Cake

For the past 6 weeks in our Design Communications studio, Sylvia Spencer, Michael Kandel and I have been working to create a new brand/identity for Men's Beauty products. Our design team is called "Cake," because our designs provide many sweet layers of awesome solutions. The concepts shown here are what I rendered for our last critique, where we each presented 3 brand families. We have been working around having a design language that fits the theme "Urban Raw," which is for urban men who are attracted to pure colors and materials and a stripped-down lifestyle. Through our process we have been working together a lot and have made smart decisions because of it.

For our next step, we each are taking one of our concepts and refining the form, CMF (color, material, finish), the brand's story, graphics, and the user.  I will be refining the Envoy concept.

New Rule

Angus and Julia Stone - Mango Tree

Maybe not a new rule, but something that I need to remember when I get my head wrapped up with work: Enjoy your summer, your friends and family, no matter how much stuff you have to do.

Cheers to you, buddies

Raw Beauty

I found this chair on designboom and fell in love with the elegant way the "Yii" chair uses its material and refers to craftsmanship. The chair was a collaboration between NTCRI (National Taiwan Craft Research Institute) and TDC (Taiwan Design Center) aiming to use traditional craft techniques in a contemporary way. Led by creative director Jeff Shi, it encompasses the philosophy of "yii," which is a law of natures transformation over time.

It is made of 43 bamboo cantilevered slats.

Go here.

Yea Friday!

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday!

I'd like to share Little Star Pizza with you. It is the most scrumptuous, mouth-watering pizza I have ever encountered. The deep dish pizza uses a cornmeal based crust that alludes to cornbread. The ingredients, which I feel San Francisco is really good at, are all organic and fresh. If you are ever in San Francisco, it is on Valencia and 16th. Please please go there.

Chair Progress

It's our chair quarter this summer, and narrowed my concepts down to a story that explains nature through geometric forms. The theme is "in the park" where anyone who sits in it can be reminded of relaxing in the park. It is a quiet form, but has many intricacies and elements of surprise.

I'm currently refining the bench (form and legs) and figuring out the most efficient way to manufacture this. As of now, the bottom of the bench will be steam-molded felt which then will be needle felted to a linkage system of multicolored felt pieces. Through the gaps of the linkage system, surprises will come through and give a taste of nature.

I've come to be really fond of this concept and I think it really speaks out my personality as someone who's crafty and cute but also has a need for mathematics and structure.

It's Friday!

by Chris McVeigh. His Flickr.

Western Spaghetti

by PES, known for taking everyday objects and visualizing them as something else.

Updated Portfolio!

I'm looking for some feedback before I start sending this out! Still thinking I should add something to the Compaq project... perhaps.

Check it out!

Want Some Inspiration?

Try Spezify. It pulls images to the word you enter and makes an inspiration board for you!

Happy Friday!

by electronic artist Pogo, known for Alice (below) and mixing other Disney inspired music.