Timezoneone Blog

This Sunday is Father’s Day in New Zealand.  So this weeks ‘Zoner of the Week’ goes to all the Dads at TimeZoneOne for creating so much more than just extraordinary creative, Nigel Foley, Andy Carruthers, Murray Grossmith, David McLeod (me) and Hamish McDonald. Mark Cornellison gets an honorable mention, but narrowly misses out on new socks and hankerchiefs this year, his baby is not due for another month.

Here’s a little Father’s Day entercation…

Although normal English punctuation guidelines indicate that the holiday should be spelled “Fathers’ Day” (as it is a plural possessive), common usage dictates that the ostensibly singular possessive “Father’s Day” is the preferred spelling.

In New Zealand…

the average age of fathers of new babies is 33 years.

Fathers with children aged under one year manage 42 minutes less sleep than the average of 8.5 hours.

Over a lifetime, fathers have seven fewer Father’s Days, on average, than mothers have Mother’s Days. This is because men generally start parenting later in life and women have a longer life span. So make the most of it.

More than a quarter (28 percent) of babies born in New Zealand last year were to fathers who were not themselves born in New Zealand.

In the USA…

Father’s day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June (In New Zealand, it’s the 1st Sunday of September.).

there is an estimated 64.3 million Dads.

Americans spend around $11 billion on gifts for Father’s Day. This is about $7 billion less than the amount spent on Moms for Mother’s Day.

David ‘top of the fooseball ladder’ McLeod

For a little ‘from the archives’ fun, I dipped into the darkest corner of the TimeZoneOne archive cupboard and pulled out ‘Idea Unique ARCHIVE ONE’ - circa May 1995. What interesting long forgotten work lays on this dusty little Kodak Writable CD with InfoGuard Protection? Well, I found a little piece of my childhood on there, in the form of some adverts for Linwood City Shopping Mall…

For those who didn’t grow up in Christchurch’s coolest suburb, Linwood City was an old mall that was renovated many times and renamed EastGate Mall, all that remains of the old mall now is the McDonald’s. I was there when that McDonald’s opened (I got a cheeseburger happy meal, the toy was baby kermit the frog riding a skateboard) and I had my 10th birthday party there and won the monthly birthday prize draw. I would’ve been about 12 when this advert was made, and I might’ve entered my mum in the competition if I wasn’t so busy playing Street Fighter II and Puzzle Bobble ‘fully hard out to the days’. My mum worked at the Post Bank and we used to go to Video Village and rent Sega Master System games and my sisters would get Benji and Care Bear movies and my best friend from primary school was banned for 2 years for stealing marbles from Whitcoull’s… and I was a little sad when they started tearing stuff down, like the big Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog characters on the roof, and changed the name to EastGate.

Anyway…

Sticking with the ‘old stuff’ theme… here’s something really old that’s less about me and more about the graphic design/advertising industry. Welcome to Adobe Illustrator 88….

David ‘Puzzle Bloggle’ McLeod

Christchurch is my favorite city/town in NZ, but like most other cities in NZ it is rapidly becoming a sprawling web of suburbia.

Boulder had a very similar feel to Chch but with one difference. I could’nt imagine that a town with a mear 98,000 residents could feel bigger than Christchurch pop. 348,435. Perhaps Christchurch could learn somthing from cities like this, Boulder has a rule that the city cannot grow/develop out any further, therefore creating a tighter community and bigger “breathing” city feel. In Comparison to Christchurch, so spread out, even on a friday evening the city streets are as silent as a mid week church visit.

There’s an amzing book “Lifestyles by Bruce Mau “, but gruelling read, where he encourages low density metropolitan life. Decreasing suburban sprawl, building cities up , not out and living together as tighter communities to minimise societies impact on the planet.

On a lighter note he has a whole load of manifestos or “life mottos” about creativity and design. Some of my favorites are:

Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.

Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can’t be free agents if we’re not free.

Brett King

My current favorite TVC at the moment is Pink Batts here in New Zealand. For those of you who don’t know, Pink Batts are thermal insulation for keeping your home warm. Really quite a boring and unattractive product, a pink fluffy square. A problem a lot of good TVC’s face is you watch the ad, think it’s great but can’t recall the company or product. Somehow Pink Batts have made a heart-warming, emotive commercial that leaves you with warm fuzzies and clearly remembering the product being advertised. A TV commercial success. They have been nominated for many upcoming awards and I for one will have my fingers crossed for them. 

 NIGEL FOLEY

1. What are you wearing today?

Jeans and a cord jacket because I’m cool!

2. How many brothers/sister do you have and are you first born, middle, youngest or only child?

1 brother, I’m the oldest. 

3. Where were you born?

Jean Todd wing, Timaru Public Hospital

4. Tell us one thing not many people know about you?

I was dux of my school.

5. What are you like at parties?

I’m in between party animal and wallflower. What is that? A great mingler - can hold my own.

6. Tell us your favorite drink?

Margaritas!

7. Who is your ‘Go to’ person? 

Peter Davis

8. What was the last song you downloaded (or CD you bought)?

Amy Winehouse Back to Black

9. Tell us your pet hate?

Hate Passiveness…Hate whinging with no solution.

10. Vegemite or Maramite?

Vegemite

11. Best piece of advice your mother ever gave you?

Always have clean underwear and a clean handkerchief.

Plan your work and work your plan.

12. If you had a ’shin-dig’ at your house and could invite 4 famous people (dead or alive) who would they be?

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Anika Moa, Hugh Jackman

13. What is your favorite place in the world and why?

Italy. Food, culture, vibe, attitude, style.

14. If you won a million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with the money?

Spend some of it…move to Melbourne…share some of it.

15. Do you have a nickname? (and if so what is it?)

No….but Tatt’s calls me ‘Foley Moley’…don’t know why!

16. And lastly who would you turn straight for?

Kate Bush….who would I stay gay for…Jake Gyllenhaal floats my boat.

 LYE 

MATT HERIVEL  

1. What are you wearing today?

Black T-shirt, Jeans, ski socks (gotta keep warm!)

2. How many brothers/sister do you have and are you first born, middle, youngest or only child?

1 brother. I’m the oldest and the smallest.

3. Where were you born?

Alderney, Channel Islands.

4. Tell us one thing not many people know about you?

I can wobbly my eyes.

5. What are you like at parties?

All good until the Tequila comes out.

6. Tell us your favorite drink?

Guiness, Lager, Tequila (not together).

7. Who is your ‘Go to’ person? 

My wife, Danni.

8. What was the last song you downloaded (or CD you bought)?

It’s been a while…Tim Armstrong, I think.

9. Tell us your pet hate?

Opening car doors in the cycle lane,

I know I’m gonna eat it soon!

10. Vegemite or Maramite?

Maramite (the UK stuff!)

11. Best piece of advice your mother ever gave you?

Don’t eat yellow snow.

12. If you had a ’shin-dig’ at your house and could invite 4 famous people (dead or alive) who would they be?

Homer Simpson (drinking buddy), G-Love (for the tunes), Bill Hicks, Gordon Ramsey (For the F***in BBQ!)

13. What is your favorite place in the world and why?

Douglas Quay, Alderney. It’s beautiful….Danni and I were married there. (aaahh!)

14. If you won a million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with the money?

Take Danni surfing in Costa Rica…no, she’d love it!!

15. Do you have a nickname? (and if so what is it?)

At school it was ‘Plank’ due to the shoulders…kind of morphed into ‘Plankton’ - don’t know what that was all about….

16. And lastly who would you turn gay for?

Stay-Puff Marshmallow man. He works that sailor look!!

LYE 

BRETT FOLKES  

1. What are you wearing today?

Lacoste black and white shirt, black pants and black shoes (I went the Gary Player look today).

2. How many brothers/sister do you have and are you first born, middle, youngest or only child?

I have one brother older.  I am the youngest.

3. Where were you born?

Sydney, Australia

4. Tell us one thing not many people know about you?

I can slam dunk a basketball – whatever, look at me…I can’t touch the bottom of the net.

5. What are you like at parties?

I like small talk, uncomfortable conversations, I prefer to sit in the corner and have a crappy time….

6. Tell us your favorite drink?

VB

7. Who is your ‘Go to’ person? 

My brother and his wife.

8. What was the last song you downloaded (or CD you bought)?

Bernard Fanning (old lead singer of Powderfinger).

9. Tell us your pet hate?

People using public toilets and pissing on the seats.

10. Vegemite or Maramite?

Clearly vegemite, eat it at least once a day.

11. What are 3 things you could not live without? (excluding people)

TV, golf clubs, my bed.

12. Best piece of advice your mother ever gave you?

Always treat people like you would like to be treated.

13. If you had a ’shin-dig’ at your house and could invite 4 famous people (dead or alive) who would they be?

Greg Norman, John McEnroe, Sean Connery, Nelson Mandela.

14. What is your favorite place in the world and why?

St Andrews, Scotland – golf courses.

15. If you won a million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with the money?

Buy my parents a cool getaway.

16. Do you have a nickname? (and if so what is it?)

Foxy or Folksey.

17. And lastly who would you turn gay for?

Jack Black

 LYE 

Hi sweeties, 

On Monday, in a parallel TimeZoneOne universe, some immensely exciting and emotional news rang around the world as our very, very close friends Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt welcomed their two newest bundles of joy. The babies, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, were born one minute apart and are fraternal twins. Even though an $11 million photo deal has already taken place for the first pic of the twins, TimeZoneOne has a pxt of the twins (see below) which Ang sent us earlier and, although we haven’t cleared it with her, I’m sure she’ll be fine with sharing it with our special TimeZoneOne friends & family…. 

Enjoy.

LYE 

 Sooo cute, their likeness to their parents is uncanny!

Today was such a busy day, one where everything seems to go wrong, the computer runs slow, photoshop is crashing and indesign doesn’t like me.

So busy as such that we missed the “Ronald McDonald House” wine tasting fundraiser and I couldnt really be bothered writing a blog entry for today, but its 10:30pm and im still pretty sober for a thursday so this got me all philysophical, thinking about design and happiness.

One of my favorite heros of the modern design world would have to be Stephan Sagmeister, not for his graphic style but the way he approaches design. He has given many talks on design and happiness , so this is my tribute post to him (also Dean Poole from Alt Group).

On my travels through the interweb I found a few things that are free, unique and well design/created that made me smile. Aaaaw. Like this dog made from trash on the streets of NY.

And these guys from a group called improv everywhere , check out the missions section for some great stuff that guerilla marketers will be snapping up before you know it.

Some more felluhs doing great things pixelator and abstractor.

Brett “the freshmaker” King