Rugby World Cup fever is gripping New Zealand at the moment, which ties in nicely with my topic (sort of). Twenty teams are here to be beaten by the mighty All Blacks. (Go you good things!) OK, all the teams want to win, but only one can. Whereas our goal is to deliver the best possible books and albums, so everyone wins. How's that for cheesy? But we mean it! We have had an influx of press book orders over the last few months and nearly everybody has been over the moon about them. However not everyone has had the same warm fuzzy feeling. Why? Often it's the nature of the product itself. Press To View More >>

It was a very successful evening on Friday for our design agency ALT Group at the New Zealand Design Institute's Best Awards, where they won a total of eighteen awards, three of them, including a Gold, for the rebranding work they did with us last year: The GOLD AWARD was for the overall rebranding and visual identity project, as expressed in our new website, marketing material, logo, product photography etc. SILVER AWARD: For the Queensberry bride book, a promotional booklet designed specifically for our clients to distribute to brides and grooms, to express the Queensberry brand story and highlight To View More >>

Reading Dad's post about treating people as individuals reminded me of sitting in Air New Zealand's LAX lounge a few years ago. I was working on my laptop when this attractive woman sat down next to me and asked if I had the wireless login. Sorry," I said, "the wifi is playing up - you'll need a cable from the front desk". She turned her computer towards me and said, "It's OK, I have a Mac". :) "So do I, but you'll still need a cable," I said. "Look, I have to go confirm my seat - I'll get one for you." She smiled and said thank you. A few minutes later I returned and helped her get her computer To View More >>

For Jo and Simon of Shoot Lifestyle Photography, several Annabel Williams' photographic training books provided the eye opener they needed to see the wedding industry wasn't quite as 'naff' as they thought... Seven years on, they've just been awarded the Annabel Williams CPT Award, for the Queensberry sponsored Wedding Album Category. Jo says, "This was a real life wedding album we'd designed for clients Andy and Lisa." Their wedding took place in a quirky little tavern which Jo says exposed some beautiful natural light. The light doesn't last long on a UK winters day though, so they had to To View More >>

Like the Chinese gentleman who shared our table for Dim Sum at Aik Hoe, everyone in Penang seems to get by in at least three languages – Chinese, Malay and English. I do admire that in a person because, like most New Zealanders, I'm a monoglot. That wasn't the only reason I liked him, though. He was his own man. At 87, so he should be. Share each dish, he told us, you'll eat less and taste more. Start the day at five. Oatmeal for breakfast keeps you young – I've eaten it almost every day for fifty years. No cream or sugar. Work in your business every day [he has an electrical business with To View More >>