Being a bit bummed I couldn’t make it over to this years wonderful EG conference gathering (the Entertainment Gathering) which started last night, I’m glad to see that their (matt) live blogging it. It’s very textual and less visual but hey, it gives the scoop on the awesome line up of speakers and hopefully they’ll release some kind of video archive if they jump on the bandwagon of conferences alike. I think Matt’s going to add pictures and videos since he’s live blogging like a mad man with spell checks then fixing it all up in the later hours enhancing his posts with images etc.
If your at EG, send me some updates, otherwise, I’ll be reading up on the live blog and searching for any incredible stories for the next 2 nights!
I’ve been clicking around Christophe Huet’s mesmerizing and inspirational webpages full of photoshop creations and ads, including a great “Making of” section that goes through the many layers and process of each creation which I love! It’s one thing to see the final work of a designer but it’s another story to see the thinking and design process into creating each magical piece.
I’m really diggin the big head creations and will make my own for web apps soon. Check out his webpage, turn up the sound for the soothing piano music and click through his “making of” section!
The design process of his “Big Head” piece above after the jump!
I’m diggin Michal Tatarkiewicz’s Subway Drawings. It reminds me of my room and desk… plastered full of sketches on every corner! If your a designer or artists, pin those sketches up; the rough, unfinished, drafts, doodles, refined,…seriously, it’s great to see sketches all over the place, or in Michal’s instant in large format! I’ve been to a few restaurants where they give ya a bunch of crayons and an entire table to sketch on… after some time, they post them all up on their walls. Makes for a great environment…napkin sketches at their best.
For the past 5 years I’ve been reviewing portfolios for RISD in Boston and now New York City every fall during National Portfolio Days, giving students tips, and digging a bit deep into who, what, and why they are. Every year thousands of students throughout the world wait in mile long lines in the frigid air seeking reviews and tips from schools in all corners. RISD tends to get several tables being one of the largest schools in the nation and many individuals wait for hours just to get a few minutes with us. I went through this experience throughout high school, so I know how disgruntling it can be.
I try to talk to each individual as much as possible, but with hundreds waiting in line it’s tough to dive deep into students personal passions, directions, and experiences without going straight to the basic tips. Many don’t get to see us, hence I thought I’d post some basic points from my experience in what design/art schools seek for incoming students. The tips after the jump!
What an exhausting fun filled thanksgiving week/end! I was out in the Vegas area with family and friends pounding out hours of non-stop eating, mahjong, wii-ing, casino visits, shows, shopping, and many goofy hours with my many cousins in arcades (punch the duck game above) and everything else. Good times!
I’ve only returned to find out that a parking ticket I appealed 3 months ago got declined for no reason. I had pictures etc supporting the wrongful ticket, yet they will only let me dispute it in court, meaning take a day off from work, or pay the crummy $50. I really don’t understand why they don’t fix their system. Sure this system makes people pay more tickets, but when a wrongful ticket is given, the only choice is to pay rather than take a day off.
Cool! 6000+ drawings of heads! Reminds me of the RISD freshmen year days when we had to draw 100 self portraits in a week. Fast ones, long ones, quirky and scary, then slow and meticulous. Use a pen, a pencil, your left hand then right. Draw it in the dark, the light, then smug it up with water or blend it up and make paper out of it… ahh, those were the good days! Flickr Set via Drawn.ca
I’ve returned from the mind-numbing inspiring PopTech Conference still a bit jittery from the collective curious minds at this year’s awesome gathering. This year’s theme “The Human Impact” was way more than I expected covering everything from politics, waste, medicine, minds, communities, art, science, music, and everything else in between. The speakers filled the opera house with passion, greatness, huge questions, and ideas that sparked the hundreds attending and thousands watching online.
PopTech also launched a new extension to their conference called the “Pop!Tech Accelerator” facilitating world changing projects starting off with “Masiluleke“which is a groundbreaking software tool for HIV/AIDS patients throughout Africa. The idea of “Accelerator†is to leverage the community of PopTech attendees with their network to create world changing projects.
As usual, I’ll point my fingers to ninja blogger Ethan Zukerman who sat in the dungeon simulcast room next to me zipping his feisty fingers onto his furious laptop for the complete detailed recap, but I’™ll post more on my experience, a bit on the speakers, lots of pictures, and my journey up to beautiful Camden Maine. I’m not sure when all the footage will be archived and available for viewing, but they’ll eventually appear on their PopCasts Streams which I’d suggest catching up to.
My recap after the jump, otherwise, Poptech 2008, a definite must go to!
Here’s another great TEDtalk by Vilayanur Ramachandran on the brain, phantom limbs, synestesia, and how vision plays a critical role in all our minds.
“In a wide-ranging talk, Vilayanur Ramachandran explores how brain damage can reveal the connection between the internal structures of the brain and the corresponding functions of the mind. He talks about phantom limb pain, synesthesia (when people hear color or smell sounds), and the Capgras delusion, when brain-damaged people believe their closest friends and family have been replaced with imposters.”
Many friends ask me why am I so scientific about design, or why do I dissect every element possible before concluding to a final design direction (interaction, experience, and industrial design). Usually I just say there is no other choice, but such videos as the above explain it all. There is reason for everything and that’s the exciting part. I can stop and say I just like a design, but to figure out why someone likes, hates, or experiences a design differently is the good stuff. Everyone has a different experience growing up hence in my world there is no such thing as an exact definition but only dynamic definitions. This goes for words, colors, emotions, scents, ideas, cultures, objects, people, etc.
Anyways, I won’t dive into this argument too long because there is no wrong or right… just an opinion. I’ll admit I wasn’t always like this, but I’ll list a few videos over the years that have that made me dive deeper into the “design thinking” world. Hearing from non-designers is key in our future. We are a hybrid society of designers. If you inspire only from designers, you’ll just become the same… so diversify and become the hybrid that we all are.
Sweet goodness! What a great idea. Manufacturing Beer bottles to convert to brick structures for later use. This reminds me of the POM bottles that can be used as regular glass cups for home use. Why can’t this come back to reality! The amount of bottles tossed each year is absurd. Makes me want to ask photographer Chris Jordan to make a visual map of it for his “Running Numbers” series! (Did ya know in the USA alone we go through 106,000 aluminum cans every 30 seconds! It’s absurd!) There’s also the “66 Beer Bottle= a cheap solar water heater” direction.
“Upcycling is a 21st century term, coined by Cradle to Cradle authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart, but the idea of turning waste into useful products came to life brilliantly in 1963 with the HeinekenWOBO (world bottle). Envisioned by beer brewer Alfred Heineken and designed by Dutch architect John Habraken, the “brick that holds beer†was ahead of its ecodesign time, letting beer lovers and builders alike drink and design all in one sitting.
Mr. Heineken’s idea came after a visit to the Caribbean where he saw two problems: beaches littered with bottles and a lack of affordable building materials. The WOBO became his vision to solve both the recycling and housing challenges that he had witnessed on the islands.”
I want I want!!! It’s like buying Lego’s with your beer bottle as an adult! or you can just reuse what you have laying around much like the students at Western Washington University.(their show is in Seattle today, Nov 10th, 5-7pm)
“Larry Lessig gets TEDsters to their feet, whooping and whistling, following this elegant presentation of “three stories and an argument.” The Net’s most adored lawyer brings together John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights, and the “ASCAP cartel” to build a case for creative freedom. He pins down the key shortcomings of our dusty, pre-digital intellectual property laws, and reveals how bad laws beget bad code. Then, in an homage to cutting-edge artistry, he throws in some of the most hilarious remixes you’ve ever seen.”
Afterwards, watch some of my favorites from TED2006 here.
