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UpShift designs, develops and delivers digital solutions to human questions. We care about, and specialise in, projects based in science, the environment, health, food & infrastructure.
The Lakes380 programme is the biggest survey of natural lakes in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. An ambitious project led by the Cawthron Institute and GNS Science, the programme collected data on the water quality of approximately 10% of 3,800 lakes across the country. Of course, a dataset this large, with value to so many groups, needs a simple, user-friendly interface. That’s where UpShift came in.“It’s an enjoyable challenge to be presented with data, and figure out the best way to make it make sense - make it into something people can easily navigate,” says lead developer Will Macgregor.
In 2010, veterinarian Paula Short embarked on a road trip in America with husband Chris. The couple were on holiday - but they couldn’t help doing a little animal-related espionage along the way.
At the time, they owned two vet clinics in the Nelson region. And what interested them most about the US pet stores was the food they were selling.
“What we found was a wealth of all-natural, high-protein pet food using a wide range of nutritious ingredients.” says Paula. “It became very clear that New Zealand was behind in this market. As a vet, I saw the opportunity to create higher quality dog food – nutritious, ethical and sustainable. And delicious for our fur friends, of course!”
Once the recipe was on track, Paula began hunting for a Nelson-based creative agency to help build the brand, in particular the logo and the ultimate packaging design.
Whitehaven is a winery established in the 1994 by the White Family in the Marlborough region. The White family has been in the wine business for the last 25years. Having a huge international presence in markets like US, UK, Ireland, Asia and Australia, they realised they needed a more user friendly and modern website for their target audiences.
Based in sunny Blenheim, Marlborough Lines Limited manages the Marlborough region’s electricity network, distributing energy across the top of the South Island. A trust holds the shares in the company on behalf of more than 26,000 beneficiaries. That number represents installations connected to the network: meaning, both current and future electricity users in the Marlborough region.That’s a fair few people to take care of! And that’s where UpShift came in.
Summit are the biggest real estate company in the top of the South Island, employing over 100 staff across 5 offices. They approached UpShift to discuss rebuilding their old website with a modern responsive design that worked across smartphones, tablets and computers.
Brand identity isn’t just about logo, fonts and colourways. More often it's about the brand story and tone of voice, communicated through imagery and words. Novum Wines is a new kind of winery and they asked us to help them tell their story.Novum sources the best vine fruit from New Zealand to craft the best wines they can. Each vintage is only available in small quantities and is sold direct to its founding members around the world at an exceptional price, and the general public through selected outlets.
Berryfields Crossing is a new community-focused commercial development centred around a luxury multi-screen cinema and casual dining.UpShift were tasked with developing a new brand identity to bring the development to life and capture the imagination of the target audience.
UpShift and Burkes Cycles go way back. Not quite as far as Burkes itself, which first opened its doors in the 1920s, but far enough that we’ve played a proud part in getting them online and out to the world. Burkes is something of a Wellington legend, a family business that grew in leaps and bounds and is actively involved in the whole of New Zealand’s cycling community – which is pretty darn big! Around half of NZ households have a bike, and approximately 73 million cycling trips are made every year. The New Zealand Cycle Trail covers 2,500km of trails across the country, which doesn’t include extensive wilderness parks. It’s an industry that shows no signs of slowing down. After a century in the game, Burkes could see where this train was headed – and UpShift were the right people to help them jump onboard.
UpShift was approached by FLO Analytics – headquartered in Seattle – to build a community engagement platform for their clients.The platform needed to be able to target, receive & filter feedback based on the geospatial location of the individual people. It also needed to work across many communication channels for maximum access to the intended audience.Usinge our experience in community engagement & software development we worked closely with FLO Analytics to design and build a digital platform that could send individualised questions and gather individual responses.
Two Bees is the brainchild of Auckland barrister Steve Keall – it is a digital tool which enables legal professionals to easily calculate court costs for trials they are involved in.Steve engaged UpShift to create a brand & develop apps for this initiative.“Two bees” is a common saying among the legal profession for court costs as “2B” is the most common code from the legislation. UpShift took this concept & created a brand with a visual hat tip to beehives.
To coincide with opening of the new Suter gallery we were tasked with creating a modern, clean and responsive website to offer a streamlined user interface that showcased the everything that the Suter does. We used many of the inbuilt tools of Squarespace to show exhibitions, events and what’s on at the theatre. These in-built tools make managing the site a dream for the Suter in-house team.
UpShift loves working with locals. While we might have clients in many corners of the world, sometimes the best stories are happening right down the street. That was the case with Nelson Merino, a kiwi owned & operated company making clothing with 100% New Zealand wool.While New Zealand weather might be on the mild side most of the year, we all know the chill of a good old Antarctic southerly. And if you’re heading out into it, it’s common knowledge natural fibres like merino wool are the best way to keep fingers and toes toasty and frost-free. That’s why Nelson Merino works with one of the most ancient breeds of sheep on earth – and the first type to be imported to New Zealand in large numbers. And the team knew it wasn’t just us locals who were after garments made from that far-travelled fine fleece.
Sarah Lin Turner, UpShift’s Communications Manager, explains how you and your brand are all about perspective.I remember the year in primary school when Magic Eye puzzle books replaced Weetbix cards as the new key to playground bragging rights. It was 1991, I was still wearing my Kiwi Kid t-shirt, and no one knew that this hallucinogenic zeitgeist was about to hit NZ shores and divide the schoolyard. The rules were simple: if you could see the picture hidden inside the bright Pollock-style patterns, you were Cool. If you couldn’t – well. You weren't even safe in the library anymore.As a shy, bookish child, I’d always relied on reading as an escape. Unfortunately for me, Magic Eyes were not so much about reading, as looking. And looking revealed absolutely nothing, no matter how I did it.My classmates were full of advice. Squint! Cross your eyes! Hold the book up to your face and move it away slowly – not wait – hold the book up to your face and move it away fast! Relax, no, don’t relax! – stare, but not too long.None of it helped. I only ever saw flat repeating patterns; scatter plot colours on a page. There was no 3D tiger for me. Sadly, I decided magic wasn’t meant for me.Of course, that was three decades ago. I’ve learned a few more tricks since then. The most important thing is perspective, which is always based on where the viewer is standing. And for most of us, the second we look at the picture, we’re inside the detail.
UpShift is Stanford University School of Medicine’s primary partner for the development of a major free health resource, DiabetesWise. Now in our sixth year of working with the DiabetesWise team, we’re proud to continue playing a major role in developing independent resources that enable people living with diabetes to adopt life-saving technologies.
UpShift has worked with FROMM Winery, a boutique winery in Marlborough, since 2016. We built their website then, and in 2022 they were ready for an update.Our Project Manager Prapti Mane, and Creative Director Matt Robinson, headed over to Blenheim from Nelson to meet with the team at FROMM. Though we specialise in digital services, UpShift commits where possible to meeting clients face-to-face. It’s a chance to connect with people, which we love, and to really understand their unique needs
Bernie McKone is a man of vision. It’s easy enough to say, but Bernie - previous winner of Pharmacist of the Year and recently awarded the rare Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand Gold Medal - lives that vision, and brings others on the journey.
Kingston Wealth Management were a small newly formed independent financial advisory firm that needed a strong, reliable and trustworthy brand.UpShift were asked to create a brand that inspired confidence but had a modern twist. A shield device was used for heritage and strength but a bright palette and contemporary fonts were used for modernity.
Kerridge & Partners is New Zealand’s leading leadership consultancy. Its brand identity was created several years ago & didn’t align with who Kerridge & Partners is today & what they represent.UpShift was brought in to fix this brand disconnect. The result was a fresh new identity & website that better represented Kerridge & Partners & its core value of ‘Transforming the leadership landscape’. UpShift developed a visual identity that related to this philosophy & applied it across website, photography brief, brand guidelines & annual integrated report.