Retrohex

20/04/2026

So fantastic to see UniSQ teaming up with UNISQ Student Guild to support Toowoomba PCYC during their transition period 👏

Welcoming PCYC Toowoomba into their new (temporary) home 🤸

After last month’s devastating fire, we’ve teamed up with our Student Guild to help keep things moving for the Toowoomba community.

From this week, PCYC activities will be up and running at our Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre... just in time for Term 2! 💛

Read more: bit.ly/4mzHCNt.

PCYC Queensland l Toowoomba Region

06/03/2026

My new 3am business strategy? It’s not a notepad, it’s an AI Agent.

As solo entrepreneurs, we are constantly bombarded by brain sparks that don't care what time of day it is, whether in the shower, driving to a holiday, or fast asleep! But I have now discovered OpenClaw, an AI Agent who has become my new best friend, Personal Assistant and Idea Buddy.

I discovered OpenClaw through 'This Week in Startups' podcast and built my own digital co-pilot, Bella. Named after my beloved cat, she now lives on as a proactive partner who takes those 3am brain sparks and adds them to my task boards in MeisterTask, researches regional art grants, and even scrapes my blog posts to draft social content while I sleep. This post you are seeing right now was pulled from my blog post over on my website by Bella, I have had to adjust the text, Bella is still learning.

'Founders thought we could do it all; now we actually can.' Quote from "This week in AI" podcast.

Check out the full story of how OpenClaw changed my workflow as a solo entrepreneur and the
full breakdown of my tech stack over on the blog

This Week in Startups

11/02/2026

My thoughts on AI Logos. What has been your experience so far with AI for logo design?

10/02/2026

I often get businesses come to me with an AI logo they have prompted, but unfortunately, can't use, as it's poor resolution and poor quality. AI hasn't quite learnt the art of Logo Design...yet.

Here are the 4 Key Elements AI hasn't mastered yet, but are the most essential when designing logos:

Memorable:
It needs to be simple enough that if someone saw it once, they could draw a basic representation of it from memory. AI logos are often too “fussy” or over-illustrated to stick in the mind and over-illustrated means hard to scale.

Relevant:
It must actually represent the industry and the heart of the business. You can definitely prompt AI to help it understand but it often feels generic or “soulless,” lacking the artistic originality that a human designer provides.

Scalable:
A professional logo is a Vector file. It needs to shrink to a tiny sticker and grow to a massive billboard without losing resolution. Currently, AI produces low-res pixels. If you try to print an AI logo, it will look terrible and blurry.

Contrast:
If your logo doesn’t work in black and white, it doesn’t work. I always use the “B&W check” when designing logos. If you have a red apple on a green tree, the contrast looks fine in colour, but in black and white, it disappears. AI doesn’t understand these tonal values, yet.

What has been your experience so far with AI logo?

Read more about my suggestions when using AI to create a functional/usable logo and to protect your brand over on the blog THE AI LOGO TRAP

22/12/2025

So my entire Facebook feed is my magnificent women friends in ChatGPT lollipop Christmas glam 😂🍭❤️ So I thought I'd join the AI Christmas party but make it on brand 😉

This is a real photo of me (thanks Kat Lynn from Foodie Shots ) with an AI generated Christmas tree (Nano Banana, Google's AI image generator) that I prompted from an older Christmas illustration I did.

I'll be taking a break from 24th Dec - 16th January, and I hope you all get a good rest over Chrissy.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and New Year and hoping by this time next year we are still in control 😉

Leisa

15/12/2025

A great cowork session yesterday at Urban Grounds Cafe

If you're a sole trader/Entrepreneur who wants to get out of your home office to connect with others occasionally, you can join in our cowork sessions via Beanplaces group

A great cowork session yesterday at Urban Grounds Cafe
Where shall we go next?

Join the group to find out the next cowork session beanplaces

04/12/2025

Does anyone know the origin of hanging wreaths on your front door for Christmas? How gorgeous are these Christmas Wreaths by the amazing Cherie from The Flower Grocer Order yours via her website

I’m completely in love with today’s wreath I’ve created for my customer 🌸 Christmas looks different for everyone and this is just perfect !

17/11/2025

Guess how long it takes me to create a visual brand (Logo).

This was one of the concepts I did for "Your Agency Chinchilla"

My process
-client chat
-market research
-inspiration board (pinterest)
-brain dump sketches (20-50 sketches)
-draw up 3 concepts (Adobe Illustrator)
-mockup 3 concepts (Adobe Photoshop)
-Client chooses concept
-develop visual brand

Its such an honour to bring visual brands to life.

11/06/2025

Well that was super fun!
I had a wonderful prac student with me last week who got to experience graphic design and also a fun crash illustration course by one of our Pop'd Art Toowoomba artists Joey What a treat!!
Thanks for hanging with us Sadie! Hopefully you'll be back soon 🙏

If you want to learn from Joey Smith in composition and figurative drawing check out what's on over at popd.au

08/01/2025

MURRIE Real Estate
Brand Identity
Dale & Liz - Murrie Real Estate

Dale and Liz Murrie approached me to create a visual identity for their new real estate firm—something that exudes professionalism, trust, and warmth, while still feeling modern and approachable.

I absolutely love brand creation, I feel like I get to bring something that never was in to being. Here is my process.

🎨 The Design Process:

1️⃣ Client Design Brief:
We begin by discussing the clients target market, values, and vision. This step ensures the design aligns perfectly with their business goals.

2️⃣ Research & Inspiration:
I spend hours researching the market and gathering inspiration from platforms like Pinterest, Behance, and Dribble, as well as finding ideas offline. I also asked Dale and Liz to share concepts they liked (and didn’t like) to better understand their preferences.

3️⃣ Sketching Concepts:
Armed with inspiration, I create 20–50 quick pencil sketches. This “brain dump” process allowed me to explore a range of ideas.

4️⃣ Digital Mockups:
I select three standout concepts and mocked them up using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. These are then presented to the clients in a comprehensive Brand Concept document for their feedback.

🎯 The Final Logo for Murrie Real Estate:

The chosen logo centers on the letter "M," designed as a modern-style house—a perfect representation of their real estate business and the Murrie name.

All-Caps "MURRIE": Communicates professionalism, strength, and reliability. Lowercase "real estate": Adds a softer, more approachable touch, balancing the overall look.

🎨 The Colour Palette:
The colours were selected to evoke trust, warmth, and sophistication.

Blue: Symbolises trust and stability, building confidence in their brand.

Mustard: Brings warmth and positivity, reflecting the excitement of finding a dream property.

Cream: Adds a refined, elegant feel, complementing their premium service offering.

It’s incredibly rewarding to see the MURRIE brand come to life and out in the real estate world!