Profiles
Michael Pennington
Founder / Joint Creative Director
My career began in Malmø, Sweden where among other brands I worked on Tetrapak, the internationally renowned packaging company. After a short stint in London, I headed to Sydney where I spent three years building my corporate communications experience across a number of clients including Australian Gas Light Company (AGL), Diageo, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Rebecca Taylor, Wesley Mission and Westpac.
After returning home to Wellington, I designed for some of New Zealand’s most recognisible brands – Audit New Zealand, Child Youth and Family, National Bank, New Zealand Post, Quotable Value, Telecom, Yellow Pages, Tower, and Victoria University. Along the way I’ve been awarded for various projects, most recently for the technology start-up Xero in the Corporate Communications category at the 2007 New Zealand Best Awards and for our credentials book, The Penningtons in 2008.
• 2004, Silver, New Zealand Best Awards, Small Identity/Cowboy
• 2004, Bronze, New Zealand Best Awards, Graphic Arts/ Kea Launch Poster
• 2006, Bronze, New Zealand Best Awards, Corporate Communication/Quotable Value Annual Report
• 2006, Bronze, New Zealand Best Awards, Visual Communication/Hold Brochure
• 2007, Silver, New Zealand Best Awards, Corporate Communciation/Xero Prospectus
• 2008, Silver, New Zealand Best Awards, Self Promotion/The Penningtons Credentials Book
Nicola Pennington
Founder / Joint Creative Director
My passion for design has taken me from Wellington to Switzerland, London, New York and back over the last 16 years. During this time, I’ve had the privilege to work for some of the biggest design agencies across a plethora of famous brands including Daimler Chrysler, Davidoff, Freemantle Media, Masterfoods, Ministry of Education, New Zealand Post, O2, Pepsi, Reebok, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Sun Microsystems and WH Smith.
To date, one of my career highlights was attending the prestigious postgraduate design program at the Basel School of Design, where I spent two years studying under Wolfgang Weingart specialising in Typography. Following the program, I gained valuable experience in branding and corporate literature in London, while my time in New York working at a multidisciplinary brand and product invention company, allowed me to further hone my skills in advertising and packaging.
• 1996. Finalist in the New Zealand Young Designer of the Year Award.
• 1996-1998. One of only four New Zealanders ever to be accepted into the internationally renowned post graduate program at Basel School of Design, Switzerland.
• 2002. Design@work article, ProDesign.
• 2007. Presenter at the Pucha Kucha.
• 2007. Mercedes Benz Artist in Residence at Marsden, Wellington (Nicola Cathie).
• 2008, Silver, New Zealand Best Awards, Self Promotion/The Penningtons Credentials Book
• 2010. Professional development typographic workshop at Artsight. ms.