Following the successful launch of the new fresh food market PSS worked with Highpoint to deliver another vibrant chapter in the ‘Life in Colour’ positioning with the launch of the newly developed fashion precinct.   Featuring an enviable lineup of international and local brands the Life in Colour campaign was brought to life through a 32 page magazine entitled ‘VIVID” distributed to 90,000 homes in the west.

Supported by outdoor, radio, press, magazine, and a collaborative digital campaign with UK blogger Poppy Dinsey, the campaign surpassed goals and increased in-store traffic during the launch.  

We just returned from an exciting week in New York where we shot for one of Chinas largest fashion brands, ONLY. Without giving too much away until it launches towards the end of April, we were shooting for two days, each day with a different face for the campaign, a combination of video and stills for a campaign to launch their e-commerce site in China. We worked with an amazing team including the photographer Kai Z Feng and stylist Soraya Dayani formerly from ID and Dazed and Confused and now the fashion editor of Lula magazine.

This campaign has been about 6 months in the making and will change the face of this brand throughout China. To accompany the marketing team from Beijing were fashion editors from four of Chinas leading fashion magazines who conducted interviews with our top-secret brand ambassadors to get content for feature articles on the creation of this campaign and the new direction of the brand.

  New York put on a great show, with snow, sun, a touch of great retail experiences and an amazingly successful week of work. Here are a just a few behind the scenes images but look out for the next phase in the ONLY brand.

At the end of 2011, Paper Stone Scissors was successful in being appointed the Highpoint Shopping Centre account through a rigorous pitch process.

What made this exciting was that Highpoint was relaunching, redeveloping and rebranding. The brief was exciting, the positioning for the new brand was unique and the creative scope was exciting.

In October 2012, Highpoint opens its Fresh Food precinct followed by a substantial fashion launch in March 2013. The fresh food launch sees the introduction of the centre's new positioning line created by PSS, 'Life In Colour'. 'Life In Colour' reflects the colour of the community and the rich tapestry that makes up the West as well as providing a creative point of difference via colour to all communications.

For the launch in October, we engaged the local community to come into the centre with their favorite food to be photographed and filmed as part of the launch campaign. The response was overwhelming. Held over 2 days in July, we had queues of people very eager to get involved. To accompany the mosaic of imagery, we introduced the 'Foodie Bag' to be distributed in the first 4 days of the launch. Each of the 5 colours were representative of a personality trait related to food- Spicy, Zesty, Mellow, Ripe and Chilled.

This is just the beginning of Life In Colour and we are very excited about all of the projects in development to be rolled out over the next 6 months.

So what colour are you?

Oh what a magical day was had by all shooting the latest Peter Alexander Campaign in Disneyland California. Paper Stone Scissors were the lucky ones to create the magical integrated campaign for the collaboration between Peter Alexander and Disney. With a concept that captures the Peter Alexander signature and the Disney's classic charm we took to the colourful streets. Celebrating iconic characters from some of the much-loved masterpieces, Peter's sleepwear collection is fit for every prince or princess including our New York based model Valeria Dmitrienko who couldn't help being swept away in the magic. The integrated colourful campaign runs across print advertising, online and vibrant visual merchandising.

We always love working with Thurley and this season's Spring Summer Campaign was no exception - even if we had to wake up in the dark! This season we headed to a beautiful sparse beach to capture the morning sunrise for our 'faded rainbows' concept. Blessed by gorgeous natural light and the talented photographer David Mandelberg, we raced to capture the pastel sky as it contrasted beautifully with the vibrancy of this amazing collection.

It is human nature to desire recognition, and creatives are no exception to the rule. These artistic souls specialising in Identity/Branding, Illustration, Packaging and Typography will get their due with the 2012 Qantm Create Design Awards (presented by desktop magazine). In it's 8th year these awards recognise and award Australia's extraordinary and noteworthy talent in this parade of creative fields. The fate of the entrants lie in the hands of the panel of judges consisting of some of the most esteemed and celebrated figures in the Australian industry, not to mention (very proudly) our very own creative director, Atia Cader. The winners from each category will be announced at the (600 + people) Gala Awards Night in October and will be published online and profiled in a special Create Design Awards edition of desktop magazine. Take a look at some of the entries and get inspired! http://www.createawards.com.au/about-2/

Could your creative work change the world? JR’s creative projects began in 2004, when the semi-anonymous street artist started traveling the world, pasting portraits of the local residents as a way to tell their untold stories. In 2007, JR and his collaborators launched his 'Face 2 Face' project, photographing portraits of individual Palestinians and Israelis who shared the same occupations. They then posted the portraits in pairs in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities. Positioning an Israeli next to his Palestinian counterpart resulted in an exhibition where they were creatively paired and it became very difficult to tell the nationalities apart. This only shows that despite the different languages we speak, religions we practice, we actually have more in common than we think. After all, we are one entity, we are all citizen of the world. The "Women are Heroes" project took JR all over the world. One of his stops was Morro da Providência, the first favela in Brazil. This favela has a history of violence and unrest and was the site of an incident where a number of young people were killed by the army. JR photographed many of the victims' mothers and grandmothers and pasted them all over the favela. When the media became aware of the posted photographs they became curious about their stories. As a result of the efforts of JR, the families of children killed by the army were able to tell their stories to the whole world and bring attention to their plight. JR often travels to hazardous regions and cities where violence is the norm. Even in the most dangerous of environments inhabitants crave culture and are desperate to be heard. JR wants the people in such places to feel that art belongs to them and help them curate their own gallery, even if that gallery is a simple wall in a street. JR's ambition to use the art to change the world is both inspiring and courageous. He is not afraid to push the boundaries. His creativity has provided a platform for the world to connect with the voiceless. JR’s amazing impact on the world is inspiring and should have all of us in the creative sector thinking - - Have we done enough to make the world a better place with the best asset we have, our creativity? To see more JR's projects: http://www.jr-art.net/ (Photo source) To watch JR's Talks on TED: http://www.ted.com/speakers/jr.html Senior Project Manager – Ashley Chong

Conrad Hotels & Resorts, one of Hilton World wide’s ten market-leading brands has appointed Paper Stone Scissors as its communications partner in Beijing to launch its 5th property in this growing luxury hospitality market. Earlier this year, Paper Stone Scissors worked with Conrad Hotel & Resorts on its launch in Dalian, Northeast China. Based in the United States, Conrad Hotels & Resorts currently has 20 properties in 13 countries and more than 17 projects under development. Conrad launched its first luxury Conrad property in Mainland China, in the picturesque Haitang Bay in Sanya, Hainan. Six additional properties are expected to open in the next 5 to 6 years in Mainland China. Paper Stone Scissors is honoured to partner with such a prestigious and exciting client. This appointment is testament to our knowledge and experience in the rapidly developing Chinese luxury hospitality sector. Client Services Director - Amanda-Eileen Kow

It is a bit like Christmas here at Paper Stone Scissors. Having never done anything in halves PSS is lucky enough to not only have one new team member but two in the same month! Welcoming the wonderful Dennis Marchese and Hannah Maynard to our accounts team.

With broad fashion sector experience, Dennis joins the team as Account Director. Previously working across brand strategy and integrated campaign management, his portfolio includes work for Myer, Country Road, Calibre, and Lane Crawford. With a passion for illustration, photography and film, when he’s not at his desk you'll find him scouring his favourite bookstores or taking in a cinematic classic.

Also gracing us with her presence is the lovely Hannah Maynard; Hannah begun her career at Cummins & Partners in Melbourne. With the wealth of experience she had gained, she then joined the team at DDB Shop where she developed her love for retail clients, working on Adairs, Amcal and Jeanswest. In 2010 Hannah moved to Sydney and began work at Studio Woo as a Senior Account Manager for Nikon, Sportscraft, Diva and Bras N Things. After her 2-year stint in Sydney she felt it was time to move home to Melbourne and started at Paper Stone Scissors in June.

We are very lucky to welcome two fantastic people to the PSS team and are all so excited to have both Dennis and Hannah on board with us! With their passion, experience and energy, it is a match made in PSS heaven.

We love our new studio, and apparently we're not the only ones. Last week, our awesome space was awarded the National Interior Design Award in the Workplace category. Some of the other categories were taken out by Melbourne institutions Vue de Monde and the Melbourne Children's Hospital. Designed by Melbourne architects Russel & George, the judges admired the beautifully executed and thoughtful design of the PSS space. The Australian Interior Design Awards command a lot of respect in the industry, especially supported by the Design Institute of Australia. The competition field is open to Aussie based designers working on projects all over the world. You can check out the other winners and judges comments here and a glowing write up from The Age here.

This Wednesday Melbourne’s creative forces came together to anticipate and celebrate the launch of the new 2013 Campaign for the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Paper Stone Scissors has been working hard behind the scenes to create a campaign that has a deliberate retail-focused call to action with a creative twist.

As always – the consumer and retail industry is the focus point of the communication, whether it’s purchasing a ticket to the festival or buying inspired fashion and beauty in store or online, it’s all HERE, NOW, TODAY.

Guests were encouraged to bring a 10x10cm swatch of fabric that ‘inspires them’ to the launch party to become part of a social curation project. This interactive artwork is reminiscent of the festival’s 2013 campaign images shot by renowned Australian photographer Derek Henderson.

The campaign creative signifies the coming together of our creative industries and provides an eclectic backdrop to the campaign, reinforcing a collective voice.

Emily, Sam, Vanessa & Prue put on their finest appropriate footwear and headed to the very first Australian Design Biennale (formerly known as the AGDA Awards). Held at the spectacular Forum Theatre in Melbourne, they mingled with industry peers and waited in anticipation as the proceedings unfolded.

We are thrilled to announce that Paper Stone Scissors won three prizes at the awards night in the following categories:

- Art direction for Alannah Hill A/W 2012 campaign

- Identity for Chronicle Shoes China

- Typography for PSS Limited edition boxed gift card set

The awards are subject to a detailed entry and 6 month assessment process, judged by senior industry figures. A big congratulations to the creative team and individuals involved in these projects and to our clients who are encourage such great work.We'd also like to congratulate Ken Cato, who was inducted into the ADGA hall of fame. Chris Doyle did a tremendous job of hosting the awards night and a fantastic night was had by all.

Paper Stone Scissors have launched Australia's first 'Shop-able' interactive film as part of our digital strategy to maintain Calibre's position as one of Australia's leading menswear brands. The innovate film allows customers to shop straight from the film as well as link to social media. Shop the film at calibre.com.au and keep an eye open for some hidden surprises!

                   

The summer film is one component of the 'Calibre Guide to Impeccable Style' campaign which is being released in 4 tactical drops throughout the season. From Spring's '10 Things a Man of Calibre should own this Spring' to 'The Essentials of the Gentleman of all Gentleman' showcasing Calibre's leading approach to suiting, to the latest launch of Calibre's 'Sharpest Summer Essentials'.

Working again with Spanish born, New York based model, Miguel Inglesias the campaign roles out across in store, online and print advertising.

Watch this space as things continue to heat up.

Paper Stone Scissors has been lucky enough to work on the brand articulation and campaign of the gorgeous Seed brand this season. We launch the summer season with a neon pop! Armed with heaps of neon tape and the lovely photographer Bec Parsons we set to the streets. The Seed Woman is happiest in her own space, content and free as a bird as she roams through the city whilst the kids explore a place where the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. Imaginations run riot as the kids begin to explore the endless possibilities of neon tape on the sidewalk; a secret door, an imaginary house, a game of hopscotch. We hope you like the bright outcome!

Today we live in a digital world where everything is touched by technology. It is difficult to imagine games were once created without the assistance of computers, gaming equipment and digital technology. In China, if you were born after 1980 you have probably heard of the String Figure - Brain Challenge. Consisting of a simple rope loop, which is held by the fingers of the hand, this simple game can create a myriad of beautiful shapes and patterns. One person or two can play the game. The String Figure reminds us all that, sometimes, simple things, that are not high tech dependent, can create beautiful outcomes. All it took was a string and some imagination. Our resources do not always define the possibilities. What really matters is your creativity. Project Manager - Pan Geng

The Japanese are known for their invention, innovative thinking and attention to minute detail. They create small beautiful things that always attract the consumer’s eyes. I visited Kyoto a while ago, and spent most of my money on beautiful packaging. Japanese packaging is not just about creating beautiful graphics with type nicely seated. It has a unique soul of its own. Many of these packages are characterized by applying stunning personifications of animal characters, often in a series, so you are drawn to collect them all. I must admit that sometimes I was enticed to buy by the clever packaging alone. A good package is designed not just to contain the product, it also represents that the content is worth buying. We should all remember the power of packaging in a world where we only have a few seconds to catch a consumer’s eye. Designer - Zada Chan

From creating cutting edge designs and working closely with our clients to develop successful communication solutions, one of our designers took a little time to work hand in hand with one of the local children in a charity running competition. The event, organized by the city council of Shanghai, Minhang District, supports children-in-need all around China. Gergana Plummer, our Design director joined more than 100 other supporters and local children in this event to help raise money for new schools to be built in less privileged regions around China. Well done Gergana!

The PSS team is feeling very clucky with the arrival of beautiful Alexis Samantha Mokbel Born on the 26th of June at 5:44pm (she knew mum doesn't like early mornings!) to our amazing print production manager Sarah Mokbel. She weighed 3.275kg; 49cm tall and already has a full head of hair! "We are doing really well and Alexis is being kind to us and starting to get her day and night in order now. She's growing like a weed and of course I'm biased but she's getting cuter and cuter every day" Congratulations Sarah and Steve, we are so looking forward to meeting her! X

We've been working with talented Melbourne girls Thurley for a few seasons now.

So much more than champions of the local scene, these home-grown heroes are turning heads internationally as well, and their brand name is entrenched in Australia's fashion identity.

One of the most interesting elements of the work we do with Thurley is the seasonal video we put together for each collection. The focus is on making sure the product itself is the hero - a task which is made a lot easier by the tactile designs and and multifaceted materials that are such a big part of Thurley fashions.

Check out the video for Thurley's 2012 Autumn / Winter collection.