Not your usual bio…
The bio of Simon Guthrie
I started out photographing rockstars and live music on the east coast of Australia
CIRCA 2006
Back in 2006 for a couple of years, I photographed over 50 live bands, and was often seen just outside the mosh pit holding a 70-200mm zoom lens, with a steady finger, looking for the magic.
I worked at music festivals in Byron Bay and Phillip Island, and for a while was shooting every week at the Great Northern Hotel in Byron Bay. I loved seeing the musicians up close on stage and the exchange of energy between performers and audience was captivating.
Matt – or Suffa – from the Hilltop Hoods 2006 | Photo by Simon Guthrie
ESP Logo and branding | Design by Simon Guthrie
one of my early branding jobs was for an underground surfboard company in Byron Bay
CIRCA 2008
Back in 2008, I designed Ed Sinnotts branding for his company ESP Surfboards. www.espsurfboards.com. I helped with the name, logos and designed all the decals, stickers, and signage, product photography, and whatever was required to go-to-market.
To go-to-market we needed a website. This was the olden days before WordPress builders, everything had to be made with custom HTML in a program called Dreamweaver.
It was tedious, but the whole process opened my eyes to the power of building a brand from scratch. The power of focusing a few good minds on a business, and the power of the internet.
I then moved on to studio photography learning commercial photography from one of the best in Australia
CIRCA 2010
After my experience with live music, I was driven to gain a solid understanding of studio lighting and studio portraits.
During this time, I assisted some of the best commercial photographers in Australia on large studio shoots for clients such as NSW Health, Astra Zeneca, Wittner Shoes & Australian Ballet.
With an understanding of branding and design compounded by an understanding of studio photography, my learnings during this time help me provide more real value to my clients.
Fashion Portrait | Photo by Simon Guthrie
ezycollect.io UX design | UX design by Simon Guthrie
I later learn’t UX design, and this is where the whole digital space started to make sense
CIRCA 2018
Jump forward a few years to 2018, and I upskilled by studying User Experience Design and learnt about the psychology behind effective web and product design, and the strategic thinking that is required to create a website or digital ecosystem, that converts and holds attention.
Back when I studied Visual Communications at UTS, the whole internet space was an infant, so learning about the concepts of usability and user journeys was not available until more recent years with the evolution of the internet. The concepts behind user experience design represent everything that is great in modern web design, as opposed to the websites designed without strategy that can be considered glorified brochures.
and the last five years I have been designing marketing packages for luxury real estate projects
CIRCA 2020 – 2025
Selling luxury property off the plan requires a lot of different design skills across digital and print. From designing branding, logo, styleguide to the website and digital marketing tiles, to designing the site location hoarding, and the billboard, to designing full page advertisements in magazines, marketing brochures, direct mail pamphlets, display suite design and directing video and photography shoots. Every touchpoint requires an intentional approach and needs a sense of cohesion to succeed.
Creating branding for luxury projects is the same as bringing anything to market. Whether its a multi-million dollar real estate project or a medium sized business, bringing brands to life, is something that I am passionate about. Success in this area depends on research, implementation, and consistency in messaging.
Ohana Collaroy | Project Marketing by Simon Guthrie
