The Origins of Black Owl Design

& relaxit’s story time
sit back
the origin storyBLACK OWL DESIGN:

www.blackowldesign.com.aublack owl design >> ORIGIN Story
did you
know...
Well…. I’m a Kiwi...
I was born in Melbourne, my Mum “the Kiwi” came over and married my Dad “the greek”
so I guess that makes me a half cast… or a wog.
Mum moved back to NZ with me when I was 6 months old, re-kindled her love with an old
flame, got married and I got a new dad.

SHEARING
THEGANG
Dad, new dad – the only one I needed, was a shearer in his day, although all he has to show for it
now is a crippled back! He owned a shearing run in Perth so every year for the shearing season we
would fly over.
great mullet
mum!

taste tester
official
Mum would cook for Dad and the gang. I was her taste tester
“or quality controller”. I made sure that what she was feeding
the gang was up to scratch.

memories
besties
I have really fond memories of Perth. Collecting beer cans after the gang had had a few – pile them up in my little wagon and wheel them 3
houses down to the old lady that would trade me for sweets!
I also had a pet goat – named Rio and we were inseparable, playing hide and seek in Dad’s big
shearing wool bags or rocking him like a baby on the back porch while singing him nursery rhymes.

let’s play
dress UP
Dad sold the shearing run when I was 7ish so we stopped flying over to Perth.
Flash forward a few years… I got a sister – who I hated as she stole all of my
attention, then I got a brother – who I dressed up as a sister – which he hated.

building raftsplaying with the animals
GRASS BURN
fun =
adventure
We had a fantastic upbringing.We lived on a small farm just outside of
town so we were always outside – none of this thumb cramp from too much
PlayStation time.

create
believe
All through school I was always into my art so it was inevitable
that I would have a creative career.
After graduation I got accepted into the Wanganui School of
Computer Graphic Design.Three years later, countless parties,
drinking and all nighters to get the assignments finished, I
walked out with a degree ready for what the big wide world
had to offer.
imagine

broke
time to get a real job!
partying
The degree wasn’t cheap so I had worked 3 part time jobs while studying to help pay the
way but somehow that money kept disappearing on the social side of uni, so I still wound
up with a healthy student loan. Crap now I needed a real job!

dream
JOB
I don’t want to leave
I got a job that I LOVED. It was working for a beef performance company dealing with all
the beef breeders in NZ. I was in the design department and I had the best boss I have ever
had. I was in charge of a magazine – a big magazine, it was a yearly publication for the NZ
Hereford Beef breed.
I really didn’t want to leave this job as it was my dream job at the time but in NZ the wage
price was…well…crap!

can I have some of yours?
BIGGER
suitcase
I need a
So after long talks, Ryan and I decided to jump ship across the ditch.We sold everything
in our flat – packed our bags with what we could fit – I think I stole half the room in Ryan’s
suitcase from memory – he’s a boy, he only needed a couple of shirts and some shorts right?
In September 2011 we touched down in Hervey Bay .

was a bit
R
rocky
O C K Y
We bought a car and travelled up the coast until we found work. Ryan was offered a
job in Rocky but we decided to keep looking, as Rocky just didn’t feel right.
He then got a job offer in Mackay and well…here we are.

CLEANING,
cooking,washing
After a few weeks of settling in – I got sick of being house woman, cleaning,
cooking, washing, day time television, so I decided it was time for me to get a job
and that’s when I found CORE Magazine.
It all just sort of fell in place, I had my interview with Jody and Bec and less than a
week later I was under the pump trying to get pages finished for the print deadline
– welcome aboard Amy. It was a sink or swim situation – and well, I was a pretty
good swimmer I guess as I worked there for the next 18 months.

STORM
We bought a house and then we adopted Storm
‘our fur child’ through MARS and it was the best
thing we ever did – she’s amazing.

june 2013
BLACK OWL DESIGN
comes to life
I got to a point where, as much as I loved the magazine – I was missing all the other stuff, logos, branding, websites, meeting with the client –
talking about their idea and bringing it to life.
So after a lot of thought I went out on my own, it was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. I threw away the security of a weekly
paycheck, not knowing when or who would be my first client, how long it would take to get the business off the ground and not to mention I
had some pretty big competition in town – I was playing with the big boys.

conceptsout with the old...
and in with the new
case study: ZOETIC
I was expecting that it would take around 6 months to really get the clients rolling in as I had already built my
brand but I needed to market myself.
Turns out my biggest marketing tool was word of mouth. My first few clients had been over the moon with what I
had created for them and they told everyone! So it didn’t take long at all before my phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
Heather Woods from Insurance Management Specialists came to me wanting a re-brand as her current branding
was old, dated and just didn’t suit where their company was now at.
We brainstormed about what direction she was taking the company, the team that she had behind her – as your
team members are just as important as your company and should not be forgotten – even in a re-brand situation,
her vision for the company and then of course what she liked and didn’t like design wise.

ZOETIC
life planning advice
FRONT
07 4951 1125
admin@zoetic.net.au
www.zoetic.net.au
www.zoetic.net.au
Authorised Representative. GWM Adviser Services Limited. Australian Financial Services Licensee.
Zoetic Pty Ltd ABN 85 165 844 477 is an Authorised Representative of GWM Adviser Services
Limited, ABN 96 002 071 749, an Australian Services licensee with it’s registered office at
105-153 Miller St, North Sydney NSW 2060
07 4951 1125
admin@zoetic.net.au
07 4951 1125 admin@zoetic.net.au
TO-DOLIST
COMPLETEDTASK
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www.zoetic.net.au
www.zoetic.net.au
Authorised Representative. GWM Adviser Services Limited. Australian Financial Services Licensee.
Zoetic Pty Ltd ABN 85 165 844 477 is an Authorised Representative of GWM Adviser Services Limited, ABN 96 002 071 749,
an Australian Services licensee with it’s registered office at 105-153 Miller St, North Sydney NSW 2060
WITHCOMPLIMENTS
ZOETIC
07 4951 1125
admin@zoetic.net.au
branding
case study: ZOETIC
Complete stationery range, new website, Facebook page, and then we
ran an online marketing campaign.

online
case study: ZOETIC

case study: ZOETIC
marketing
campaign
Insurance companies can sometimes be perceived as dull and
boring so we injected a bit of life and laughter into Heather’s
campaign with a strong use of imagery to capture the viewer’s
attention and then just a simple call to action.
Some people go overboard with their advertising and try to fit
too much in, when this happens it creates clutter and becomes
unappealing for the viewer and they will most likely skim read
your ad (if that) and then move on.

noregrets
So when I look back at the little girl running around on NZ farms I never would have thought that I
would end up owning my own business.
I love the flexibility that Black Owl Design gives me as it allows me to live my life with no regrets.
Starting BOD was the best move I could have made and I look forward to what the future has in store.

thank you

The Origins of Black Owl Design

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