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Shit Has Been Hectic + Kisses

2010-05-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Mostly, in the best ways possible.

And I have been sketching quite a bit, though mostly for work. I've been fluctuating between graphic design, illustration and general art direction at a small Brooklyn-based company that specializes in music-based iPhone apps. I've been here since October and am enjoying the increased responsibilities of managing so many overlapping projects... Plus I love my co-workers and really believe in the work we do.

I'm hot on the heels of a new season... from what I hear, New York's is an insufferably hot and balmy summer. I'm a year-round Antarctican by nature so we'll see how that sits with me. The upside to the impending discomfort is, of course, all the beautiful people that have already emerged these past weeks in the least amount of sheer clothing possible.

"Bermuda" by Kisses is this season's athem so far (free download here) ... and I want this Bijoué portable speaker by Audio-Technica, pictured above, for playing such music during lazy weekend days at the park.

Source - CrunchGear
Buy Here - AudioCubes

Goodbye 09 + Happy New Year

2009-12-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Resolution 01 - Sketch more.

xx

"Just Like A Woman" + Charlotte Gainsbourg

2009-11-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

This illustration was inspired by the Bob Dylan classic, "Just Like A Woman." Mr. Dylan has rightfully earned his place in American culture as one of our greatest musical talents of all time and, while I can recognize his talents as a songwriter, I've found it a challenge to listen to most of his work simply because of his... "unique" voice.

Luckily for me there are many Bob Dylan cover songs out in the world! This interpretation of "Just Like A Woman," sung by one of my favorite singers/actresses/human beings, Charlotte Gainsbourg, is simply beautiful. Coupled with Gainsbourg's signature airy vocals, this reinterpretation doesn't lose focus from Dylan's beautiful composition and brutally honest lyrics.

Charlotte's new album, IRM, was produced in whole with Beck and is due out in the states on the 26th of January. Her new video for "Heaven Can Wait" is one of the best I've seen in a long time — No really, it's amazing. You can watch it now over at Pitchfork.

TAMA + I've Been in NY for 6 Weeks

2009-10-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is not my work. It's an illustration by a Japanese artist by the name of Tama. I was pleasantly suprised to find that Manhattan has its own bigger, better version of the Kinokuniya Bookstore I had so frequented during my five years in San Francisco. I found this book sitting amongst a pile of others and it immediately took my breath away. I can't understand a word of the accompanying poetry but, if you manage to see this in print, you'll understand why words are not needed. I can't articulate what's going on nor how I should feel when I look at Tama's work and that makes this book incredibly memorable.

I'm interning at Marque Creative, abranding agency in Manhattan for the time being whilst I update my portfolio, re-do my website, and execute an over-all streamlining of my site identity. New York is an incredibly dark, beautiful and inspiring place to live. Even when I start to miss the comforts and convenience of a more obscure environment, I still know this is where I need to be.

Source - http://tamaxxx.egoism.jp/

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young

2009-09-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Julian Casablancas, the lead singer of the legendary Alt-Rock outfit, the Strokes, is gearing up to release his debut solo album, Phrazes For The Young on the 3rd of November in the U.S.. To say that the Strokes have made some of the greatest, most influential music of my young life would be an understatement and I've consequently been on the edge of my seat about this project since I learned of its fruition earlier this summer. This preview video (down below) was realeased in June and is a minute and a half of pure modern art - a beautiful set of visuals, clips, and text blurbs to match the sound of what I'm hoping will be an epic project.

Click Here for more information.

Nintendo DSi - Print & Online Buzz Campaign

2009-08-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

This project involved re-branding an already existing company or product. I chose the hand-held, dual touch-screen gaming system, the Nintendo DSi. Through much research, it's plain to see that Nintendo has consistently proven itself to still be relevant for decades and isn't hurting for customers. With the DSi, however, I felt that Nintendo could further increase their sales and customer loyalty for years to come by appealing to a wider range of consumers.

Thus far, the visual promotion for the DS, DSlite & DSi have been very clean and, at times, sterile. There is nothing in the marketing or branding that even begins to hint at how incredibly fun, intricate, and original the titles and interface are. Wi-fi connectivity plays a huge role and there is a nook for every age group – even my mother and grandmother enjoy the Brain Age titles. Playing with a Nintendo DSi (the "i" stands for I, the individual) is incredibly fun for many people of many ages, creating the experience of a self-contained technicolor world. This is something I felt like the current branding and promotion missed and, if addressed with care and delicacy, could bring in a wider audience that is often times too scared off by the sterility of similar technology branding.

Because the existing approach has proven itself successful thus far, my goal was not to flip everything upside down with explosions of color. Rather, the intent was to let the DSi's existing tag-line "What will you and I do?" take center stage for the inspiration for just about everything in this print and online buzz campaign. The world is delicately colorful, intricate, and, through the tiny scenes of ambiguous people engaging in existing gaming titles in various parts of our world, I wanted to give the viewer a reason to look twice. With online roll-over animations of this vibrant world, I wanted the viewer to look closely at all the DSi has to offer and click through for additional information about this truly innovative product. Ultimately, I want customers of all demographics to reconsider any notions that this product may not be right for them.

Nintendo DSi - What Will You and I Do?

Caught Up with HTML

2009-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Currently transitioning this blog into wordpress for a more custom feel & reworking MIGSTUDIO from flash to html. I will update with the changes in the very near future. Enjoy this watercolor in the meantime.

Settling Back In

2009-06-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

I'm settling back home in Sacramento for a few months whilst I save some money and tie up any last minute loose ends between my portfolio, web presence, mailing promotion, etc.. I've given myself a time limit no longer than 6 months, so some time between the end of this year and January of 2010, I will be making a career move to NYC. I don't want to lose any of my steam so the name of the game right now is sacrifice & dedication. The last few weeks after graduation can best be summed up as extreme anxiety sprinkled with glimmering moments of sheer excitement for my future.

World of Slumber, the above piece, is one of my two pieces on exhibition at the Academy of Art University's 2009 Annual Spring Show and undoubtedly is one of my favorite pieces of my career thus far. The uncertainty of the disorienting environment with an overall sense of wonder - that's what life is like right now for many people, including myself. Let's all try our best to stay inspired even in the face of trying times. Enjoy.

Finals This Week, Graduation Next

2009-05-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been running around like a madman trying to get everything in order for these last few months. Looking back over this semester and the entire 5 year experience as a whole... all of the work, frustration and all-nighters.... it has definitely all been worth it. Even when it prohibits me from sleep and general comforts.... I still really LOVE doing what I do. I'm very happy.

Congratulations to all of my fellow gradautes & best of luck with future endeavors.

The end of a huge life chapter..... What's next?

It's the Little Things

2009-04-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Green Caspule - Mini Mobile Garden

The world's smallest garden.

Source & Purchasing Info: Strapya World

Hand-Drawn Type Experiments

2009-04-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is some type I drew on graph paper and converted into Illustrator vector files. I think Graphic Design has been a great balance for my at-times too-technically-driven Illustration classes. I tend to find that the creative process and the immersion of one's self into concept and form that I find in Graphic Design (whether contrived or completely loose) is something that I will always need and want in my life. I'm not saying that these shapes are tight enough to be used as a perfect, clean typeface just yet but, because this is my blog about inspirations and general processes, I can be much more free with the identity I choose for it.

It's Sketch Time

2009-03-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have a somewhat-finished Illustration of this from a while back that needs some editing & tightening up in terms of color and value... and overall composition actually.... but I'm really pleased with the shapes of exhaust smoke coming from the main squirrel's teacup-rocket hybrid. All I remember thinking while sketching this is that if he's going to leave this world, he's going to do it in style... I'd like to think that he did just that.

Slippery Electric Bubbles

2009-03-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

Baby Bubbles - Character designs for a line of children's bathing products.

Whatever Happened....?

2009-02-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

"Whatever Happened to Lauryn Hill?" - From David Ball's Editorial class.

Love This Book

2009-02-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Neubau Modul is a practical tool that provides designers with over 2,000 editable and infinitely repeatable patterns. As with Neubau Welt, all of the work shown in this book can also be found as Adobe Illustrator and bitmap files on an included DVD that can be used on any platform. The DVD also contains the entire digital collection of patterns as a practical Swatch Library, enabling designers to immediately put them to use in any project in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Click Here for more photos and detailed infomation on Neubau Modul.

Also available on Amazon – ISBN: 978-3-89955-199-0

PPMK Character Concepts

2009-01-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

Post Post Modern Kids. A story setting in which the youth wakes up in a world absent of adults & full of unkown turmoil and hidden surprises. A story for the relentless amount of pressure that today's youth face and their understandable amount of complacency, confusion, and lack of enthusiasm and wonder in the world around them - a brand new start in a deconstructed and strange new environment all about survival.

This is just the first character and the very beginning of the process but it's a concept that I'm passionate about and an idea that has already offered restless ideas and infinite possibilities for expansion. Somebody please think of the children!

Personal Piece

2008-11-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

For a loved one. Watercolor is a nice break from all the vectors.

Obama '08

2008-10-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Snakes & Earrings Book Jacket

2008-09-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

ILL3 Project. Had a lot of fun with this piece. It only helped that I loved the book.

Summer Semester Is Over

2008-08-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

And i have a lot of new work to show... but I still have a lot of past works to upload.

Utada Hikaru is arguably one of the best-selling, most successful Japanese artists of all time. She was born in NYC and is in fluent in both English and Japanese. At only 25 years of age, the singer-songwriter-producer-arranger has already released 5 full-length Japanese albums and is working on her 3rd full-length English right now (under UTADA, her family name). Her sound is eclectic yet her vocal arrangements and harmonies are completely her own.

She is both an inspiration and all-time favorite so it was important that I do this visual recreation of her album Ultra Blue correctly and with style. Of the work I've done so far, this is definitely one of my personal favorites.

PS. the obnoxious banners & copyright stuff will come down when the Orphan Works Act is no longer a threat to all artists/creative persons. To anybody that fits this criteria or simply appreciates the fact that artists help elevate over-all social experience then please educate yourself on the Orphan Works Act. I am in the process of doing so and will be posting again on it some time soon.

Tell A Friend, Tell A Foe!

2008-05-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

My portfolio site is up! I've got quite a bit of work to do in terms of adding galleries and fine-tuning html settings, but I'm very pleased with it so far. I know that this little link-graphic-thing I've created is the same BG pic as the header for this blog so expect a reworking of the blog sometime soon.

And if you don't have the latest version of flash then it will prompt you to download it.

Enjoy! (click the picture for the link)

Spring Show Is Coming.

2008-04-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

And this is not going in it but I'm fairly proud of it nonetheless.

We were given a small piece of text to create a one page illlustration from for my first project in Children's Storybook Illustration. I took the moon out because it seemed unnecessary and, though I like how advertisement-worthy the type treatment is, I agree that I can make it a little bit more friendly/not as tense.

In all honesty, first reaction was to draw this Captain Hook guy on a ship, looking over the sea to a yellow serpentine monster much bigger and scarier than him. Oh, and throw a moon in the background.

But how much fun would that be? And would I give that boring & non-stimulating book to my kid?

No. Because children are just like little men and women: they too deserve to be entertained, confused, forced to think, bombarded with design, and sometimes even be scared by the unfamilar.

I'm not saying that this is the piece that is going to define my career. But anytime I can finish a piece and say I truly accomplished what the tecnhnical aspects asked for and maintaned my own sense of artistic integrity and need to offer something new... that's really what it's all about.

The Nokia Morph Concept

2008-03-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a little bit late on this, but whatever. Nokia, in conjunction with Cambridge University, has released their design concept for the New Nokia Morph, which uses advanced nanotechnology in a way that I'm not even sure I fully comprehend yet. Basically you can pull, morph and fold this phone into various devices including a headset, notepad, bluetooth ear attachment, and even a bracelet that matches whatever texture you want, without ever damaging it (it's virtually dirt-proof). It may be a long time before something like this is even affordable to the average consumer but it's promising nonetheless.

Watch the concept video here. The type, music & color schemes are a little off the mark (this would probably have looked more amazing around 2000-2002) but still, the concept is outrageous.

Thanks to Christian for this
Source: Gizmodo

Graphic, Bold & Beautiful.

2008-03-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

This video, even from my youth to now, has had such an influence on what I view as proper aesthetics. It's bright, fresh, graphic, and so climactic. At the end of the song, when it quickly progresses to that really high note is just.... exactly what everything should be. So clean.

The One & Only Namie Amuro

2008-03-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

This is definitely not the first nor last time I post this promo piece of Namie Amuro that I did last semester in ILL3. This was my first time doing a finished illustration in Adobe Illustrator (ever) and I couldn't have picked a better design or person to spend 20+ hours obsessing over.

Here are some great promo pictures from her upcoming "60s 70s 80s" release on 3/12

Hillside Ghosts

2008-02-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

This was originally a piece i did in ILL3 as an edtorial, but I'd rather not state an exact theme of it. I find that (as challenging and rewarding as working with concept can be), most pieces of art are only as interesting as the amount of interpretation you leave up to the viewer. So do what you do, art-connoisseur.

A Quick Break from My Real Homework.

2008-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

Just some quick rendering on a few sketches I composited into one. Obviously no concept here other than I really like design & drawing pretty girls. Ask anybody who's known me since kindergarten: drawing girls will never get old for me.

And pay no mind to the type. I know it's hideous (I just wanted something fun).

Why People Pay $$$ for Great Design.

2008-02-06T13:21:00.001-08:00

Magnetic Curtain design by Florian Kräutli.

Not only is this curtain functional but it's completely original in its design.

Effective industrial designers remain some of the most respected artists because, not only do they have to understand great design and concept, but, additionally, they have to make things completely functional & execute them effectively in a huge variety of tangible/durable materials. It's more responsibility than i'd like to imagine but, when its done right, is very deserving of the big paychecks.

Source: Apartment Therapy

Exercise Your Right!

2008-02-05T17:12:00.001-08:00