner’s savvy collaboration with Australian fashion bloggers is brilliant. They cleverly use the content from the collaborations across all their platforms from their own blog content, to email marketing, to social media feeds. (Did I mention I have a shoe buying problem?)

I love, love, love Black Milk Clothing for their story, their nylon loving community and their furry friends. Read their About Us page on their website and see photos of their customers of all sizes and shapes wearing their R2D2 and C3PO leggings and getting the love. My Hans Solo and Chewbacca legging are in the post.

West Elm’s inclusion of Etsy sellers instore and doing events with high profile bloggers is awesome. Great excuse to party!

The Holistic Ingredient enticed her 50K Instagram followers to sign up to her subscriber database on her website with a free snack recipe book. Hooked me!

From your past experiences is there a consistent mistake that most small businesses make with their social media plan?

Firstly it’s about actually making a plan! Making a plan built on understanding your customers dilemmas and desires and then bringing your own expertise and passion to them isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. It requires some space and quiet time to be challenged and think. And many businesses get so caught up in the ‘doing’ of their businesses, they work against themselves by not stopping to plan, and make their load easier to carry.

Discipline to stick to the plan is the next thing. Setting up weekly rhythms, support systems and automated tool to help with that is key.

The other thing would be relying only on social media for communicating with customers, and forgetting to always be building their list of email addresses on their own database. I’ve read stories about Facebook and Instagram closing down business accounts to the horror of those businesses – businesses need to remember that they don’t ‘own’ spaces on social media, but they do own their database.

And lastly, in the online space ‘you are what you publish’. Publish regularly from your heart, to the heart of your customers.

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Thank you Kylie for your time and sharing your webby insights with us!

Kylie, alongside Belinda Langler of The Inkling Effect, recently held a Social Media and Content Marketing Class in Melbourne called "Content Kin" in early April. It was an extremely successful and informative event where the attendees made creative spaces, by utilising hands on tools and making actionable plans. The key tools used throughout the day were mindmaps, sharpies, post-its and big sheets of kraft paper, the end of the workshop concluded with each attendee walking away with their own content marketing mission, buyer personas, social media stats and a plan that they can implement over the next six months. If you missed this session contact Kylie kylie@ofkin.com for information on how she can help you develop your own content.

Follow Kylie's Of Kin blog at ofkin.com/blog, or find her @ofkin on Twitter and Instagram.

Andrea McArthur has a passion for all things visual and works as a Senior Graphic Designer at a branding agency in Dubai. Type is her true love and goes weak at the knees over beautiful design. You'll find her sharing design related musings via Twitter and Instagram

5 Tips for a More Productive Day

By Dannielle Cresp

Productivity and creativity aren’t always the best of friends. Sometimes you’re really feeling it and want to do all the things and other times it can feel a bit like you’re wading knee-deep through mud. Here are some of my favourite ways to push through and make a really productive day.

• Start with Two To-Do Lists. First write down all the things you need to get done, not just today, but all of them. Doesn’t matter about order or priority for the mean time, just get them all down on paper. Once they’re all there, take a highlighter and highlight all the ones you want or need to get done today. Put them on your second to-do list and put that first big one out of sight.
• Get your working environment ready. It might seem like procrastinating but think about what you need for the tasks on your to-do list and get them out so they are within reach before you start. Nothing makes it harder to stay productive than searching for something you need desperately mid-task. Also get a bottle of water so you’re keeping hydrated whilst working.
• Decide the order of your to-do list and eat the frog first! When deciding the order of tasks, do the hardest thing, or the one you don’t feel like doing the most, first. Then do something that’s quick and/or something you enjoy. Once that thing you didn’t want to do is out of the way you’ll feel lighter and more able to get on with everything else.
• Batch your tasks so you can stay in the right mindset. Need to write a series of blog posts? Do a few together whilst you’re focussed on writing. Need to organise your social media for the week? Schedule your posts and social media updates in one hit - guarateed to make you feel super on top of it all.
• Take proper scheduled breaks. It might seem counter-productive to be taking a break when trying to be productive but it’s amazing what 20 minutes of fresh air and slowing down will do for you during your efficiency and creativity. If you try to run at full speed all day, everyday, you will get tired and worn out and your productivity will suffer. Taking a break allows your body and your brain to reset and even in a world of deadlines, we all need that!

Just a little bit of planning at the beginning of the day can really help make it a more productive - and ultimately more creative -one. Giving yourself the permission not to do everything on your big to-do list and just taking it one day at a time can really make a big difference. Tackling each day like this really helps you to prioritise what the important things are to you and your creative business, which is the cherry on top!

Dannielle is a blogger, serial organiser and passionate traveller. She has a secret love of 90s teen movies and can often be found hanging out on Pinterest. She is on a mission to help people bring happiness (and fun) back into their homes with a dash of organisation and a sprinkle of their own awesome style over at her blog Style for a Happy Home.

Image from © Lime Lane Photography with text overlay

My Advice: Staying on top of admin

By Lizzie Stafford There aren’t many small creative business owners who would openly admit to loving their admin work. Tasks like bookkeeping, emails, invoices and social media build up and eventually seem to take over, so you feel like you have little time left for the actual creating. We asked three organised business owners how they stay on top of the books without going insane. In the wise words of potter Ilona Topolcsanyi: “Admin is like a leg wax: if you move quickly, the pain is minimal and the results are pretty damn sexy.”

Check your emails twice daily. No more, no less.

Bek Smith, photographer, Bek Smith Photography & Journal

"Keeping on top of admin is so important when running a business and it's sometimes easy to let the most important tasks slip past you if you don't have a productive system in place. As a photographer running my own business, the best piece of advice I have been given is to check your emails twice daily. No more, no less. This way you can tackle your inbox in two chunks and focus your full attention on each gorgeous client."

Create a routine. Schedule manageable, bite-sized tasks into your weekly calendar. 

Nat Carroll, creative director, designer & illustrator, the Seamstress

"Instead of leaving things like marketing, taxes and blog writing to the last minute, which leads to unnecessary stress and tight deadlines, try creating a weekly routine that incorporates these tasks into more manageable, bite-sized items that you can follow through on every week.

Try to stick with it, no matter how busy you might be. Block it out in your calendar. I find Monday mornings are a good, quiet time in the week to plan my goals, write posts for my blog or work on my next self-promotional piece. I also like to finish up on Friday afternoons by dealing with my finances; I'm creatively exhausted by then and need a different kind of task to carry me through until the start of the weekend.

I've found that approaching my business in this way creates more structure to my week, which helps when you only have yourself to answer to. I've also found that I am closer to my goals because I've worked at them every week, in little baby steps, instead of feeling overwhelmed by my 'to-do' list and struggling to find the time to make those things happen."

Your time is important. Regularly measure and assess the value of it.

Ilona Topolcsanyi, potter, Cone 11 Ceramics + Design Studio

"In the first few years of our business we needed to do everything ourselves because we couldn’t afford to pay someone to do it for us. As the business grew, we assessed the value of our time. We asked ourselves: “Would we be better off paying someone to do that so we can concentrate on what we do best?”

What are (my) roles and responsibilities? Can I afford to hand this task over to someone else? If not, then am I equipped with the skills and knowledge to complete this task within a reasonable time frame? Will it save me time and money to be trained?

A few simple computer programs allow a lot of the boring tasks to be automated, reducing the amount of time I need to spend tied to my desk.

I use Campaign Monitor (to manage the studio mailing list and e-newsletter). We have an ipad in the studio with a link to the subscriber page (on our website), which allows visitors to join the mailing list. Gone are the days of transcribing the long list of illegible email addresses.

For the bookkeeping we use QuickBooks and take advantage of features such as automated recurring expenses, importing electronic bank statements and issuing quotes that I can easily turn into invoices. While we can’t afford a regular bookkeeper, we also can’t afford countless wasted hours trying to figure it out. So we invested in some basic training.

For the rest of the tasks that I can’t teach my computer to do for me I allocate two mornings a month with a lovely cup of coffee, a raspberry danish from Dench Bakery and re-runs of Sex in the City."

Lizzie Stafford is a freelance writer and editor and owns and runs Künstler, an independent magazine and bookstore based in Winn Lane, Brisbane. She is the Brisbane events coordinator for CWC.

How to write a great design brief

Our guest columnist Nat Carroll is back today with a follow-up to her popular article Why Write a Design Brief. Having been convinced that this is essential for the creative process to flourish between client and designer, she outlines what should be included and how best to get your point across (or draw it out from a client). Thanks, Nat!

You've been pondering over your business idea for weeks, months — perhaps even years. You know it inside out and back to front. It's your baby, and it WILL be brilliant! But, here lies an obstacle: how do you best communicate to a graphic designer the details, tiny nuances and objectives you have, that require their creative input?

Achieving design that truly represents – and hopefully accentuates – your project, begins with a healthy amount of dialogue between you and your designer. It's time to gather up all of your thinking – the what, why, how and what if's – and arrange them into some sort of sensible explanation. We designers make use of a helpful series of questions – commonly known as the design brief – to assist you in identifying the information most relevant. It should be said that some design briefs though, are more superior to others. Being asked the right set of questions by a designer and understanding why they've been asked in the first place, lays the foundations for a better project outcome.

Why write one in the first place, you may ask? Why not just have a brief phone discussion and get the ball rolling? Writing a design brief, whether you write it yourself, or have your designer write it for you, has numerous benefits. I've explained some of those benefits in my previous blog post.

So, what constitutes the contents of a well-written brief? When working with clients in my own practice, there are the things that I really like to know about before moving towards the research and concepts phase, and I'd like to share them with you here.

01. Who are you, really?

Tell your designer all about yourself. And I do mean ALL. Your designer is now your new best friend. It's crucial to work with a designer that you know in your heart of hearts you can trust. The more openly you can speak with them, the more they will understand your expectations and motivations. This leads to design that addresses your bigger goals, rather than narrowly focusing in on the smaller, mandatory details only. A well-written design brief should cover expansive knowledge of your brand. Often I find the simple mistake here can be to resist revealing all – this really shouldn't be a time for a modest elevator pitch.

Give a background on the history and where you're at, present day. What do you create, provide, represent? What do you see it growing into? What are the big goals, issues to achieving these, and where does it's strengths and weaknesses lie? What are it's values, tone of voice, attributes? If it were a person, who would it be? Who are it's competitors? What makes your brand unique? What problems does it solve?

Answers to these questions add up to giving your designer a good overall sense of the big picture – often forgotten in the determination for the project's details. Your designer is now better equipped to be able to advise you and steer you in a direction that is more tailored to fit you!

02. Who is your audience?

It's unfortunate that you cannot be everything to everyone in this world. There's no point in trying. But, there is an upside to this! You can be meaningful to a select group, one that will stay loyal to you, if you are loyal to them. Narrowing your focus and understanding as much as you can about your selective audience and catering to them specifically, will pay off in dividends. Tuning into your audience and understanding what motivates them, pleases them, frustrates them, helps immensely in formulating an informed visual direction for your designer. Speaking succinctly to your audience, in THEIR language – be that visual and verbal – is the goal here.

What do you know about your audience, or the audience you would like to attract? Describe a typical member of your tribe: Are they predominately male? Female? Does your brand have more than one audience? Where do they live, work and play? How much do they earn? What do they spend their money on? What are the motivations behind their purchases or use of a service? Do you have any data you can share with your designer? Do you have past surveys, focus groups, Google Analytics or data from your Facebook Fan Page? And what about feedback?

Understanding your audience will allow a designer an insightful view into communicating with them in a language that is appropriate. Creating a story that speaks to your audience in their visual language will create a sense of belonging, which in turn builds brand loyalty.

03. How and why did your project arise?

It may be that your brand has lost it's way a little, a whole lot, or that you are simply in the start-up stage. It may be that you've discovered a gap in the market for a new product. Maybe you've just about finished your artistic endeavors, but you need to visually package everything together. Giving your designer an insight into the way your project came to fruition, helps them to understand the motivations and objectives behind your project. This section of a design brief really helps to define the design 'problem' – big, small or somewhere in between – highlighting the issues your designer needs to fully address and resolve.

Tell your designer about your 'problem'. Give them a summary of your project and the main reasons you are commissioning them for their creative input. How did this all arise? What are the goals you plan to achieve by undertaking the project? Is it to create further recognition? Develop your audience? An investment or financial gain? What specific design deliverables do you believe addresses your 'problem'? And how will you measure your success?

These factors will drive a designer to find and create an effective aesthetic and strategy that is in tune with addressing your goals.

04. What is the key message you are giving to your audience?

Often in communication, we tend to muddy the waters by saying too much. It is important now more than ever to simplify and pinpoint. You are competing in a sea of information, a decreasing of attention spans and the increased perceptions in lack of one's time. You have about five seconds, more or less, to make an impression – so – make it count. What is the single, key message you wish to impress on your audience? How would you like them to respond, feel, react and/or act?

Your designer will now be sure to focus in on illustrating this message succinctly and simply.

05. OK! Now, for the details.

This may come across as rather obvious! However, ensure you tell your designer what you require from them. Provide as much detail as you can. The outcome of a project is affected by it's constraints, so it's important to be upfront about these before a project moves to the concept stage. A thoughtful designer will be able to forewarn you of issues that may arise because of said constraints and steer you towards a direction that bests reaches a compromise.

Give them an idea of your deadline, and any outside factors that may affect the date. How many people will be involved in the signing off process? Are there mandatory, non-negotiable factors that must be adhered to? What is your printing and/or development arrangement? Is there any text in the works that needs to be finalised and supplied? Will the scope of the project likely remain as it is?

Keep your designer abreast of these details, and any amendments as soon as they arise, and you'll find you've created a more mutually collaborative relationship.

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Gathering and sharing all the information – research, data, plans, goals, thoughts, samples, inspiration – you have at your disposal, enlightens your designer with much more knowledge to operate from. If you let them into your inner circle, by placing emphasis on partnership, rather than just relying on their technical know-how, you'll find it will allow a designer to respond by creating a meaningful, engaging outcome. One that is much more in tune with your goals and your audience's desires. This is the unequivocal benefit of mastering an excellently written design brief!

If you're wondering about the specific questions of a design brief, try searching for samples online – there are plenty out there to pick and choose from. In my own design practice, I've formulated a series of questions from over ten years of reading and putting them together – feel free to utilise this one if you see fit!

Nat Carroll is NSW-based creative director, designer & illustrator with an artisan style and strategic approach, working under the moniker, the Seamstress. She carefully crafts visual communication — brands, design & illustration — for the creative, cultural, business & non profit fields.

Podcast interview: Abbe Holmes, voiceover artist

There's a new podcast for Members to access up on the site today, and in this episode we chat with CWC Member Abbe Holmes.

Abbe is the voice behind many well known commercial brands, advertisements, and television characters. In this audio interview we talk through her career, from 'falling into' voiceover work, to riding the wave of the industry, to training Australia's up and coming voice actors as a voiceover coach. It's an inspiring look into the career of a woman who has taken opportunities as they have arisen, and let her natural talent and zest for her industry guide her.

Have a listen over here!

Statigram makes your Instagram work for you

By Susan Goodwin

We all love Instagram, those pocket-sized sneaky peaks into other peoples lives, giving us the opportunity to travel the world, eat all the good things, and see abundant creativity.

It is also a great way to share your own creativity, and if you want to grow an audience for your creative business, then Instagram can be a useful tool to achieve that.

First, a few things to consider:

• Is your account a business account? Are you using it to drive more sales/awareness/and audience to what you do?
• What parts of your life overlap with your business, that add character and richness to your creativity and bring your story to life?
• Is your account name the same as your Twitter/Facebook/blog/Pinterest name?
• What other Instagram accounts do you really enjoy, and why? Do they have beautiful composition, amazing styling, gorgeous photos?

Being strategic about what you post may sound a little less "insta" than you are used to with an Instagram account. However, if you want to use it as a tool to grow your business, then a crazy mash up of last night's leftovers, photos taken in the dark and endless photos of your family or your pets may not necessarily drive sales to your door.

Having a goal and finding the steps to reach it starts with analysis. Enter Statigram. Here, you can find statistics on your Instagram profile, such as who has started following you and who has jumped ship, your 'like' rates, which posts get the most interaction, and it even gives you a handy little graph which shows when the people in your Instagram community are most likely to be online.

Now that you have all this data you can start to use Instagram more effectively.

• Post at the times your community is around for maximum effect.
• Post more of the images your audience likes to see.
• If the images of your work are not getting the most love, then consider different angles of photography, styling in an unusual way or using videos to show how you do things.
• Hashtags may look ugly but good ones can bring a new audience to you. Try searching for your tag and using it occasionally to bring in a new crowd.

You will soon find Statigram as addictive as Instagram. It will place all the information to grow your audience at your fingertips.

(P.S. This post was NOT sponsored by Statigram or Instagram, we just like their websites.)

Susan Goodwin is the designer, sewer and creator of Rocket Fuel, ensuring you are decked out in style while cycling. Read her blog or follow her on Twitter @rocketfuelstyle.

Photo credit: images from Measure Twice Cut Once