Portfolio
Here are samples of my work in various applications.
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Launch of Postgraduate Programs in Clinical Research
Melbourne University Private was launching a new postgraduate program. The brief called for something "quirky" that would stand out from other medical courses. It was to suggest that, while serendipity had produced remarkable results, a structured approach to research would be more productive.
My background research uncovered an anecdote about the role of the lab's tea lady in Howard Florey's search for a productive source of mould to produce penicillin. I was unable to find a suitable image of a tea lady, so I organised an in-house photoshoot. One of the canteen staff was delighted to model as "Mouldy Mary". Launch invitation (PDF)
Art Authentication course
This course was to be advertised in art journals, such as Art Monthly. The journals are published in full colour. I suggested that the ads should use one spot colour and as much white space as possible in order to make it stand out from the complexity of the rest of the page.
Part of my brief to the designers included a small squiggle to suggest the type of image I was seeking. They saw no reason to reproduce anything and used my sample. Art Monthly advertisement (PDF)
Brochures ...
Information about Premium SMS services
This brochure was part of a product launch. Many customers inadvertently spend more than they realise on content, ring tones and games. The brochure needed to explain to customers how to manage their spend. It also had to make clear that the telecommunications provider was not responsible for content, but simply billed the cost on behalf of the content provider.
Because it was an information rather than a sales brochure, I used plain English to explain the risks of the product. The brochure was produced as a template that could be customised for each telecommunications franchise. Information for customers about Premium SMS Services (PDF)
Golden Trail brochure
The Golden Trail is the route taken by Chinese immigrants when they walked from Robe in South Australia to the Bendigo goldfields. A committee formed in 2005 to generate support for building the route into a world-class walking trail.
The flyer was to be used to introduce the trail and explain the vision of the trail committee.
It was the first promotional material written about the project and was based largely on a verbal briefing. The brief also included a desire to show the route and something about the places visited along the way. This required me to research each of those locations.
Much of the brochure copy was also used on the project's web site.
Articles ...
Community on wheels
The Bendigo Weekly, 26 May 2006
He's a familiar sight in Bendigo. Any weekday morning you'll see Eddie Barkla on his way to work with two bulging panniers strapped to his bike. Often he sits comfortably at the back of a bunch of elite cyclists. If they happened to break down, Eddie could pull out a first aid kit, spare clothes, spare tubes and tools and get them going again. FULL ARTICLE
The funding equation
Public Infrastructure Bulletin, September 2003
Private investment in Australian infrastructure is still in its early days and procurement via a PPP even more so. What makes an infrastructure project attractive to private investors? Players from the debt and equity side of the process outline their positions. FULL ARTICLE
Albert Coates Prize winner endorses dissection course
Uni News, 25 August 2003
Undergraduate medical students who want to do surgery may have a big hold in their knowledge of anatomy says the winnder of this year's Albert Coates Memorial Prize for excellence in the Melbourne University Private Postgraduate Diploma of Surgical Anatomy coure, Dr Christine Soo Ling Fooley.FULL ARTICLE
Pick of the financial crop
The Age, Saturday 8 June 2002
As surely as peaches herald summer's onset, May and June see olives, almonds, blue gums and grapes and come into season. It must be the end of the financial year. But in spite of increasing regulation and a recent shake up of the industry, financial planning groups are reluctant to put agribusiness managed investments on their menu of ecommended products. Agribusiness promoters and financial advisers are just not speaking the same language it seems. FULL ARTICLE
Who saves the self-employed?
The Age, Saturday 11 May 2002
One group with a particularly bad savings record has hardly rated a mention in the discussion on retirement savings. Since 1992, the superannuation guarantee has meant that workers will have some level of retirement savings. However, unincorporated sole traders or partnerships are not covered by the SG legislation, so they do not have to contribute to super. About 10 per cent of private-sector workers outside the agriculture industry are self-employed. FULL ARTICLE
Speaking of boat people
2002
Darwin harbour November 1977. An ocean-going trawler, the Song Be 12, sails in with 180 passengers aboard and asks permission to stay in Australia. The locals are in despair. This is but the latest of many such boats and they want the government to stop them coming.
It is a familiar story, one that was echoed nearly 25 years later when the government did refuse a boatload of people permission to land in Australia. There are differences, of course, but the most striking is the language used by government and journalists. In the newspaper coverage of 1977 one senses a struggle to find a vocabulary in which to express the same fears being played upon today. Now we have a whole new lexicon to describe the situation. FULL ARTICLE
Newsletters/journals ...
Public Infrastructure Bulletin
I helped establish the Public Infrastructure Bulletin, which was originally published twice yearly by Melbourne University Private. (It will now be published by the School of Sustainable Development at Bond University.) A range of writers contribute articles on topics covering the financing, management and policy implications of public infrastructure projects.
As publications manager, I was a member of the editorial committee and responsible for substantive and copy editing, as well as briefing the designers.
Hawthorn News
The Hawthorn News was a quarterly newsletter for students and agents representing the Hawthorn English language schools. Articles were short and upbeat and covered news from each of the schools and profiles of students and staff.
Outcomes
Outcomes was a quarterly magazine for clients of Mercer Financial Planning (now Mercer Wealth Solutions). I edited and wrote for the first ten editions. Articles covered a range of financial and superannuation matters.