Powdermonkey Design

06/08/2026

It's , so I thought I'd post the report from some work experience I did in 1995. This wasn't the work experience the school made us all do in year 11 (which I did with a signwriter). This was me in year 12, ringing an ad agency and asking them if I could do a week's work experience in my school holidays. 🏆Nerd alert!

Glad they got me to do that marker rendering (the standard way of creating concepts before computers) 😆

31/07/2026

🪴A wholesale eCommerce website for Vessel Traders, featuring moody colours, beautiful plant and ceramic textures and a simple to navigate interface.

Iain needed a site which would only display pricing to registered, logged-in wholesalers and which allowed users to request quotes and view their previous orders. This site does it all, while also looking super sexy!

28/07/2026

If you’re in the Hills you will have heard a lot about what’s happening to Wok the Duck, a family-owned restaurant in Mt Barker. The State Government have proposed a compulsory purchase of the building and land they lease for a school. There are so many layers to my response to this, that I wanted to write some of it down, rather than just posting a meme.

Wok The Duck are clients of mine and Dave and Ebony are also my friends, so I am devastated that they are facing the loss of a business that they put so much of themselves into over the last couple of years.

I feel it as a small business owner too. There is no profit in losing real estate you don’t own. There is much loss of the money spent converting a space that you had the very reasonable expectation of using as an income stream for many years to come.

I also feel this on another level as a small business owner who works primarily with other SBO’s. And that has to do with just how freakin’ hard it is to carve out a living when you are self employed. I see it every day. So the thought that a Government would make this play without consulting the business owners or the developers (who I gather had another site in mind for a school) is just terrifying.

Having said all that, Mt Barker desperately needs another public school (amongst other missing infastructure). But it also needs a Wok The Duck.

What Wok The Duck does for the development Aston Hills is change it from another sea of new houses within the larger ocean of new houses that is Mt Barker. It gives it a focal point, a meeting place, a personality. They host live music, markets, food and wine events. They support other local businesses and know their regular’s names.

So yes, we should definitely save Wok The Duck. Because of small business, because of community and because of friendship.

If you are interested in finding out more they are having a Community Day at The Duck this Sunday at 10am. There’s Q&A with politicians, live music and food.

22/07/2026

Write DESIGNER. 11 August. Census Night. Australia's designers are undercounted. Help establish the most accurate picture yet of Australia's design workforce and build the evidence for greater recognition of designers in the future. Census data informs government policy and shapes decisions on skills, education and industry investment. If you are a designer, whatever your discipline, make yourself count. Write DESIGNER when you complete your Census on 11 August. And, in the true spirit of design, where a problem worth solving is a problem shared, pass it on. Learn how to write DESIGNER design.org.au/write-designer

14/07/2026

27 years into my career and I have never had one of my designs turned into a trophy... until now! 😄

Earlier this year, my logo design for the Langhorne Creek Wine Region Wine Show was adapted into gorgeous metal trophies by Regional Profile Cutters - Create the Dream.

Seeing your work out in the wild never gets old. It's especially satisfying when you have created branding that goes out into the world and does its job, being successfully applied to a wide range of different marketing materials. 💙

Definitely check Regional Profile Cutters out - they create a vast range of beautiful custom-designed metalwork. 👍

And I'm sure I don't need to tell you how spectacular the Langhorne Creek Wine Region is. Winter is a great time to visit - if you're lucky you might see the vineyards in flood. 🍷



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06/07/2026

Powdermonkey Design will be closed from Wednesday 8th July until Friday 10th July while I take a quick break!

But don't worry, I will be back on Monday 13th July, all rested and ready to design.

😎

30/06/2026

A fixed price logo design for Chelsea at Paddocks and Paws Vet.

Chelsea is a mobile vet who specialises in large farm animals and assistance animals, so I created a logo in the form of a couple of 'dropped pins'. Each pin contains the silhouette of the type of patient she works with - and together they form a heart, to symbolise the care and compassion she brings to her practice.

28/05/2026

It's been a busy week, so why not end it on a positive note with a lovely testimonial from Adam at EP Business Solutions? Happy weekend everyone. 😎

19/05/2026

I couldn't agree more with this quote from The Great One. And summed up perfectly by Logo Decks - if your logo explains too much, it understands too little.

The job of your logo is not to include a graphic representation of every aspect of your business, it is to be a memorable identifier for your brand.

Including everything and the kitchen sink erodes recognition and retention, as well as making a logomark much less functional for smaller or lower res applications. 😎

“Symbolize, don’t illustrate.”
-Saul Bass

Illustration shows what something looks like. Symbolization captures what it is. A symbol reduces an idea to its essential force, allowing it to be remembered, recognized, and reused across contexts.

Hard truth:
If your logo explains too much, it understands too little.

08/05/2026

❓What do you need to set up a website? Essentially, only 3 things.

In this super-quick guide, I break website design down to basics by comparing it to housebuilding. 😄Call me crazy, but it works!

https://www.powdermonkeydesign.com.au/what-do-i-need-to-set-up-a-website/