Magazines are always great jobs. They often start off as a simple publication but the end result is often a totally different beast. Issue #150 of Victorian Bar News was a great example. By the end of the project, it had doubled in size and even merged with a smaller internal publication!

Our challenge as designers was to collate all the data from many different authors and present it in an appealing and consistent voice. To make it easier to read/digest, we introduced different colour sections for each area, with consistent headings. Each section was broken into easy to read chunks of text and images, with clear fonts and layouts.

It was well received at Vic Bar and we look forward to doing the next issue!

The first issue of the Avalanche Created ‘Australian Mustang & Ford Magazine’ is hot of the press and available at your local newsagents (if you local to Australia)

ErnMei worked as hard as a V8 super car to get this publication ready for the printers and on time for her month long trip to Japan. The results speak for themselves and the feedback from the readers has been fantastic!
Here are just a few of the comments left on http://mustang.org.au/forum/

I just got my copy, a great mag and some familiar cars too. I’ll be queuing up for the next issue.

Just got a copy today and have been glued to it for 3 hours, not a slow reader just don’t want it to end. My wife is wanting help to prepare for our boys party????????

Looks great. I have just gotten home with my copy and about to read it.

Definatly a good Mag though, I hope it is a success the guy behind it has put in some serious thought & effort in to make it happen. He deserves all the rewards that it will hopefully bring.
Cant wait for Issue no 2.

I’ve been to my news agent 3 times and they know nothing about it…I WANT 1…….. 

Avalanche have been working with Ventura Bus for a while now, taking care of some of their marketing and branding. You may previously recall our work on the hybrid electric bus which was a fun awareness campaign for Australia’s first hybrid bus. Also fun was being able to ride on the bus (and other ventura buses) and see our posters and flyers up on the windows!

We also worked on revamping some of the branding and signage for Ventura Coaches, the Coach arm of Ventura Bus. We reworked their positioning statement to really drive home (haha) their core message: “relax, we’ve got it covered”.

With three depots around Melbourne, they also needed signage so that clients could find them easily, and to get maximum exposure on the main roads! The signs are starting to go up… so here’s the first one in Oakleigh!

Shhh! Just for Avalanche Blog readers, we have a sneak peek at the cover of a new magazine that Avalanche Creative is developing in conjunction with Performance Media Works! The new Australian Mustang and Ford magazine full of eye candy for lovers of Mustangs and Fords. It will feature some awesome car modifications, write-ups, event calendars, how-tos, specialist directories, and lots and lots of images for all you enthusiasts.

Stay tuned!

Australian Mustang and Ford Magazine website in progress.

The Spring 2010 catalogue is a quarterly publication we design for  Plants Australia. Although they are based in Victoria, they have member nurseries in the country and interstate. Full of fresh vegetables, native plants and some new floral releases, you’re sure to find something for yourself or a gardening enthusiast. What’s better than cooking with organic herbs and vegetables straight out of your own garden? ^_^

Front cover image is the Cosmos Strawberry Crush, what a pretty flower!
Designed by Avalanche Creative Solutions

Just a quick post to show off Orger Engine’s new business cards! Keeping in line with the look and feel of the Orger branding, we’ve created these standard size business cards for Colin at Orger Engines. If you’d like some new business cards, letterheads or any other corporate stationery for your business,
give us a buzz on 03 9761 0122!

Last month, Avalanche Creative were given the job of redesigning the Victorian Bar quarterly legal magazine. Distributed throughout The Victorian Bar, this 44 page magazine keeps its members up to date with current work issues and contains articles and ancedotes written by editorial staff and committee members. It’s actually quite an interesting read, even for those not in the legal field!

Judging from previous editions, we felt that what the magazine needed was a consistent visual voice – something that screamed ‘Vic Bar News’ from beginning to end.

With the end reader in mind, we went about setting a grid foundation for the magazine. We felt that a two/four column grid would be the most flexible for article lengths and would provide the easiest line lengths for a consumer to read. Then, using a combination of bright colours and friendly fonts, we began to set up a style for laying out articles and a consistent way to treat images. What we created as a result was a brighter, friendlier magazine that was easy to navigate and read.

The result is definitely something everyone is proud of –  the Victorian Bar have a refreshed newsletter that has been well received by its members, and Avalanche Creative have another great print job in the bag!

We’ve just completed the 08/09 Annual Report for the Victorian Bar.

This year features a very classic and sophisticated design with a spot silver ink on the cover and throughout the publication. The fine typography and delicate linework The silver really lifts the images throughout and gives it that very special touch! Andy also put his pen and paintbrush to work and created a series of illustrations to use throughout the annual report. If you look closely, you’ll see that they’re based on real staff members of the Victorian Bar. Can you guess which ones? ;P

Client: The Victorian Bar | Design: Ulrike | Illustration: Andy Warrington

Avalanche Creative, together with the Department of Sustainability, Grenda and Ventura Buslines, have been working really hard to bring you the new hybrid electric buses! There are two of them, one for Ventura and one for Grenda, both using different Hybrid-Electric technology. These are the first of their kind in Australia and are part of the Government’s plan to increase the use of low emission vehicles.

A big party was thrown at Essendon Airport earlier this year to mark the launch and was met with much support and press coverage (yay!)

From the press release:
“It is estimated this hybrid-electric technology will provide a saving of around 20 per cent on fuel and greenhouse gas emissions compared to a conventional diesel bus.”

Grenda Corporation will trial a hybrid bus along its 900 route from Stud Park to Caulfield while Ventura Buses will conduct a trial along its 250 route from Garden City to La Trobe University.

**update**
Ernie saw the bus for the first time when she was scootering down Princes Hwy last weekend! Looks good!

The Victorian Bar Annual Report 2008

The Victorian Bar is an association of barristers supporting the general public as well as their own members in independent legal representation (and more!).

We wanted to move away from previous annual reports, which were at best, pages upon pages of text with no imagery or hierarchy. As annual reports are important marketing tools for future investors, we needed to up the ante a little. General Manager Stephen Hare strongly agreed and his constant lobbying to his marketing team paid off with them allowing us to take a step in the right direction.

Using strong images, bold headings, and a clear san-serif type we were able to make a great looking publication that looked clean, modern and easily digestible. The idea was not to modernise the publication straightaway but to gradually bring it up to speed.

To break up the information, we colour-coded different sections of the publication. We used bold strips of colour to highlight information & quotes, and used The Victorian Bar’s corporate colours to tie it all together.

Printed on A4 Monza Satin Recycled stock, perfect bound. Pete, as always, was exceptional with his customer service and print managing end. Not only was he constantly on the phone with Stephen (more times than he called his wife!) but NOTHING goes out to the client unless Pete’s happy with the print quality and finishing.

Rave reviews from all at The Victorian Bar!