Meet Senior Designer, Aaron Elsmore

What’s your story?

I was raised in Tauranga in the 70s and 80s on a diet of kiwifruit, sport and computer games and was part of the birth of desktop publishing that occurred after the release of the Apple MacIntosh.

After school, I got me some higher education at Massey University Palmerston North studying Zoology (if you want to know what a strobulating scyphistoma is, just ask) and also continued DTP working on the uni newspaper.

After Uni, I did apply for jobs in science, but the first I got was a (quite varied) role in a photo lab doing printing, copying, large format, photo retouch and design (mostly of cinema advertising slides).

Years later, I followed my girl to Wellington, signed up at a recruitment agency and got the first job I interviewed for.

And that job was in the same building Hemisphere is in today. Well okay, it’s the same job. Like the ship of Theseus, the people, the furnishings, the company name have all changed around me, but I’m still here 28 years later. Like an original plank.

What are you most passionate about outside of the office?

I used to play volleyball, but that’s definitely a young person’s game. These days I spend a lot of the time organising and playing tennis. They say it is very good for your body and brain, and when nothing is hurting, it really is.

Also, if there is an animal around, I’m picking it up.

Describe yourself in 3 words:

I’d rather not.

What do you love most about working at Hemisphere?

Twenty mumble years – there must be something eh?! Well, there’s always been good camaraderie here, and the banter goes along with it. And I get to create. When you make something out of nothing, it’s pretty rewarding.

Your favourite project at Hemisphere that you’ve worked on?

A few years back we had a good dabble in 360º video, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality; both for ourselves and for our clients Suzuki and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The demand for those mediums hasn’t taken off as some had expected, but it was interesting stuff to work on, and the outputs were fun to consume.

Office catchphrase?

Something along the lines of “And why is that?” – why do you ask?

Want to work with Aaron and the team?

Get in touch to see how we can help with your next campaign.

kiaora@hemisphere.nz