It’s called Eventarc, and we are pretty pleased with how it turned out.

What is Eventarc?

Eventarc is an online registration and ticketing system. We built it to be the easiest way to accept registrations online for any sized event. It is completely self service, so you can get started right away with a free account.

What can I use it for?

Eventarc really is quite flexible. You can use it for:

• Selling tickets online
• Event planning
• Online registration
• Collecting donations online
• Selling merchandise online
• Event sponsorship pages

and much more!

How much does it cost?

Eventarc is free for free events. That means if you have an event to run and you are not charging for entry, then Eventarc is completely free. Nothing to pay, ever!

For paid events, our pricing model is quite simple. We don’t charge setup, monthly, annual or design fees. Just a small 5% service fee (minimum $1, maximum $8) on all currency transactions, which you can choose to pass onto the ticket buyer.

Where can I sign up?

You can create a free account online right now, and find out for yourself why Eventarc is the best way to process online event registrations!

We are a small web development company with a strong client base, including a number of high profile not-for-profits. We have also developed and launched a brand new web application (www.trickytix.com.au), which we anticipate building into a global brand in 2009 and beyond.

You will be working on a combination of small and large projects, but a lot of your time will also be spent enhancing the interface of our web application based upon customer feedback. We need you sooner rather than later, and are willing to offer a full time role to the right candidate.

Responsibilities

• Lead designer for a small 5 person web development company
• User Interface design for our web application
• Flash banners for various ad networks (including generating creative concepts)
• Email template design
• Information architecture (wire frames)

Experience

The critical skills for this role are design and flash. Any experience in the following would also be handy, but not essential:

• ActionScript
• Adobe Flex
• Subversion
• XHTML/ CSS / Javascript

What kind of company are we?

• We are fans of “Getting Real” from 37Signals
• We release our software fast and early
• We believe in beer o’clock on Friday
• Our PS3 currently has Little Big Planet on high rotation
• We believe in doing things properly

We are offering monthly RDO’s and a good starting salary, with a casual and relaxed office environment.

To apply, please visit the job advert on Seek.

Taking our guidance from Priscilla, we can do no better than to reprint this extract from Paul Keatings Redfern Speech, December 1997.

… The starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians.

It begins, I think, with that act of recognition – recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life.

We brought the diseases. The alcohol.

We committed the murders.

We took the children from their mothers.

We practised discrimination and exclusion.

It was our ignorance and our prejudice. And our failure to imagine these things being done to us.

With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds.

We failed to ask – how would I feel if this were done to me?

As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us.

The ABC will be streaming the apology live at 9am. We will be tuned in.
BLJAT

TYTW currently supports three schools in India and is part of a broader network of 14 child labour schools supported by European non-government organisations (NGO) in the same regions. Approximately 2,500 child labourers are in attendance at these 14 schools.

The website was completed by us at no charge, one of a number of sites we have completed for free as a way of giving back to the community.

“We’re now at a point that business plans really don’t matter,” said VC Randy Komisar of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “It’s an iterative process of quickly getting your ideas into the hands of others.”

Scary stuff.

When even the VC’s have their heads so far in the clouds that they think business plans have become irrelevant, it is probably time to take your money out of tech stocks and stick it under the bed.

Wait for the crash, then buy back in.

I recently bought “The four steps to the Epiphany“, based purely on the strength of this recommendation. The same day I read the blog post I jumped onto Amazon and ordered the book, and the friendly delivery man dropped it into my lap this morning.

While I have to keep motoring through work for now, at least I know now what I will be doing this weekend!

We need someone to organise our Basecamp, but we’re not talking about mountain climbing. If you are viewing this advert through an RSS feed, go straight to the head of the class.

We need this person sooner rather than later, and are willing to offer an initial 6 month contract with a view to full time.

As our project/production manager, you will:

• Create wireframes and project specifications
• Spend a lot of time in Basecamp
• Create project plans, resource plans, and cost estimates of medium to large unstructured projects
• Manage ongoing web site development – overseeing overall programming and design resourcing
• Liaise with business clients, technical developers and designers
• Ensure the progress of projects is on track in coordination with project financials – accounting for program budgets and ensuring on time and on budget delivery

You should ideally have:

• Experience managing creative and technical teams in the production process
• In depth understanding of all facets of web development (strategies, usability, information architecture & design)
• Knowledge and use of project management practices
• Understanding of information architecture
• Experience deploying CMS systems.
• Knowledge of website reporting metrics
• Experience dealing with clients in an account management or project management role
• Excellent communication skills and ability to manage staff/contacts from all levels
• Passion for digital media and online creative solutions

Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Read about us at www.hugeobject.com.au, or email your resume to scott@hugeobject.com.au.

Applications close 10th of August 2007.

At the same time some of my fellow students said they were heading off to Sydney to a conference up there, one that was a little “less corporate and a little more creative.” It all sounded good to me at the time, but flying up to Sydney as a poor student wasn’t really an option.

Jump forward to 2007

A few years later and now designing for Hugeobject, I checked out a design competition Triple J was running that had a trip to Sydney and a ticket to Semi-Permanent as a prize. I think I had completely forgotten about the conference over the past few years.

A month later I was on the plane to Sydney, and no I hadn’t won the Triple J competition. With experience comes a greater understanding of time management. I quickly decided that it would be much easier and cheaper to get work to send me, than spend hours working on a competition with the odds of winning stacked against me.

I’ll give a quick overview of some of the speakers i found most interesting and inspirational (that would be most of them), then if you are interested you can visit their website for further information. For those that I haven’t mentioned, I either didn’t find their talks very stimulating, or I just don’t have an affinity with what they do.

Sophie Howarth

The first Semi-Permanent speaker was Sophie Howarth, the official photographer for the Big Day Out. She has just self published Peace, Love, and Brown Rice, a book documenting her time with the Big Day Out from its inception in 1992. One thing that struck me about Sophie was her easy going personality, undoubtedly an important quality for a rock star photographer. She wasn’t arrogant about what she does. If anything, she was playing it down.

Overall she started off shyly, having technical problems playing photos in iPhoto. But she increasingly became more confident, blatantly pushing her book. I guess you can’t blame her, as she did spend about 2 years sorting, compiling, and personally overseeing the printing (on recycled stock) in South Korea.

www.peaceloveandbrownrice.com

Toko

A two person outfit from Rotterdam, Netherlands, Toko are currently living and working in Sydney. Eva Dijkstra and Michael Lugmayr spent the first part of their talk giving a humorous introduction to Dutch design, the difference between the Netherlands and Australia, and the relationship of the two. In one comparison they said the most dangerous animal they have in the Netherlands is the cow, compared to the numerous poisonous and deadly creatures in Australia. They explained how Dutch design is known for its clean crisp appearance, focus on typography, and almost religious use of the grid. This was especially apparent when they began showing their own work.

What impressed me the most about Toko was their attention to detail, especially in the area of Typography. For many of their clients they will design a unique typeface. This means their clients will have completely individual outcomes. They explained that everything in the Netherlands is designed, and companies are willing to spend large amounts of money hiring designers in a bid to set their business apart from others. Because of this, a relatively slow process such as designing a typeface is much more possible.

Overall, Toko gave a humorous yet technically interesting presentation.

www.toko.nu

Si Scott

Apart from being extremely nervous and at time incomprehensible, Si Scott’s work was somewhat of a hit at the conference. He has a very distinct illustrative/typographic style which has been adopted by other designers. All of Si Scott’s work is drawn by hand only to be touched up digitally at its final stage.

Initially I was spellbound at the beauty of his work, but later as he continued showing work after work of a similar style produced for larger and larger clients, I became a little bored. This is not to say the work itself was boring, but that the style itself has been overexploited and now seems a bit old. He did on the other hand lightly delve into some of his most recent work where he was consciously trying to move his work forward, aware that his unique style has now become a commodity.

www.siscottdesign.com

Tiffany Bozic

I found Tiffany Bozic to be an exciting addition to a conference mostly attended by designers and design students. It was refreshing to see and experience the passion of an outstanding artist who creates work for herself and no one else. All her painting streams from her love of exploring her own imagination and creative passion, mixed with her endless curiosity for nature.

Her work is not only conceptually and symbolically complex, but technically she is a master at what she does. I especially enjoyed her explanation of her process, how she would intricately lay down overlapping strips of masking tape to mask off areas of wood grain which remained untouched by her brush.

Tiffany was one of the most well prepared speakers at the conference. She passionately told her ‘rags to riches’ tale, and never failed to explain her work. I can safely say she was one of my favourite speakers at Semi-Permanent. Her creative passion was addictive and I left adamant to find time to pursue my own creative endeavors.

www.tiffanybozic.net

James Jean

A fit follow up to Tiffany Bozic’s presentation was the illustrator/artist Jame Jean. Like Tiffany, James had a well prepared presentation and was a pleasure to listen to. James Jean studied at the School of Visual Art, New York and graduated with a BFA in 2001. He began his professional career illustrating comic book covers such as Fables and has subsequently illustrated for a breathtaking number of internationally renowned clients.

One thing that set James apart from most of the other speakers was his detailed descriptions of his creative process. He even went through some of his works from start to end, showing initial sketches through to colouring/finishing in Photoshop. Like Tiffany, James Jean was one of my favourite speakers at Semi-Permanent.

Dave Kinsey

Dave Kinsey brought a little more attitude to the the conference. He is renowned for his street art, fine art and graphic design. He’s the founder of BLK/MRKT and BLK/MRKT Gallery, and has worked for some big name clients including Absolut Vodka, the job he said paid for the Gallery.

Marmalade

In the Semi-Permanent Event Program it stated “If their presentation at the London Semi-Permanent in 2005 is anything to go by, Marmalade look set to rock Sydney with an awesome presentation. Not to be missed!”.

It could have been that they were the second to last speaker of the conference, or that the expectations were set a little too high, but I was a bit disappointed in their presentation. It seemed a bit unprepared and short in length. They actually started running through the slides again when they realised that they finished way too soon. The magazine itself was reasonably interesting, laid out entirely by hand with a mixture of hand cut text and 3D object, photographed and then laid out for print.

Method Studios

The final speaker/s to the show was Method Studios from Los Angeles. Out of the two motion graphics businesses presenting, Method was by far the most interesting and inspiring. It was represented by a funny French guy and the director (can’t remember their names).

What I liked most about Method Studios was their mentality. They know they are good at what they do, and try and do the most creative job possible for every client, even if the client may be a little conservative. Towards the end of their presentation they talked about the staff at the studio. They mentioned that a lot of the people there are not formally trained in the field of cinema graphic, but have found their way there through their own personal interests and creativity.

Method Studios mainly works on commercials, but also dabbles in music videos and feature film work.

Summing up

Overall I found my two days in Sydney an inspirational experience and I was shocked to find that I liked all the speakers and found most of them interesting. I’d rank James Jean, Tiffany Bozic, and Toko as the 3 most interesting!

The Semi-Permanent 2007 lineup was:

• Sophie Howarth – Photographer – Sydney – www.peaceloveandbrownrice.com
• Toko – Graphic Design – Rotterdam – www.toko.nu
• Si Scott – Artist/Designer – London – www.sisscottdesign.com
• Tiffany Bozic – Artist – San Francisco – www.tiffanybozic.net
• James Jean – Illustrator – Los Angeles – www.jamesjean.com
• Motion Theory – Motion graphics – Los Angeles – www.motiontheory.com
• Jonathan Zawada – Graphic Design – Sydney – www.zawada.com.au
• Mike O’Meally – Photographer – Sydney/Los Angeles – www.mikeomeally.com
• Dave Kinsey – Artist/Designer – Los Angeles – www.blkmrkt.com / www.kinseyvisual.com
• Nash Edgerton – Film maker/Stunt man – Sydney – www.bluetoungefilms.com
• Marmalade Magazine – Design magazine – London – www.marmalademag.com
• Method Studios – Visual effects – Santa Monica – www.methodstudios.com

ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) is one of a number of organisations who refuse to accept the status quo. When they decided to take their iconic Sea of Hands online, they partnered with Hugeobject so that together we could create something truly unique.

Together we proudly launched the Online Sea of Hands in Sydney last week, with Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe both in attendance to add their hands to what we hope will evolve into one of the largest tools for change in the country.

A healthy range of media turned up for the day, no doubt drawn in part by the recent turmoil in Ian Thorpe’s swimming career. Surprisingly, all questions on the day remained on topic and focused exclusively on the Close the Gap campaign.

Joni and Helena Chan were the Hugeobject design talent behind the online Sea of Hands, shown here in front of one of their banners.

A traditional welcome kicked off the day, before a number of speakers took to the podium and discussed the current state of Indigenous health.

One of the speakers was journalist Jeff McMullen. Without the use of notes, he spoke articulately and with passion about the need to act now.

Cathy Freeman spoke about the impact of the current Indigenous health crisis on her own family, while Ian Thorpe talked about his efforts to assist Indigenous communities.

Thorpe is an extremely polished public speaker, delivering well thought out and confident answers to all media questions. While not quite as polished, Freeman showed why she is one of the most loved athletes in the country with her honest, transparent and heartfelt views.

Cathy Freeman added her hand to the Sea of Hands, and used the tools provided to write out the word “Love”. Nice one.

The launch was held at Telstra Stadium, with the giant screens being put to good use.

A small physical implementation of the Sea of Hands was there on the day.

The target for the online version is 4 million people, or the equivalent of one in five Australians. You can assist by:

• Adding your hand to the sea
• Signing the Close the Gap pledge

These days you can’t get away with such a sloppy effort and still expect people to take you seriously. If you want to know how closely people are watching your Internet efforts, consider that the major websites are now having their “uptime” tracked.

Pingdom shows us the results of the top 20 websites for 2007.

In years gone by your call centre may have gone off line for a few hours, but at least the vast majority of people never knew about it. Now, you take your website off line for even a minute and everybody knows.

It’s a raising of standards, which can only be a good thing.