In August, I was lucky enough to attend the latest offering from Portable Talks – an event that saw Behance CEO Scott Belsky share his thoughts with an eager Brisbane crowd.

Based in New York, Scott is regarded as a leader in the field of creative organisation, while also being an advocate for various community initiatives. Unlike speeches heard at most creative conferences, Scott's talk focussed solely on the often-overlooked area of idea execution, including one particularly potent quote from Thomas Edison – "genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration".

Often there are far too many good ideas that never get carried out – usually as a result of disorganisation and isolated networks. We've all been there – after the initial excitement of an idea fades, it takes a great deal of effort to fully turn it into a reality.

Here at JM, The Global Mail was a great example of a project that required a lot of organisation and effort to execute. Seeing the final product in-use however, makes it all worthwhile. Drawing on my time at JM, I've found it critical to keep this in mind for all our current and future endeavours. It takes a great deal of organisation and planning to produce effective work.

Creativity x organisation = impact.

The Global Mail is a totally different kind of news publication, created with the intention of delivering independent journalism for independent minds. Headed up by award-winning journalist Monica Attard and CEO Jane Nicholls (formerly of Time magazine), TGM's philanthropic remit – no ads, no subscriptions and entirely not-for-profit – is newsworthy in itself.

Tasked with designing the identity and website for TGM, we devised a logo symbol that referenced global time, events and milestones, whilst achieving a careful balance between modernity and tradition. The circle itself represents a globe, with fine markers echoing the pins of an onsite map that neatly pinpoints news happening around the globe.

When it came to creating the website, we started by rethinking the way that we consume news, both online and via digital devices. Designed as an easy-read interface, we drew upon legibility theory to create a site that utilises horizontal columns of text (which means eyes aren't required to move as much). Additionally, TGM's articles are often long-form and incorporate a range of media from photosets to video. This made it essential that we make the site user-friendly for the reader, while also being easy for the web producers at TGM to create. Working with Hunted Media, we created a template that gives TGM a lot of control over imagery and pull-quote placement, in order to maximise the reading experience.

A straightforward colour-coding system helps the reader navigate via subject. Thus, whether scrolling through the top stories or viewing news 'around the globe', the reader is able to quickly identify Arts & Culture stories (for example) by simply looking for purple. They’re also able to filter by subject anywhere on the site. Because TGM is not a 'daily' publication in the traditional sense, both the world map and homepage also feature aggregated news written by respected TGM peers across the globe.

The line-up of writers that have been assembled for TGM are among the world's best. Thus, we gave considered thought to how the journalists themselves would be portrayed. To capture the personality of the writers, we briefed TGM photographer, Ella Rubeli, to shoot in a documentary-style that caught them in their ‘natural environment'. In contrast, the thumbnail image that appears throughout the site is more formal, and consistent across the group of writers.

Finally (but just as importantly), we worked with Hunted Media to ensure the experience translated seamlessly across browser, mobile and tablet devices — applications that were considered from the very beginning of the design process.

The Global Mail itself is a sophisticated, quality publication – in print terms it’s a broadsheet, not a tabloid – and visually these standards are adhered to throughout the entire site. Here at Josephmark, we're happy to be helping revolutionise the online news offering - one ad-free, independent article at a time.

JM recently gave the branding of the well-established Carindale Medical Clinic (CMC) a once-over, to tie in with their move to shiny new premises at Carindale Westfield.

Having provided the highest quality, patient-centred medical care for over 30 years, we thought it was high time CMC had a brand that better reflected their noteworthy heritage. With their history firmly in mind, we decided to create an identity centred on the section of the Hippocratic Oath that states: 'I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug'.

The logo we designed comprises 3 elements -- symbol, logotype and date -- and neatly harnesses this combination of art and science. The symbol is a modern take on the rod of Asclepius -- the very traditional icon for medicine. Geometric in style, each curve in the snake is based on a perfect circle, and the staff references yin and yang (the art and science of medicine), as well as a stethoscope. The logotype is strong and precise -- encased in fine lines to represent trustworthiness, and utilising a typeface chosen for its precision and friendliness. Last but not least, the prominent date confirms the well-established history of Carindale Medical Centre and gives added credibility to the name.

In overhauling CMC's brand, website, uniforms, promotions and signage, JM produced a sophisticated, warm and dependable result - just what you want from your local medical practice.

The Global Mail - a brand-new kind of news publication intent on shaking up the digital media landscape - launched yesterday (6 February) with a website and brand created by Josephmark. Delivering independent journalism for independent minds, The Global Mail is headed up by award-winning journalist Monica Attard and CEO Jane Nicholls (formerly of Time magazine).

TGM's philanthropic remit – no ads, no subscriptions and functioning entirely not-for-profit – sets it firmly apart from its competitors, and the site received 37,000 unique visitors in the first 24 hours alone. Still in the beta stages, we're ironing out some teething issues as we receive reader feedback. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Working as a graphic designer at Josephmark by day, Aaron ‘The Perfectionist’ Gillett also spent 2011 putting the finishing touches to his Visual Communication Design degree over at Queensland College of Art. Having witnessed his awesome design skills on a daily basis here at JM, it comes as no surprise that our Aaron took out the QCA ‘Top Studio Performance’ medal across an almighty four disciplines late last year. First the AGDA Typography Award and now this? We're truly proud as punch.

TEDxBrisbane was a creative’s wet dream -- so many brilliant people (both speaking and listening) in the one place, all determined and passionate in their own field. This wrap-up is just a handful of our highlights as there were too many inspiring speakers to mention. Aaron, Alex, Jean and I held high expectations and in true TED style -- they were exceeded.

We welcomed our long-time friend and source of constant inspiration, Edward Harran, whose infectious energy is like an extra coffee hit. Eddie introduced us to the digital k/no(w)mad and urged us all to express our inner awesomeness, leaving us wanting more and pumped for the day ahead.

Definitely the most talked about of the day was Eva Cox. We all agreed she was a gun and not just for using Skype at the ripe age of 73. She brought up so many valid points that it was hard to keep track, but in short, Alex wants her to run for PM. In the meantime, we're all motivated to help Eva work out how to prioritise social good rather than economic growth.

Andrew Bartlett shook things up when two chairs were brought onto the red-TED-carpet. Mr. Hassan, an Afghanistan refugee, sat with Bartlett, and we feel the interview that followed should be heard by all Australians. As Jean explained: “Most Australians don't have any interaction with refugees... I think anyone, regardless of political views, would feel nothing but compassion for refugees if they could have the same experience. It really de-stigmatised the highly charged, highly subjective issue of how we should treat refugees.”

Not so far from Afghanistan, working on an environmental battle in Borneo, was Cathy Henkel. Alex persuaded us that Henkel was (secretly) making a Captain Planet movie, whilst all I wanted to know was how to become a planeteer. A sneak peek into her upcoming film, which deals with the deforestation issue in Borneo, told us how we can help from the comfort of our homes – that’s right! There’s no longer an excuse not the be involved when it's just an extra click of your mouse.

So far, we'd been inspired, become aware and felt enriched, but it was Linsey Pollack who had us smiling from ear-to-ear, looking as happy as if someone had spiked our sangas, when really, we were just in awe of his ability to turn everyday objects into superb sounds. A carrot clarinet and rubber glove bagpipe? Yes, you read correctly.

More nutritious than a vegie-orchestra was the very last speaker, Jeff Waldman, the man behind a project that is so simple but generates so much happiness -- installing swings anywhere a smile is needed (which is everywhere). Jeff reminded us about the power of a push and the crowd was left undeniably impressed and enlightened, all wanting to bring out their inner child and swing their legs back and forth.

Post-TEDxBrisbane, the day ended on a high, a hum of conversation and clinking of beers filled the TED tent. If you haven’t already, add ‘watch all TEDxBrisbane talks including the short three-minuters’ to your to-do list. We’re so thankful to Carl Lindgren and Paul Fairweather for making this magic happen -- still buzzing and reflecting on its ‘awesomeness’. We smiled at least fifty times at TEDxBrisbane, so according to Ron Gutman, if one smile generates the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate, we consumed well over 100,000 bars of chocolate.

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Special mention goes to: Paul Osuch's Anywhere Festival, the work of Matthew Thompson (goodluck in L.A), Frank Ansell's determination, Simon Dylan's courage, Gerard Mapstone's flamenco guitar skills, Andrew Wilford and Mara Bun's eye-popping stats, Hazel's note-scrunching and her 'wanka' sign, Chris Raine and HSM , Gordon Hamilton for creating The Australian Voices, Paul Songhurst for bringing urban spaces to our attention, Street Swags by Jean Madden, the brains of Ross Cunnington, the lawyer smarts of David Abrey, Tuxworth's innovative emergency shelter and Alex Cohen on interaction between places.

We want to introduce you to something very close to us. It's special. Conceived by us and been gestating in the JM:Labs belly for sometime now, and we're no longer keeping this bad-boy under wraps Boo-Radley-style. We've actually been busting to share it with you.

So, what is it? It's called Made in the Now (MITN). Every 24 hours, a designer is inspired by a breaking news story and creates a covetable design fit for a T-shirt. The tee's are only available to buy for 24 hours before the process begins again: a new day, a different story, a fresh designer and design to boot - meaning, a brand new tee. Every. Single. Day.

It's never been done before because it's kind of crazy…who in their right mind would create a shirt everyday? We would, we have been and we will continue to do so because we enjoy the thrill of minor heart attacks. And because it's a peaceful protest against some unfortunate hallmarks of the fashion industry - derivative design, mass consumption and irresponsible production. MITN practices responsible fast fashion; whereby, we print our T-shirts locally and only after you order them (so there is no waste), and post them free of charge using reusable packaging.

Jump onto the MITN website and download the app to familiarise yourself with our newest member. It's our pleasure to introduce you, we hope you like it as much as we do.