Resources

We’re excited to be working with the Holcim Foundation on a digital marketing campaign for its 2025 Awards program – the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design, now accepting submissions.

We’re delighted to share the musings of Karen McCartney—acclaimed author, editor, curator and supporter of exceptional architecture, interiors, craft and design—as she reflects on the value of design as a lifestyle-enhancing medium and circuit-breaker of the mundane.

Discover the perspective of Neil Hugh Kenna, Founder & Director of NHO, who brings an intuitive approach to brand strategy and marketing, underpinned by the ideal of ‘design as a business imperative.’ Following over a decade of international brand management, Neil established his eponymous office in 2016 with a desire to bring pragmatic function to the highly creative design sector. Here, Neil reflects on NHO’s evolution, demystifies brand strategy as a service, and looks to the future with optimism.

Open public spaces act as the great leveller in the contemporary city. While buildings often divide us, even public ones, open civic space is where diverse and competing interests meet. From the right to protest to the impacts of those protests on businesses and retail, and from the benefits of surveillance for safety to the infringement on privacy, these interests are often in active tension.

International design fairs have long been a drawcard for Australian designers and design enthusiasts, offering an enticing glimpse into diverse and established design cultures and a once-necessary springboard to global opportunities and domestic credibility. However, with the proliferation of online platforms and increasing sustainability concerns, are events such as Milan Design Week still relevant, particularly for antipodean designers, and does the tyranny of distance still exist?

Last week NHO Founder & Director, Neil Hugh Kenna joined a panel event hosted by BAR Studio to discuss the NHO approach to placemaking for ‘47 Easey Street’ – BAR’s new home and very personal mixed-use project in Collingwood, well-known to locals as the former home of community radio station, PBS.

NHO has been B Corp certified since March 2023 – a reflection of our values and our vision to elevate the value of design and its potential for positive impact. We believe all businesses, regardless of their size, have influence – and thus responsibility – for employees, clients, governance, the environment, and our communities.

Andy Fergus is an urban designer and design advocate, passionate about helping government, ethical developers and communities create successful places. With a background across planning, urban design and architecture, Andy operates at all scales of the city from the urban plan to the individual building, often acting as a translator between disciplines and scales.

Discover the perspective of Sarah Ferrall, Communications Manager at NHO, who combines tenacity, design knowledge and over a decade of global communications management in London to lend valuable expertise in brand strategy, messaging, and communications. Sarah reflects on the diversity of her role and the value of collaboration and trust, while encouraging brands to explore the road less travelled.

Today we meet Peter Bain, Communications Consultant at NHO, who speaks candidly about his role, his personal and professional achievements, and his love of Japan. With close to a decade of experience in fashion and design marketing, social media management and communications, Peter is skilled at connecting culture and brands through meaningful partnerships and powerful storytelling.

The AI world is evolving fast, and while platforms such as ChatGPT hold immense potential in streamlining processes and improving efficiencies, it’s crucial to balance these technologies with human intervention and ingenuity.

Here, we discuss the evolving nature of digital marketing with Lawrence Boal, Digital Marketing Strategist at NHO, and his commitment to ongoing learning. Based in New York, Lawrence brings a global outlook to his role, applying a holistic, full-funnel digital marketing approach to support the business goals of his clients.

Deyan Sudjic OBE is a writer, curator, and editor specialising in the fields of design and architecture, and Director Emeritus at London’s Design Museum. He was the founding editor of Blueprint magazine, a former editor of Domus, and the director of the 2002 Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2023 he launched Anima magazine dedicated to “design intelligence”. Deyan is also the author of numerous books including The Language of Things, Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture, and Boris Iofan: Stalin’s Architect.

Today we meet Cardia Speziale, Communications Consultant at NHO. In our conversation Cardia reflects on her role, the changing media landscape, as well as the impact travel has had and continues to have on her personal and professional life. Having lived and worked in Stockholm and the Philippines, Cardia’s adaptable, open-minded, and positive nature is informed by a global outlook and an enthusiasm for positive client outcomes.

We recently sat down with B Lab Australia and New Zealand to share a little insight into our path to certification. As a business, we acknowledge and recognise our position of both influence and impact. Being a Certified B Corporation provides a framework that allows us to harness that position for good.

Libby Sellers is a design historian, independent curator and writer based in London. She was former senior curator of London’s Design Museum and previously supported emerging design through her eponymous gallery. In 2014, Libby was honoured by the British Women of the Year awards as a Woman of Achievement in the Arts, and in 2018, published Women Design — a survey of the most dynamic female designers from the last 100 years, which has informed lectures, talks and articles on gender diversity in design ever since.

Here, Hayley Curnow, Content Producer & Copywriter at NHO, reflects on the influence of her design background in crafting strategic, compelling copy. With a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture and over 10 years’ experience in design media copywriting, Hayley offers valuable insight into the inner workings of the profession, while her active contribution to architecture and design publications continue to sharpen her observations of design.

Late last year, Design Anthology invited NHO Founder and Director, Neil Hugh Kenna, to contribute to The Design Dialogues; a podcast series traversing interiors, architecture, furniture, product and industrial design. ⁠

Here, James Pendleton reflects on the inherent potential of digital marketing in contemporary design and architecture, and the varied influences he brings to his role as Digital Marketing Strategist at NHO. With ten years’ experience across design, education, tourism and online retail sectors in Australia and the UK, James harnesses a data-driven approach to marketing, working collaboratively to align brand tone and design with digital context.

NHO directors, Neil and Lillian, were thrilled to sit down with Office Dave Sharp and record a podcast episode of Office Talk, discussing all things brand strategy.

Here, Caitlin Quinlan, Communications Consultant at NHO, reflects on the design media landscape, her career highlights and current curiosities. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Caitlin has gained nearly 10 years’ experience across marketing, events, media and communications within agency environments in Melbourne and London, where she has facilitated unique client positioning among peers and aligned media.

The clock is inching towards 12 on a balmy night and Bar Basso is thick with design. It’s not April though. Nor is it September as was the case last year. It’s June, and the heady onset of summer heralds Salone’s current place in the calendar and a thirst for connection that cannot be quenched by sbagliato alone.

Discover the perspective of our Director, Lillian Lim, who cements the correlation between strategy and design with a creative yet commercial sensibility. With over 15 years of diversified marketing experience across design, the built environment, retail and consumer goods, Lillian is highly skilled at making ideas scalable, translating big-picture thinking into achievable outcomes.

What is design, if not a process of creating things that make life better? What exactly this means though has led to debates that have occupied the minds of those in the world of architecture and design for years. Should a designer’s work follow certain aesthetics or only tackle function or principle? Should design shout about its presence, or not? Should it focus on the mundane and humble, or prioritise conceptual, universal statements of the highest-level, blue-sky thinking?

Fleur Watson is Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Centre for Architecture Victoria, Open House Melbourne. From 2013-2020, Fleur was Curator at Design Hub Gallery, an exhibition space dedicated to cross-disciplinary design exchange and practice-led research at RMIT University in Melbourne, where she is Honorary University Fellow. She is also the author of The New Curator: Exhibiting Architecture & Design; a text that examines the inherent challenges in exhibiting design ideas.

Beyond Swiss borders, the idea of its citizens enjoying a well-designed life is unlikely to be the first association one has with the Alpine nation. Yet, it’s good design that enhances more common cultural tropes linked with the Swiss – punctuality, preparedness, secrecy and conscientiousness.

Rory Hyde is associate professor of architecture at the University of Melbourne and a design advocate for the Mayor of London. He is also co-editor of Architects After Architecture; a collection of essays that asks what can be achieved with a degree in architecture beyond the design of buildings. The short answer? Plenty.

We recently joined Melbourne’s Koorie Heritage Trust Scar Tree Walk to extend our knowledge of the local Kulin Peoples’ cultures and histories.

I’ve spent the better part of three decades thinking and writing about design. Not just the aesthetic of things, although there is that. But mostly I’m intrigued by the way inanimate objects incarnate certain moments in time.

We often reflect on what makes design pieces endure, so when we heard NYC will enjoy a retrospective exhibition of Verner Panton’s iconic work, we were more than keen to visit.⁠

National Gallery of Victoria’s inaugural Triennial exhibition in 2017 left a lingering impression, building a sense of anticipation – and the 2020 edition does not disappoint.

This June, NHO helped the Robin Boyd Foundation (RBF) raise $75k for new design education and advocacy programs.

We are pleased to be working with the team at the National Gallery of Victoria on the communications strategy for Melbourne Design Week 2021, tasked with a specific focus on supporting the event’s sprawling Satellite Program.

Given we can’t be in Milan for Super Salone this week, we’ve asked our friend New York based photographer, Eric Petschek (@cb) to be our eyes and ears on the ground.

When COVID-19 swept the mid-atlantic last year, Brooke turned her lens to the changing face of the city. The result is a haunting photo series entitled ‘The Estranged’ which Brooke has generously allowed us to share over our social channels this week.

At NHO, we consume a lot of media – possibly too much – however we are currently diving into design podcasts. “What I’ve Learned” by Stacy Shoemaker Rauen for Hospitality Design magazine is particularly good, and we loved this week’s episode with interior designer, Joyce Wang.

In a throwback to the brand’s non-conformist magazine that ran from 2005-2014, Acne Studios have launched the Acne Paper book.

In the throes of last year’s coronavirus outbreak, many of us took solace in books, journals and magazines, such as Alice Rawsthorn’s 2018 release, Design As An Attitude – a firm favourite here at NHO. As such, to mark the launch of Book Club we couldn’t think of a better guest.

While we couldn’t be there this year, Stockholm Design Week looked a little different in 2021.

A return to lockdown here in Melbourne is as good excuse as any to invest in some new books. Bookshop by Uro recently opened near our office in Collingwood Yards and their online store has you sorted.

When we got in touch with our long-term collaborator Studio Hi Ho to discuss a rethink of our branding and our website, our direction was clear. Neil Hugh Office is about more than me. It may have started as a consultancy of one and my name might be on the door, however today we’re a growing team of brand, marketing and communications specialists.

When you’re thrust into the unknown by, oh let’s say a global pandemic, it’s only natural that our initial response is reactive. The word that comes to mind is survival.

Zaha Hadid Design (ZHD) was established in 2006 by late architect Zaha Hadid (1950-2016), and is charged with pushing the boundaries of contemporary design through technological and material advancements.

We couldn’t wait to get our hands on the newly released tome, Vincenzo De Cotiis: Works, published by Rizzoli New York. Having been introduced to VDC’s gallery by a friend in Milan some years ago, he quickly became a firm NHO favourite for his utterly individual expression.

The last fortnight has been a whirlwind, and calls for a temporary shift in tone for these musings we call Perspective. Having spoken with numerous clients, colleagues, peers and partners, both near and far, it’s clear we’re all facing similar professional challenges.

Palm Springs is an elusive city when it comes to our travel agenda. With its mid-century modern suburban landscapes and sharp quality of light, it’s a city we’ve wanted to visit for many years.

This week we were intrigued to read about the opening of ‘Monet & Architecture’ at London’s National Gallery. Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) is well known for his impressionist landscapes, but this notoriety has often overshadowed his appreciation for the built form.

We weren’t lucky enough to attend Design Miami/ Basel this year, however we were quick to notice Philippe Malouin’s ‘Industrial Office’ for Salon 94 Design appearing in our feeds.

It’s heartening to witness a resurgence in appreciation for the work of late French designer Pierre Paulin (1927 – 2009). This revival is due in large to the work of Paulin’s family under the guise of Paulin Paulin Paulin, a guardian-like entity whose vocation is to produce and sell rare Paulin pieces, many which never entered commercial production.

A very kind client recently gifted us a copy of The Eye by Nathan Williams – we have been taking turns to pour over its pages since.

At NHO, we are undoubtedly brand loyalists. When we love a brand, we really love a brand. One such example is Vitsœ, the British manufacturer of furniture designed by the great Dieter Rams.

Not weighed down by history nor convention, the ‘tyranny of distance’ that once defined Australia’s remoteness is now something to be celebrated. While at times Melbourne can feel a world away from more established design destinations such as London and New York, perhaps this is the secret to its success.

If you find yourself in New York between now and January, make a beeline to MOMA to see “Toward a Concrete Utopia, Architecture in Yugoslavia”.

Museé Picasso in Paris is one of our favourite museums, not just for the work of the master himself, but also for the majestic 17th century hôtel particulier in which it is housed.

Despite Ireland’s rich creative history in music, literature and craft, the concept of “Irish design” is yet to gain a foothold internationally. With no shortage of talent, traditional Irish craft and artisanal skills are enjoying a wave of renewed appreciation, however one truly revolutionary designer is often overlooked.

Our annual party with Melbourne office-mates Fred International is always a raucous affair, and 2019 was no exception. With a “house party” theme to mark the occasion, our Collingwood warehouse space saw negronis and pizza a’plenty!

Times are tough, however in business there’s no time to stand still. Amid the chaos and confusion, it’s been uplifting to see how quickly things happen when the writing’s on the wall.

Josef Frank (1885 – 1967) is best known as a designer for iconic Swedish interior design company Svensk Tenn – famed for his dynamic, colourful prints – however dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that Frank was actually an Austrian architect by trade, and he didn’t arrive in Sweden until the age of 48.

While director Neil Hugh Kenna was in Europe over summer, he made a detour to Saint Raphäel on the French Riviera and Hôtel Les Roches Rouges. Attracted by its 1950s modernist origins and a recent reimagining by Parisian architecture firm Festen, he was not disappointed.

Fredrikson Stallard has been described as an “avant-garde partnership”, namely the coming together of Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard who met at Central St Martin’s in London in 1995.

On a recent visit to the UK we were thrilled to visit the acclaimed headquarters of Vitsœ, guardians of Dieter Rams’ 606 Universal Shelving System, 620 Chair Programme and 621 Table.

It’s refreshing to see the design world move beyond its recent fixation with metals and into the world of glass, currently being expressed in vivid colour.

With design being both a profession and a passion for the NHO team, we’re fortunate to be exposed to a vast amount of inspired work. As such, it’s rare to be stopped in our tracks, even when attending Milan Design Week.