Louise Hutt – Digital Strategist

What I do

Achievements

Master's of Media & Creative Technologies
Hamilton City Council's 30 Under 30
Spirit of Enderby Youth Scholar
Tropfest NZ Finalist
University of Waikato Master's Research Scholarship
Waikato Student Union Cultural Contribution Scholarship
Nexus Magazine Contributor of the Year
Dean's List of Academic Excellence
Whangamata Area School Dux

Mediums

Photography
Graphic design
Filmmaking
Writing
Web design
User experience

Email

[email protected]

Working locally & remotely from

Kirikiriroa Hamilton, New Zealand

Why The Southern OceanHandmade in HamiltonEvent PhotographyIt’s 20-fucking-18The Cookbook CollectorSay Cheese LouiseOnline Heroines Learn more

A one woman digital
& creative agency

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Your Friendly Neighbourhood Vegan

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GovHack ’16 & ’17

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Weka x FutureLearn

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Why The Southern Ocean

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Hire-A-Mum

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Handmade in Hamilton

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Election 2017

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Event Photography

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Black Sand

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It’s 20-fucking-18

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Heritage Food Crops

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The Cookbook Collector

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Say Cheese Louise

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Online Heroines

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Vegan
Content Creation | Social MediaYour Friendly Neighbourhood Vegan is a periodic email newsletter about veganism – featuring reviews, recipes, essays, and interviews. It came about as a response to being often asked for my thoughts around veganism and there being few New Zealand-centric resources which had a pragmatic, empathetic, and inclusive tone.

So far Your Friendly Neighbourhood Vegan has covered topics such as what to bring to a good-old-fashioned kiwi bbq, how industrial agriculture contributes to climate change, and why all-or-nothing veganism isn’t realistic.

You can view past newsletters, or sign-up to get the newsletter here.

All photographs are taken on my OnePlus 5 and deliberately minimally styled – so they look like the real food I made for dinner, not impossibly fancy photographs of food no one has ever managed to cook in 30 minutes.

GovHack 2016 & 2017Photography | Camera & Editing | Social MediaGovHack Hamilton is a weekend hackathon, where small teams come together to do interesting things with government data – usually in the form of apps, websites, and visualizations.

Over the course of the 46 hours, I supported the competing teams as their marketing mentor – creating the videos which form part of their entries, helping them with their pitches, and general moral support.

In 2016, I created 13 videos in the 46-hour period- supporting more than seven different teams – and came back for round two in 2017.

A group of young people, all crowded around laptops on a desk, their heads down working

A young man standing in front of a projector

A group of young men, all sitting at a long desk, working on various things at computers and laptops

A group of young men, all looking at the camera, pulling faces

An image of laptops, cords, and other various technology on a table

A group of people, all staring off camera, looking at a presentation

Weka x FutureLearnVideo Editing
From 2015-2017, I was responsible for video editing the data mining course content from the University of Waikato Department of Computer Science & Mathematics for YouTube and online education platform, FutureLearn.

There are three data mining courses – Data Mining with Weka, More Data Mining with Weka, and Advanced Data Mining with Weka – with over 13 hours of video content across the three courses. I updated the initial two courses with new slide designs from the University for the FutureLearn platform, and did all the editing for the third course – Advanced Data Mining with Weka.

The WekaMOOC YouTube channel has nearly 2 million views, across all it’s videos.

Why The Southern Ocean

Director | Producer
Film

In 2014, I entered the Footage for the Future film competition. The goal of the competition was to communicate why the Southern Ocean is an important part of the world’s ecosystems; one many people take for granted, and is being hugely affected by climate change. I placed first and was named the Spirit of Enderby Youth Scholar for 2014. The prize was a week-long trip down to New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, courtesy of Heritage Expeditions.

Hire-A-MumDirector | Producer | Co-Writer
FilmmakingHire-A-Mum was a film I made as part of my Master’s in Media & Creative Technologies programme – it was a finalist in Tropfest New Zealand 2015, playing at the New Plymouth Bowl of Brooklands to a crowd of 9 000.The concept centered around the unpaid labour that mothers do, and if you were going to hire someone to be your mother, how much would that cost? What kind of skill set would you expect? Shot in the style of an infomerical, we had a budget of NZ$60, which mostly covered pizza for the team.Hire-A-Mum was also selected to screen as a part of the Women Over 50 Film Festival in Brighton, UK. It screened as part of a selection of 44 international short films, championing and showcases the work of older women on screen and behind the camera.The transcript from Hire-A-Mum also features in book Introducción a la traducción: inglés – español by Dr. Antonio F. Jiménez Jiménez as a translation exercise for subtitling.

Handmade in HamiltonCreative Director
Graphic design | Photography | Web design

Handmade in Hamilton is a small business collective I ran from in 2015-2017, whose purpose is to encourage people to buy more locally, ethically and sustainably when they can – focusing on Kirikiriroa Hamilton.

Initially simply a blog, I partnered with local brands such as Good George Brewing, Zealong Tea, Rocket Coffee, Girl on the Swing, and Dough Bros who donated prizes for a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway, with the help of Alix Higby.

In 2016, I partnered with Michelle Bayley from Limited Vintage to create a guide to the CBD. I designed the guide’s layout from scratch, using my previously established branding for Handmade in Hamilton, while Loryn Englesman provided the map and Riff Raff illustration, Tricia Den Otter providing the copy and I photographed all the businesses featured. The guide was printed in September 2016.

As we wanted to integrate an online version of the map (using Google Maps) as well as an online business directory, this also involved updating the Handmade in Hamilton website from a simple Tumblr blog, to a WordPress.org site with a blog, pages for the directory, map, and giveaways.

While no longer live, you can view an archived version of the website here.

A hand holding a printed pamplet which says 'the Handmade in Hamilton guide to the Hamilton CBD' with an illustration of the Riff Raff statue — © Louise Hutt 2016

The front page of the Handmade in Hamilton pamphlet, featuring a map, as well as three listings — © Louise Hutt 2016

The back page of the Handmade in Hamilton pamphlet, featuring 18 listings — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of the Handmade in Hamilton pamphlet - featuring a close up of the illustrated map — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of the Handmade in Hamilton pamphlet - featuring a close up of the listing for Browsers Bookstore — © Louise Hutt 2016

A graphic featuring a mock up of the Handmade in Hamilton on an Macbook, on a two-tone background — © Louise Hutt 2016

A graphic featuring two mock-ups from the Handmade in Hamilton website, showing the Google Maps integration — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of the peg wall at Grey Gardens cafe, featuring a variety of second-hand knick-knacks — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of the book-wall at Browsers Bookstore — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph inside ArtsPost, a gallery — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of the various baked treats available at Mavis & Co — © Louise Hutt 2016

Election 2017Social Media Manager
Photography | Video | WritingI worked on the 2017 General Election campaign for the Green Party of Aotearoa; a core member of the election team, responsible for managing the social media for the two Kirikiriroa-Hamilton candidates – Jo Wrigley and Sam Taylor.This was as well as providing photography for MPs and other candidates whilst in Kirikiriroa, including Catherine Delahunty, James Shaw, and Chlöe Swarbrick.

A photograph of a packed room, with a Green Party of Aotearoa banner at the centre, and James Shaw holding a microphone — © Louise Hutt 2017

James Shaw, standing in front of the Blue Spring in Putāruru — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of Jo Wrigley standing on stage, next to a blank scoreboard — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of Sam Taylor standing next to a filled in scoreboard — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of Catherine Delahunty on stage in front of a crowd of people, with a presentation behind her — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of Chlöe Swarbrick, sitting on the ground surrounded by people — © Louise Hutt 2017

A close up photograph of Chlöe Swarbrick at the University of Waikato — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of a group of people around computers, wearing headsets — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of a collection of election billboards, stuck up as posters covering the corner of a room — © Louise Hutt 2017

Event PhotographyMixing photojournalism, portraiture, and knowing how to have a great time, I have been doing event photography for the past eight years. Whether it’s a birthday or wedding, event photography is a privilege to capture moments that people will cherish forever.

A portrait of one older woman, and one younger woman, standing together at a party — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of a dancefloor, with different people mid-dance move — © Louise Hutt 2017

A portrait of a couple smiling at the camera — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of two people at a birthday party, one of them is holding onto a helium balloon and smiling at the camera — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of a young woman blowing out candles on a volcano-shaped birthday cake while a group of people watches — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of three young women, one of them is letting air out of a balloon, while one photographs and the other watches — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of a bride and groom in a car, after the ceremony — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of three bridesmaids who are holding up the bride, but have started to drop her — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of the groom and three groomsmen, the groom is holding out his hand, showing off his ring, and the groomsmen are impressed — © Louise Hutt 2017

Two photographs side by side, of a bride and groom walking away from camera with the bride turning and laughing at the camera, and then one of them kissing — © Louise Hutt 2017

A photograph of two bridesmaids at a reception, smiling while listening to a speech — © Louise Hutt 2017

Black SandCollaborator
Photography | Graphic DesignA collaboration with poet essa may ranapiri, Black Sand is a 12-page collection of photographs and poetry, featuring a new take on the iconography that makes Raglan stand out as a small town, holiday location, and home to the small community that thrives there. Perfect for sending to homesick kiwis overseas or keeping on your coffee table; it provides an overview of Raglan by looking at the details. It debuted at Hamilton Zinefest 2016, and is available for purchase via Etsy.

A one-page spread of the back cover of Black Sand — © Louise Hutt, essa may ranapiri 2016

A two-page spread, with a photograph of a toetoe bank on the left and a poem entitled Ngarunui Beach on the right — © Louise Hutt, essa may ranapiri 2016

A two-page spread of a photograph of an order of hot chips on a wooden table — © Louise Hutt, essa may ranapiri 2016

It’s 20-fucking-18Creative Director
Graphic DesignTo celebrate the historic number of women in the Green Party of Aotearoa elected to parliament, I created a calendar to gift to my friends for Christmas 2017 – called It’s 20-fucking-18. The name was a play on the fact many women, when faced with archaic sexism will say “I didn’t know it was 1950!” etc, and for once, we could celebrate that we were living in the future.I ended up with a few calendars left over from my printing, so offered to sell them on Etsy for anyone who was interested, with the profit going towards Waikato Women’s Refuge – Te Whakaruruhau. I ended up doing extra print runs as I had orders for 98, which created a donation of over $1.1k for Women’s Refuge.The illustrations were by Kaitlin Bruder, who was taking very generous commissions at the time, and I paired each illustration with a quote from the MP’s maiden speech in parliament. The calendars were printed on recycled paper and held together by a cotton cord, which I believe was compostable.

Two photographs side-by-side of a calendar: one a cover page with an illustration of Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick, and the other of Golriz Ghahraman with a quote from her maiden speech — © Louise Hutt 2017

Two photographs side-by-side of a calendar: one of Marama Davidson and one of Jan Logie, each with a quote from their maiden speech in parliament — © Louise Hutt 2017

Heritage Food Crops Research TrustPhotographyI was asked to take some stock photographs of the Monty’s Surprise apple for the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust, for comparison in shape, colour, and size. Providing a variety of styles (still life, in the kitchen, and simple portraiture allowed them the most coverage for use of the images in the future and allowed me to highlight the different photography styles I can provide with one subject matter.

The chemical analysis of over 250 apple varieties has identified a unique New Zealand seedling – the Monty’s Surprise apple. This apple contains very high levels of procyanidins as well as quercetin flavonoid compounds. In vitro cancer testing conducted in France and Australia on this variety has shown its potent effectiveness at inhibiting cancer cell proliferation – heritagefoodcrops.org.nz

A photograph of three cut apples laid out on a wooden chopping board, with various herbs and apples — © Louise Hutt 2018

A photograph of a hand holding a single red apple — © Louise Hutt 2018

A photograph of two apples side by side, to compare colour and shape — © Louise Hutt 2018

A photograph of a collection of apples in a dark bowl — © Louise Hutt 2018

The Cookbook CollectorPhotographyHaving been a regular on the internet since my teens, I posted my NCEA Level 2 photography work on art-sharing website DeviantArt. Basing a series of self-portraits around the work of painter Johannes Vermeer, I was contacted in 2010 by a design company who requested to use one of the images for the front cover of New York Times bestselling author Allegra Goodman’s novel The Cookbook Collector. This was the first professional sale of my creative work, when I was 18, of a self-portrait I took of myself when I was 16.

The front cover of the book 'The Cookbook Collector' by Allegra Goodman: a young woman standing reading a book

Two photographs side by side, one of a women at a window reading a book, one of a young woman writing at a table — © Louise Hutt 2009

Say Cheese LouiseCreative Director
Photography | Graphic Design | WritingSay Cheese Louise is a blog I have been running since 2009 – and I have been taking outfit photos for it since 2013. These started off as a way to become better at directing people, by being the person in front of the camera, but has since become an experiment in composition, editing, colour and texture. I shoot the photos myself with a tripod, the self timer function on my DSLR, and a lighting stand to focus the camera before I jump in.My Outfits of the Day posts are centered around discussing ethical and sustainable fashion, feminism, and body positivity. I have been sponsored by local brands like Leroy, Betty and Co, as well as international brands like Berlei (not many people can say them and Serena Williams have been sponsored by the same company!).Outside of outfit posts, I also write about mental illness, feminism more widely, television and film, interviews with cool people, and various DIYs.

A photograph of a young woman wearing a bright yellow raincoat, with the text 'Say Cheese Louise' overlaid — © Louise Hutt 2016

Two photographs side by side, both of a young woman in various outfits, complemented by the background — © Louise Hutt 2016

A photograph of a young woman with short curly brown hair, holding an umbrella — © Louise Hutt 2016

A portrait of a woman in front of a grey roller-door, wearing a purple tartan jacket, a pink beanie, and blue reflective sunglasses — © Louise Hutt 2016

Online HeroinesDirector | Producer
FilmmakingOnline Heroines was a webseries I created as the creative component of my Master’s thesis; featuring interviews with New Zealand women filmmakers who create content for online audiences. While many Master’s projects never get a readership past their supervisor and parents, I wanted to create a resource for young women filmmakers; to share with them the experiences of the women already out there, and show them that a career in the film industry is possible on your own terms.Online Heroines featured on VICE, bFM, Women & Hollywood, The Light Leaks, as well as a variety of other media outlets for the project.The full episodes themselves are available on onlineheroines.com via Youtube. You can read my thesis at the University of Waikato library.