As a web / flash designer it’s not often that I venture into the real physical world to make things … mostly because I have no patience and largely because I inevitably cock it up.

Sure we at Martian can and do provide a range of print services but, to be honest, these don’t normally involve much more than a great design translated into ink onto some flat surface … usually a business card or a promotional piece. Just what your typical design house does really.

That’s why Tony and I love Ponoko.

We can use the same tools that we would for digital design and make real world physical products.

Now the great part here is that we don’t need to know how to use power tools, we don’t have to worry about ruling straight lines or cutting things just so. We don’t have to go to the hardware shop and be told “I’m sorry, you can’t buy a sheet of translucent green plastic here”. Ponoko takes away all of these barriers.

Ponoko gives me, a web designer that has never made anything other than a money box at wood work class when I was about 12 and a wonky shelf for my stereo about 3 years ago, the ability to make physical real world objects with the press of a button. It’s absolutely fantastic!

So how does Ponoko work for a graphic designer or web designer?

It’s pretty simple really.

1. As a designer you already know how to use Adobe Illustrator.

2. As a designer you can’t help but get excited about new technology and new ways to make cool stuff from your mac (or pc).

3. As a designer you already have the perfect client base. People that need creative solutions.

Here’s an example.

We had a client that came to us to put together a series of illustrations for a workbook they were creating. The client’s logo had a certain tear drop shape and along with the workbook the client wanted to distribute a tear dropped shaped whiteboard as part of the package.

Now, we weren’t in the mood to take a set of french curves and hacksaw to a set of whiteboards from warehouse stationery … and we really didn’t want to get some white cardboard laminated (how cheap is that). This would have been something that most designers would have put into the “too hard” basket.

But not for us. Lets custom make a whiteboard for our client with Ponoko! … and while we’re at it, lets etch their logo into the whiteboard for that added “Wow I can’t believe you did that” factor.

The process was so simple.

Just download the starter kit from ponoko,
set up artwork in Adobe Illustrator,
export from Illustrator as an EPS,
upload EPS to Ponoko,
choose the material (whiteboard),
press ‘Make’.

A few days late a perfectly cut and etched custom built tear dropped shaped whiteboard arrived on our doorstep. It was just so easy. Later that week a nice cheque arrived from our very happy client.

I truly believe that Ponoko has brought a revolutionary capability to designers in much the same way that Apple did in 1985 with the introduction of the Laserwriter. Instead of settling for our real word products as printed peices of paper we can now make them quicky and painlessly out of stainless steel or bamboo or acrylics or aluminium or pretty much anything else that we can imagine.

To learn more about Ponoko check out this video from TV3 News, New Zealand or just visit www.ponoko.com

What better way to spend a rainy Friday afternoon than to update the good-old Martian portfolio? Martian has had a massive increase in the amount of illustration work requested over the past few months so it was about time to toss them up into the site.

It seems people are starting to realise the value of illustrations as a marketing tool. Incorporated into your logo or marketing material illustrations make your business stand out in a crowd. They are an attractive and practical way to convey concepts and emotions to your clients. And of course they are fun to draw so bring them on!! :)

We have been tackling everything from halloween masks to mascots, even a happy laundry bag!

All the illustrations have been drawn in Adobe Illustrator, a great way to create clean vector graphics that are easy to reproduce. The illustrations are all suitable for the web, print, sign writing and screen printing - making them versatile and hassle free for our clients.

Check out our illustration portfolio or contact Martian about getting an illustrative solution for your own business.

I recently had the pleasure of doodling up a concept character for Alsco, a leading international laundry/textile service.

The project was obtained through a website that allows illustrators to apply for international projects.

Although Martian was a newcomer to the site we were chosen by the client out of a list of 37 international applicants - proof that a boutique design company in New Zealand can stand up and be noticed in the world wide market place!

The Alsco character is fun to draw and I look forward to working with Alsco on the projects they have planned for the future.

Contact me at tony@martian.co.nz to find out about having a mascot developed for your business.

Graham Potter of Life Code came to the Martians with a plan. To help kids that are either on the wrong track or about to step onto it. To aid in this he was going to need some tools in the form of Workbooks, which is where we came in.

Graham outlined the style of imagery he wanted and “sha-zam”, the 12 page MyMatrix Workbook and complimentary Facilitator Book were born. Well, not just like that, there was a fair amount of effort and designery doodling involved too.

A pilot version of the program is now running with sets of the Workbooks being distributed along with the rest of the program material to Social Workers around the North Island. If all goes well the program will go nation wide and Graham will have the chance to see his idea change some lives for the better. To find out more about Graham and the work he does visit: www.lifecodematrix.com

Every once and a while I get volunteered to do something creative. Mainly by my wife and usually without any chance of a say-so on my part. Maybe it’s because she knows that even if I put up a fuss about having to do it, if I kick and scream and pout and mope and call her a poo-face (and worse) that in the end I will enjoy doing whatever it is because it is in my nature to want to be creative. It may also just be a way to keep me too busy to bother her.

Anyway, she recently nominated me to design a tattoo for Jo, one of her workmates. Jo wanted something that incorporated a yellow rose and a silver fern. It had to be detailed but not too big, have the right amount of tattoo edginess while still being delicate and girly. So that of course led to lots of pouting and moping but in the end I ended up enjoying playing the tattoo designer and Jo was completely wrapped with the design, which she now sports on her lower back.