500 color pencils

::500 color pencils::

sorry for the lack of updates! it would a lie if i said i saw/read/did nothing interesting since the last post, but school was/is/will be > me. ^^; the "social designer network", formerly "design 21", a non-profit organization founded by UNESCO and designated for design competitions that relate to social issues and opportunities, has opened up a video competition with the idea "good things come to those who wait". this reminds me of specht harpman did at the st. edwards university (austin texas). lets see if i could think of something interesting to enter the competition..keke =)

so i saw these videos..and just had to share... who says we hi-tech is better...

::Panta Rhei School by i29::

at first glance, i thought this was a model shot.

and i've always love the contrast of black and white on a pristine model.

but i was wrong.

this is a built project!

when jelly meets archi.

::jelly competition::

for fellow jelly loving architects out there... this is perfect for us! mm...how would i want my jelly architecture to look like.. that is something to ponder ;)

meet mr. p

::mr. p from propaganda::

the "mr. p" collection from propaganda is one of my favorite designer's items out there.. "propaganda" is a thai design company with a great sense of humor... gotta love the look of these little men and they bareness... it's definitely one of its own kind...=) i first encounter mr. p in the headquarter of Eslite Bookstore (誠品) in Taipei and couldn't resist to smile and applaud for the designer's creativity.

now you can find some of the mr. p items selling on ::shopmodi:: in the US! and they are decently priced!

the power of laser!!

::engrage your book::

for those that love to carry a little black moleskine and feel super artsy... this is something that can kick your coolness up a notch!

::engraveyourbook:: is the brother company of ::engraveyourtech:: they can laser graphic precisely onto your choice of books or high tech gadgets. in comparison, i think the book idea is way more appealing for me than the tech.. i think i'm too scared to my baby ipod or mac all the way to portland... but moleskine?! of course! it's one of the necessities for any designer! and adding these cool graphics will make it an super awesome gift for yourself or anyone!

it's on the same line as screen printing moleskines..but this time you can do it on a leather moleskine!

::shoofly's etsy store:

China's big year

ELLE Jan 2008

when i saw this article in the elle magazine today, i thought 2008 is going to be a very very unforgettable year for china

during my winter trip back to home (shanghai, china) we took a trip back to beijing..visiting our previous homes/ old spots and all the new and ongoing changes of the city

one of the big items on the itinerary was visiting the olympics park i end up seeing the stadium and the aquatics center from afar (more pictures to come)

i have to say, china is trying very hard to build itself so to compete with the western world..london..nyc..berlin the architecture in china is a statement for its ambition in politics, economy..and cultural influences

i love these photographs..

the juxtapositions between high fasion and the absurd and un-refineness of these post modern architecture in an underdeveloped site seems to bring out the contrast of china's past and present.

stina persson

stina persson

i love watercolor. if i had to pick one medium to use to express my emotions, my thoughts, i would use watercolor.

watercolor is a very ambiguous technique. it calls for so much planning and delicacy, yet it cannot be easily mastered due to its freeform nature...you can never know how a watercolor painting will turn out when you first lay your brush on the paper...the water will flow as your emotions and thoughts spread..and the colors will blend, overlay, and vola! magic is induced.

today i came across this artist on the web, stina persson, and i was in awe. so rarely a watercolor artist can reach such a passionate yet extremely coherent presentation in watercolor..and that's what I saw in her work...image after image..they show playfulness, style, and precision all at one flow of colors.

go to her website at www.stinapersson.com and make yourself speechless.

doodling on the walls

"insomnia" at blik

GRE has totally taken over my life for the past month (or more).. but...secretively i have been procrastinating by looking at wall painting/graphics related stuff...that's been talks about picking colors for some friends' new townhouse apartment, possibility paint for a coworker's house flipping project, and doing some special projects for my parent's new home in shanghai.

perhaps it was the table top apint experience that really got me inspired and wanting to paint more and put crazy doodles on large surfaces. but i had no idea there was so much wall graphics related products out there!? man, these creative genius are way ahead of me and making me feel not creative and original at all with my ideas!

since i'm still one week away from being done with my GRE test...so i guess i could only share i have found on the web with everyone in the mean while. and hope one day, hehe, i could share with you some results of my personal projects ;)

::blik surface graphics::

::wonderful graffiti::

::behr paint:: (affordable and easily found at home depot)

::muurwerk::

readings..

dwell magazine

i know i haven't really written an entry on design related stuff for a long time...been trying to just concentrate on studying GRE and therefore haven't got a chance to scan some of the great finds that I saw on magazines/books that I read this past month...i promise there will be a update this weekend.

but in the meanwhile, those of you who are interested in what i have been reading... other than the ever so wonderful+ green oriented + prefab & design/built enthusiastic dwell magazine, i been reading this new magazine called *blueprint*, a publication by martha stewart. this magazine is not as professional focused like all the big architectural magazines out there but it's got a wonderful diversity of different design items out there. i found my special graduation gift idea for architects from the march issue of blueprint...it's just full of great and decently priced design products! it's definitely a good leisure reading! ^__^ enjoy!

blueprint magazine

start of my art collection

these wonderful pottery art were my purchases from the "art of the pot" weekend during the mother's day weekend. they are the precious creation of Rebbecca Roberts, Austin based pottery artist. I love the way her colors can create a feeling of motion. For example, the sparkles on the plate are composed so it looked as if it is sand sinking towards the center. looking at pottery makes me think of all those thursday late afternoons when I used to have pottery class after school during 5th to 6th grade...it was so much fun to get my hands dirty in the clay... : )

gift idea: graduation for architects

so last weekend my friends, who I had classes with and saw everyday during my college life, graduated from the school of architecture here at UT austin. since I knew all of them and so many of them are good friends of mine, I knew I had to prepare early to select a gift that is unique to individuals but will suit all of them. the resultant are these linkable notebooks by E and tina at littlefury.com called "start here" notebooks.these notebooks are absolutely wonderful: not only it uses recycled paper, it comes in three different formats (blank, lined and grid), it's even got a waterproof cover! for architects or anyone who can get clumsy and spill their coffee over their sketchbooks, this is a great feature! And most importantly, it's linkable! just tuck the back cover of the first notebook behind the second one's front cover, vola~ you got one new "thinker" notebook! and you can just image the possibility goes on with that! now, i'm hoping all my happy graduates of the classes of 2007 are happy with their little presents from me...and hoping some of you out there will head over to starthereny.com and check out their awesome invention!

gocco

mizna wada

"for over 25 years, the print gocco screen-printing system has been used in japan. the small plastic device was marketed at families for making greeting cards and sold in toy and hobby stores. since it’s peak during the 1980’s, gocco’s sales have declined in the japanese market with the advent of home computers and printers. outside japan, however, appreciation for the gocco system has only just begun. for artists who cannot afford to own or don’t have the space for a traditional screen-printing set-up, gocco has offered a way to mass produce everything from postcards to wedding invitations to mini-comics to limited edition art prints as you see here. each print in this show is limited to 50 numbered pieces. in december 2005, gocco’s parent company, riso, announced they are discontinuing manufacturing the print gocco system due to low sales in japan. savegocco.com was created in december with hopes that it may not be late too work together to find a new home for gocco outside of japan. for more information on the history of gocco and to find out how you can help, please visit savegocco.com"-- Save Gocco i personally just got a gocco PG-5 set this week (from ebay) and did my first set of prints tonight. it worked like magic!!!! it was so easy to operate and the image came out crispy clear and still got the unique look similar to that of silk-screen prints! it's a little pricey but everything so well invented that i bet it will last for a looong loooong time! it would be great for one would need to mass produce print work! those who are looking for cheap/easy/nice & personal looking invitations (wedding, graduation, party, or anything you can think of), i am open for challenge!!! ^____^

Links to some websites that showcase gocco art!:

"flicker link" "wurst gallery"

Abigail Percy

Sweet Horse Chestnut Hoops

"Sweet chestnut leaves translated into beautiful outlines for these elegant hoop style earrings. Completely handmade, Abigail Percy's craftsmanship is unbelievable."- rare device (click to buy the earring shown above) I saw this artist, Abigail Percy, on Etsy.com today and completely fell in love with her work. She has a wonderful mixture of sophistication, free-form and softness in these vintage jewelery. I think I have seen too many jewelery made with very simplistic and geometric forms. Everything becomes very clean cut, edge defined. Therefore, Abigail's floral curves brings a whole new feel of freeness to these femieant accessories. You can find her work on flickr (click the image above) or at her blog.

interesting deisgn ideas

recently i have been on a streak of just coming up with ideas in my head but not taking real actions...it's really a bad habit : ( too many little projects, ideas, words to be recorded...but quickly forgotten because they only stayed in my head. I have accumulated so many images of things that I want to share with everybody...I promise starting today I will get them out of my "random" folder on the desktop and show them to you. And since I have been just saving the images, I did a really poor job remember the exact names and sources of them. So here I apologize to the designers that should be credited for the great work.

Let's start with a few design ideas/products that have caught my attention and really fasinated me:

This is a design that an industrial design student had proposed. He's using a bunch of giant umbrellas normally used in professional photo-shoot. These umbrella were made to help reflect light evenly and therefor interestingly it is a great material to create a diffused light fixture.

this is a ash tray designed by a japanese designer. maybe because my love for architecture...anything that show some kind of architectural relevance fascinates me. hehe : P

i visited the school of architecture at UT a few weeks ago just to see some old friends and saw this in the 3rd year sound-building studio. i supposed i have graduated too early (?) i don't think there was a laser cutter in the school two years ago?! so this a modular wall the 3rd year students have design and created by using the laster cutter. it was a material experiment with professor billie faircloth. module, is truely a wonderful design technique. you would be amazed how possibility can expand just by multiplying a single module.