Back in March 2007, soon after starting Designverb, I was selected as 1 in 100 artist worldwide to create a design for the Converse JoinRed initiative to bring AIDS awareness and to raise money for the cause. Above is the one of the final designs I submitted which was stitched by hand and went through quite a design process even though I later submitted a re-worked design because of trademarks issues in my first design. Though I am not a shoe designer, I approached this project as any of my other projects diving into research, discovery, meaning, definition, creation, and refinement.
If your interested, read after the jump to see the design process, thinking, and some other design concepts I thought up but did not continue with in this short 2 week project.
It’s been awhile since I last posted about a new beverage but this week I came upon a refreshing drink called Alo which infuses aloe bites along with an assortment of other flavors giving water a nice simple zest. I think I’ve had something like his in Hong Kong before. I first had the aloe with wheat grass mix called Awaken and just picked up the original aloe version called Exposed, but they have quite a few new assortments of flavors on their website which I have yet to come by at a store. Anyhow, go give Alo a try… these bottles cost me about $5 each so hopefully it’ll be available in bulk to customers for a better price soon…. otherwise Alo is DELICIOUS!
“In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning — creating conditions where kids’ natural talents can flourish.”
I’ve been incredibly busy helping organize the TEDxCambridge event occurring May 16th at the MIT Stata Center. The theme “How do you eat” is based off of this year TED prize winner Jamie Oliver in regards to Food and education. If you are in Boston May 16th, apply to get an invite and let me know. We can only invite 300 attendees and registration will close soon. You can learn more on tedxcambridge.com
Also, if you are in a position to sponsor any food, funding, or gifts for the event, please contact me asap. (now! =) ).
We will have 2 break sessions followed by an evening event in eating, drinking, and idea sharing!
Lots of awesome speakers in the line up!
– Wylie Dufresne: WD 50
– Chandler Burr: Times Scent critic
– Dan Ariely: Behavioral Economist
– Richard Chisolm: Filmmaker
– John Gertsen: Mixologist
– many more!
Right after that I’ll be scurrying off back to Boston for ROFLcon II for a rather fun 2nd day of the web in a room!
Several posts to follow, otherwise, lots of extra mini links on the facebook fanpage.
Hidden within a quiet alley in Boston’s Leather District is a restaurant experience inside a cozy brick and beam environment with dim lights echoing eclectic music while your senses feast on intricate creations at a placed called O Ya .
I’d heard numerous rave reviews (nytimes , yelp) about O Ya since it’s opening 3 years ago, and with delight experienced what just might have been one of my favorite sushi meals in Boston. The combination of a warming environment, attentive personal service, a carefully crafted menu, and an execution to freshness and details made out for an fantastic experience… damn it was good!
Read the rest of the review after the jump which has several photos and reactions to each dish, including the full O Ya menu.
“Mark Roth studies suspended animation: the art of shutting down life processes and then starting them up again. It’s wild stuff, but it’s not science fiction. Induced by careful use of an otherwise toxic gas, suspended animation can potentially help trauma and heart attack victims survive long enough to be treated.”
I’m off to TED 2010 for the rest of the week in Palm Springs. If you’d like to watch from your own home you can pay for the TED associate feed which streams all the talks to your home live. As usual, it’ll be an inspirational brain safari into ideas to spread across the world. Be on the lookout for posts next week, follow me on twitter (hahatango), or join the designverb facebook fan page for quick random links to things I find. If your going, let me know!
Happy Holiday to everyone. I’ll be out in Hong Kong for the break and will be back with some goodies to post most likely dealing with food, shopping, and culture.
If you have not already, please join the Facebook Fan page here which I post to often but write less and it’s open for fans to post to as well. I’ll post a few goodies I shared on the fan page below recently for the holiday break:
This weekend (thanks vimeo) I’ve been enjoying the TV series Design for Life (mentioned before) featuring design guru Phillipe Starck.
Unlike many other design reality shows that I’ve seen, Design for Life dives into the reality in design thinking. Most people outside of the design community generally perceive design as purely aesthetics which in some industries is true, but in a majority of the ones I know, aesthetics is perhaps the last 10% in design.
Design is a method, a process, a way of life, a means to adapt. One breaths every aspect in design while eating, walking around, watching people, sleeping, or typing as I am now. There is a intricate pathway in researching, understanding, inventing, presenting, developing, trying, and broadcasting before one even touches how an project finally looks. Designers want to encapsulate an experience from A to Z and not just elements of a product. One must understand how to observe and learn about a project, then have the ability to influence and push forward a direction upon these observations. Then the deep dive into sketching, communicating, collaborating, interacting, and executing several steps within design. A large understanding in manufacturing techniques, engineering, material properties, transportation limitations, cost, client definitions, brand awareness, business, marketing, users, and trends are all aspects which all designers should be knowledgeable of.
Design for Life is an entertaining glimpse into Starcks personality and philosophies while watching his team educate young individuals into their process. It would be nice to see more shows like this. Watch the 6 episodes after the jump via Vimeo…. which does not include commercials =) ( a better user experience) Continue Reading
I’m off to Poptech 2009: America Reimagined for the rest of the week. Follow their PopTech hub for live updates and I’m hoping like in previous years the live broadcast of all the speakers. It’ll be a chilly one this year, but I’ll be back with some updates, posts, and goodies like before.
update: Ah, yes, they are streaming it as usual here.
I’m off to nyc for the rest of the week for the wonderful 
