ASRA was formed in 1986, from the Australian Branch of the International Association of Sound Archivists. The independent association consists of members who are private record collectors, professional sound archivists, radio broadcasters, and social historians – who have a strong interest in sound recording history and its continual evolution.
Chris Paroz, SAE’s National Library Manager and a member of ASRA connected SAE’s Design Department and its students with the opportunity to rebrand the sound association. After nine different student presentations to ASRA’s board, Jodi Havill was announced as the preferred candidate.
“I was honoured to be part of ASRA’s rebranding. I believe that the valuable feedback I had from peers, facilitators and the client contributed to its success. My goal was to have an easy transition for ASRA members,” Jodi said.
ASRA President, Melinda Barrie says the committee were impressed with the quality of Jodi’s proposal. “Jodi’s logo and website have a mature contemporary design which will hold its value,” Melinda said.
“It is a departure from our existing logo, but we think the waveform motif with the bars reflects the concept of sound recording well.
“The new ASRA website design is welcoming, and the functionality and navigation is smooth. It was well appreciated to see Jodi’s attentiveness to our status as a volunteer organisation with a limited budget,” Melinda added.
Opportunities on projects like this get students real world ready, says SAE Design Program Chair, Rachael Shea. “Students learn how to pitch and present their work in response to real briefs, and they develop confidence in their own ability to talk about their work using industry language in a way that is persuasive and professional,” Rachael said.
The rebrand now gives ASRA the chance to create an energetic space in time for their first event of the year, added Melinda. “For the first time we have an active new look platform from which we can interact with our constituents and potential new members. We now have the opportunity to build on this at our Melbourne conference.