Mapping San Francisco is published in Cartographics – Designing the Modern Map (p.162)
See the full project HERE
Our work in Good Design Store at Central Embassy
The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda
Creating white space– or, translating that to a room, "clean space" – enables the foreground to stand out from the background. However, the reality is that in everyday life we are unlikely to clear everything out with the ease of hitting the "delete" key on the word processor.
Being attuned to what surrounds us in the ambient enviroment can sometimes help us manage what's immediately in front of us. Synthesizing the ambient experience of simplicity requires attention to everything that seemingly does not matter.
Feeling safe; by avoiding desperation
Feeling confident; by mastering the basics
Felling instinctive ; by conditioning through repetition
Taa taa ti ti taa. This is not some foreign language, but it is the phonetic phrasing of rhythm that I learned from my music teacher in elementary school. Ti ti ti ti taa taa. Rest. Ti taa ti taa ti. It's all coming back to me.
The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. When in doubt, just remove. But be careful of what you remove. When there is less, we appreciate everything much more.
There is an important tradeoff between being completely lost in the unknown and completely found in the familiar. Too familiar can have the positive aspect of making complete sense, which to some can seem boring; too unknown can have the negative connotations of danger, which to some can seem a thrill. Thus there is a tradeoff between being found versus lost.
Complexity implies the feeling of being lost; simplicity implies the feeling of being found.
Become "Comfortably lost."
Get this book HERE
Under the Stars
Incase you haven’t seen the most recent Stars by Stella, a campaign from Stella brewing company. Bring people together under the stars-like installation. Combine with John Legend - Under The Stars, creating with Stella Artois. What can be more perfect.
Sample images below. LOVE IT!
Down time activities
It is very common for designers to sit in front of computers for hours. Here are some things I like to do when I'm away from my desk.
Get flowers for the home
Read a book
Jazz bar on Fridays is a must
Bake or eat something sweet
Travel
Join a design community
- Internet Hamachi
Go to design events
- NY art book fair
All images courtesy
Suwanna Ruayrinsaowarot
The Psychology and Principle of Design (NOTE TO SELF)
- Design on purpose - In the beginning of the design process I usually like to have a clear purpose but not a clear solution: it is best to answer what, when, where, why and then think about how.
- Metaphors - make it meaningful, consider cultural norms, use the appropriate language.
- Planning/Questioning - where is it?, how will it be used?, what’s the message to convey?, is there a convention?, what’s the context? does it make sense? does it already exist?, can we draw inspiration from elsewhere?
- Balance - form and function, shape, size, texture, space, hierarchy, contrast, position, direction, structure, unity, density, gravity, color.
- Formats, this is very important when working in fabricator and collaborators. JPEG, TIFF, PDF, 3DM, NWD, FBX, AU, MOV- everyone speak different file format in the Experience Design world.
- Not everything have to be reinvented, as Picasso have said Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal!
Most of the time DESIGN guides people to make informed decisions or feel a certain way.
Experience Design – Light Innovations
Experience design is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with a focus places on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions. Experience design draws from many disciplines including architecture, environmental design, visual design, brand strategy, interaction design, service design, storytelling, technical communication, and design thinking. For me, a successful project should cover 3 main points which are; the concept, the visual and the technicality.
Here are my favorite projects from a book called Light Innovations.
Galleria Department Store
The light for the new facade of this building is constantly changing. A total of 4,330 discs of glass are set in the concrete of the frontage, creating a dichroic covering which produces an iridescent effect during the day. At night each disc is illuminated by LED lights programmed to create multiple effects.
Located in Seoul, South Korea. Design by UN Studio. More info HERE
Pixel Cloud
This is an eight stories tall 3D matrix of light globes. This unique light globe is individually addressable, and reacts in real-time to changes in environmental conditions broadcast from the worldwide network of the offices.
Located in Bishops Square. Design by Jason Bruges. More info HERE
Audi TT Installation
Taking as inspiration the careful and stylized design of the Audi TT, the installation which promoted the model offered the visitor an imposing dance floor. The 2.5 m high screens with multi-projection systems produce an intense pattern of lights around the space. The illumination and the music are synchronized by using complex software.
Located in São Paulo, Brazil. Design by Muti Randolph. More info HERE
Pleinmuseum
This Pleinmuseum is a mobile exhibition pavilion, traveling along 7 Dutch cities in the summer of 2005. It is a new concept of open, accessible space for art.
"During the day, the building is a white cube which symbolizes the modern museum. At night it is opened by a hydraulic mechanism and becomes 15 meters long and 5 meter high. Screen walls project constantly changing images/graphics, transforming the cube into a visual stage."
Several locations. Design by Studio Van Engelenburg. More info HERE
CCA Graphic Design Senior Show 2015
After 4 years of studies, CCA’s Graphic Design undergrads are fresh on the market with the freshest work possible. We are thirty-seven graphic design students graduating this Spring who want to showcase our accomplishments through posters, installations, websites, multimedia works, and more. For the first time in 11 years, the seniors are tasked with organizing the Graphic Design Senior Show. And we need your help to make it happen!
Fresh rewards for your contributions include: tote bags, pins, stickers, posters, and a personal tour. Come join us in celebration at the show opening May 14th at Wattis Institute in San Francisco.
Fresh Graphic Design Senior Show 2015
Please contribute! And stay #Fresh.
Posters at CCA
Me and John Provencher started postersatcca.tumblr.com a few weeks ago.
Multiple Signatures – Michael Rock (2x4)
Designer as translator
Designer as performer
Designer as director
Form and content were two separate entities.
The misconception is that without deep content, design is reduced to pure style, a bag of dubious thinks. In graphic-design circles, form-follows-function is reconfigured as form-follows content. If the content is the source of form, always preceding it and imbuing it with meaning, form without content is some kind of empty shell.
Designers also trade in storytelling. The elements we must master are not the content narratives but the devices of that telling: typography, line, form, color, contrast, scale, weight. We speak through our assignment, literally between the lines.
There is thinking and making and there is thinking through making. The problem with work is well documented: Is there room for ideas in the context of dealing with someone else’s problems?
Designers speak between the lines and a design career is a series of inherently irrational accidents imperfectly molded into something seemingly coherent.
Design is always about creating a physical effect: it is both read and felt.
Advertising Is Dead, Long Live Advertising – Tom Himpe
Good communication campaigns or actions can make use of several technique at the same time.
Intrusion : Using places or objects as a carrier of the message
Transformation : The physical alteration of something real
Installation : The act of installing something
Illusion : Communication that distorts our perception of what is real
Infiltration : The use of people to penetrate an area
Sensation : Information conveyed through the senses
Interaction : Any communication in which the consumer is actively involved
Stunt : A difficult, unusual or dangerous feat
Internship Experience Talk at CCA
