Designolosophy

5 Great Resources for Interior Design Inspiration

do-admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:00:31 +0000

Some of the best design inspiration comes from getting out and seeing the world around us, whether traveling to foreign countries with unique cultures or simply getting outdoors and experiencing nature. However, this can be challenging and time consuming when much of your day is stuck at the office or behind a computer. So when it comes time for some interior design work, using other sources to spark inspiration may be just what you need to balance your time while keeping your looks fresh and current. Here are some great resources that not only stay up to date with the newest design trends, but can also help inspire your own ideas: HGTV Designers’ Portfolio – HGTV’s compilation of designs offers thousands of rooms that have been put together by professional designers. You can simply browse through them one at a time, or filter results based on a room, design style, designer, or simply just a color. It’s a useful feature if you already have something in mind and just need a little help visualizing it. Overall, this is a great resource for figuring out what style fits the personality of the room or home you’re working on. BHG’s Decorating Page – While this site generally targets homemakers, often containing tips for simple, DIY improvements, keep in mind that this resource can provide a lot of value. Since it’s a magazine, they offer ideas based on the seasons to stay current. This is particularly useful if you’re trying to add an extra touch when staging a home or apartment around popular holidays. Plus many of the tips are affordable and are shown with tutorials that can easily be expanded on by adding your own twist. Interior Design’s Website – While this is another magazine, it’s far less commercial than the two previous as it is geared toward design professionals. The modern products they feature, especially in terms of lighting and seating, are truly unique and can be the foundation for an entire room to be built around. Plus, since it is geared for professionals, it stays current and it is filled with a plethora of pictures and articles for reference and inspiration. PadStyle.com – This blog claims to focus specifically on furnishings, but its articles are far more useful than that, often diving into concepts for entire rooms. The majority of ideas also center around very modern and contemporary design that keeps your home innovative and lavish, so if that’s something you’re currently working on, it’s a terrific resource. Design Sponge Blog– Last but certainly far from least, this blog is a perfect for anyone hungry for design inspiration. Delivering multiple posts a day, Design Sponge stays up to date, keeping their ideas as fresh as possible. They offer sneak peeks into beautifully designed homes, and their Before & After section is wonderful for visualizing changes you’d like to make. Beyond simple interior design, they offer articles on crafts, meals, and even party planning, so it’s definitely one of the top resources out there. This is only a quick look at the resources above, I encourage you to visit them and find out for yourself. Also, if you have other inspiring destinations online, please share them below.

Designolosopher: Adam Coholan

An active blogger out of New York who writes about local events, travel, and managing and staging Queens apartments based on his work with Elliman Real Estate. Follow him on Twitter: @Coho22

The Free Design Test Dilemma

do-admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Hey design job seekers! Will you do a design for free in order to get a job in a design agency? If you are a veteran job seeker, you have probably experience this dilemma at some point in your career: You are at a job interview with a design agency. After showcasing your portfolio and did the Q &A, the interviewer is requesting a “Design Test” in where you are supposed to prove to them that you can design up to their standards by providing them with one (or more) mockups based from design brief(s), to be completed by a specific deadline.

For those who just began to enter the design job market you would probably start thinking to yourself, “I thought my portfolio was good enough!?” What will you do in this situation? Would you have taken the challenge? Or passed on this job. We talked with two web designers who have went through many job searches throughout their career and they let us share their personal experiences dealing with this dilemma.
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of individuals.

Nicholas*, Dilemma #1: The Free Website Redesign Test

Nicholas is a 10 year veteran designer who alternates between both freelance and in- house job. At one particular design job application for an up and coming IT company, Nicholas was asked to produce a redesign mockup of the company’s homepage as a “Design Test”. He agreed to do it and produced a splendid redesign of their mediocre homepage. After turning it in within the specific dateline, they told him that it wasn’t good enough but will give him another shot if he can produce another design for them. So, feeling the pinch, he did it again. He produced another splendid homepage design only to be turned down by the company the next day. Their reason? They had enough head count and decided to continue using their current graphic person. The Real Reason: Sometimes small companies or agencies would use the method of crowdsourcing by the way of “Design Tests” to gather as many design inspiration for their own briefs. This method of crowdsourcing exist not only in real life but also all the time online with the existence of design contests. Websites such as 99designs.com and Crowdspring.com are some prime examples of online crowdsourcing. But don’t get me wrong, there are some good design contests out there. You just have to know what you are getting into.

Carol*, Dilemma #2: The Free Client Brief Mockup Test

After graduated from design school, Carol applied to several design agencies in hope of setting her foot into a reputable agency. One particular agency which specializes in application design and development were interested in her portfolio but needed her to prove to them that she can venture into app designing too. So they told her to complete a “Design Challenge” of designing a complete interface mockup for an app based from a real client brief. It was a massive undertaking for someone who has not designed an app before. But she is a good designer who believes in her ability and produced a creative solution for the app design. They loved it and after another interview they offered her a position as a Junior Designer. The Real Deal: Way to go Carol! This is an example of a “Design Test” that works. Designers need to always practice using their good judgement when it comes to job searching. Knowing the difference between a time-wasting “Design Test” and a real one will help you get that job you wanted. Researching the companies or agencies beforehand and asking lots of questions during interviews are some ways to find out about the job validity. Most importantly, use your gut feeling. If it tells you something is wrong, then it is usually wrong. Do you have your own Design Test Dilemma story? Feel free to share it below. Good luck on your design job searches!

When It Comes to Relationships, We’re All Beginners.

do-admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:00:09 +0000

A Focus Features Film. Sypnosis: From writer/director Mike Mills comes Beginners, a comedy/drama about how deeply funny and transformative life can be, even at its most serious moments.

Beginners imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Golden Globe Award nominee Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds) only months after his father Hal Fields (Academy Award nominee Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic of ER). The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.

To pay homage to this beautiful poignant movie, I created several Quote-Poster Designs inspired from the movie quote: “When it comes to relationships, we’re all beginners.” I chose to work with this quote because it is close to my heart and very human. Each poster design has its own whimsical feel and unique inspiration behind it and I will attempt to explain each one of them. All colors inspired from the movie branding. The Pink-Red Heart drives the visual representation of both of these posters. Inspiration was taken from a greeting card that I once saw and Alice in Wonderland. Innocent, curious and playful, the “peek-a-boo” effect suggests that as humans we are generally scared to show our hearts/feelings to other people—hence the trusting issue. Font used: Gill Sans. Doesn’t (below) this looks like a book cover design? Font used: Franklin Gothic Book and Medium. Yes, I’m crazy about grids and Romantic Comedy inspired poster designs… Font used: Gotham. These two visuals are half-hearts peeking out at each other—suggesting that they are only whole if they become one. Don’t they also remind you of spots on a Jack Russell terrier? Font used: Helvetica Neue. I would like to credit Mike Mills for being an (indirect) inspiration to me. He’s a contemporary creative thinker that is human and real, and his ingenuity shows in all his work. Thanks for being such an inspiration and staying true to yourself Mike!

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Digital Designer and Front End Developer with background in Marketing and Social Media Branding. Founder of Squeeze of Lime Studio and Designolosophy. This self-proclaimed “Pixel Nitpicker” loves to design, philosophize, travel, salsa dancing and belch out a tune or two at karaoke.

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

An Inspirational Look inside the Architecture Design of Grand Palace Bangkok, Thailand

do-admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:00:44 +0000

The Grand Palace is definitely one of the must-see tourist attraction when visiting Bangkok, Thailand. Built in 1782, it was home to the Kings of Thailand, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government from the 18th century onwards. The Grand Palace is also home to several impressive and intricate buildings like the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) which contains a small but significantly revered Buddha statue made of Emerald that dates back to the 14th century. For more information on the history of this magnificent place, please refer to the article links under References below. As a designer who takes inspiration from her travel, I was in awe with the beauty of the architectural patterns and intricate design that were put into creating the Grand Palace. I was lucky enough to have awesome local friends who took me to this amazing place. After I was properly covered up (I call it the “No Skin Allowed Politeness Policy”) and purchased my ticket (locals get in for free), I was whisked away to a world of architectural wonder. There were so many things to see and study in more details, and I took some inspirational photos of the place. But these photos do not do it justice—you just have to go there and see it for yourself. Apart from the statues and architectural patterns I also took some photos of the murals located along the wall of the palace—fascinating stuff! So scroll down slowly and enjoy the beautiful color combinations and patterns, and awe at the impressive artistic achievement of the people of Thailand. Sawadee ka! Note that we were not allowed to take the picture of the Emerald Buddha located inside the temple (can’t even take pictures of the temple interior) and hence there were none. If you really want to see how it looks like, please visit Grand Palace Thailand website for more information.

References:

- http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-palace/grand-palace.htm - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace - http://www.grandpalacethailand.com/

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Digital Designer and Front-end Developer with background in Marketing and Social Media Branding. Founder of Squeeze of Lime Studio and Designolosophy. This self-proclaimed “Pixel Nitpicker” loves to design, philosophize, travel, salsa dancing and belch out a tune or two at karaoke.

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

Recommended Book: A Project Guide to UX Design

do-admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:00:39 +0000

Lately, I have been fascinated with the field of User Experience (UX) design and am witnessing the growth in both UI/UX expertise and work demands within the creative industry. As a Digital Designer, it is a naturally extension of my curiosity to learn more about the field of UX design. So, I hunted down this book per the recommendation of a UX designer who works in a well-known Marketing/Advertising agency. And I was like, “Hmm, a practical guide of UX design for beginners?—Yes please.” What is UX design? According to the book, the broad definition is… “The creation and synchronization of the elements that affect users’ experience with a particular company, with the intent of influencing their perceptions and behavior.” And the easier-to-digest definition is… “The discipline of creating a useful and usable Web site or application—one that’s easily navigated and meets the needs of both the site owner and its users.” In other words, UX design is a beautiful blend of both art and science, applied and researched, passion and curiosity, emotion and logic, and it all revolves around one word: Empathy—to the end-users that is. Written by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler, both are successful UX veterans in their respective roles, in a fun and quirky fashion. The book does a great job of helping us to understand UX principles, various roles in UX design and methodologies: Creating Proposals, Conducting User Research, Design and Prototyping application or site, to Planning for Development, Product Rollout, and Quality Assurance—all within a project environment. As a Digital Designer who designed (and developed) many websites, there is one particular chapter on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that I thought would rarely be covered in an UX design book. It got me thinking, the initial planning of site architecture (which are often overlooked) is actually fairly important as it lays the groundwork for making the right content available to search engines. Apart from that particular chapter, there are many other useful/insightful methodologies or steps and resources to help guide us into the wonderful world of User Experience design. Read this book as one way to “Keep your curiosity, passion and empathy alive!” For more information on the book, please visit: A Project Guide to UX Design. Have you read it yet? If you have, please post your comments below. We love to know what you think of it.

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

Top 5 Bi-Weekly Designolosophies: 4rd Week of February

do-admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 03:00:12 +0000

We give you our top 5 bi-weekly designolosophies handpicked from designers and creatives all around the world. Each meaning are peppered with a word or two from our personal thoughts of these wonderful designolosophies. Read them and be inspired. Contribute other philosophies or quotes by writing to us here.

“All geniuses are leeches, so to speak. They feed from the same source–the blood of life. …There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we only have to open up, only have to discover what is already there.” —Henry Miller, novelist

I love how Henry Miller called us “leeches” in this quote Yes, not only do we feed off of life, we also feed off of each other’s ideas, energy and resources in order to survive as a creative.

“When I’m totally unqualified for a job, that’s when I do my best work.” —Paula Scher

One of my fave quote by Paula Scher. She is seeing herself as someone who can bring a fresh sets of eyes and a naive mind to discover solutions without being influenced (first) by the norm of the company she’s hired into.

“When it comes to redesigning a corporate culture, there’s no 10-step program.” —Gianfranco Zaccai

Is there a 10-step program for a design addict?

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” —Nick Lamb

Quoted from one of our dear designer friend during one of his client meeting on the importance of content.

“Design brings stories to life.” —Yves Behar

I think design became such a important part of life that it has taken a visible form of story telling through different products, services and lifestyle.

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Web/Graphic Designer and Front-end Developer with background in Marketing and Social Media Branding. Founder of Squeeze of Lime Studio and Designolosophy. This self-proclaimed “Pixel Nitpicker” loves to design, philosophize, travel, salsa dancing and belch out a tune or two at karaoke.

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

Creativity Exposed: What is Creativity, Anyway?

do-admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:00:55 +0000

There are a lot of talk surrounding creativity and what it’s all about. One thing that us designers know for sure is that we need creativity in order to thrive in this industry. But how do you define or describe creativity? And what is the real meaning of creativity? According to Robert Sutton, the author of a fantastic (and curiously provocative) book called “Weird Ideas That Work: How To Be Build a Creative Company“, creativity is actually far less mysterious than you might think. In his book he sums up that creativity results from using old ideas in new ways, places and combinations. Look around you… All products, services and theories are not conjured out of thin air. They exist because of these three key creativity exploration of using old knowledge in new ways:

1. Variance

Creativity variance is enhanced by bringing ideas that are old in other places but new to us or our clients. This involves digging into our old ideas (TIP: never throw away any idea! Make an archive of it) or other people’s old ideas and forming a new link of ideas thus creating new creative variances that leads to innovations. With all of those new ideas being formed we are sure to encounter a lot of dumb, bad, lousy and crazy ones. But the key here is to keep on trying new things because you will never know maybe that one wild and crazy idea might be your next golden ticket. Hence variation is a hallmark for creative individuals to come up with exciting new ideas that leave their competitors running back to the drawing board and wondering why they didn’t think of that before.

2. The “Vu ja de” mentality

Pronounced “voo-zha-day”, means seeing the same old thing in new ways. If deja vu is the feeling that you have had an experience before even though it is brand new, then vu ja de is what happens when you feel and act as if an experience is brand new even if you have had it or seen it many times before. You might have work on the same exact (boring) routine or task hundreds of time before and then one day you discovered a new and more efficient way to do things, thus increasing productivity. When applied to design, vu ja de can to be use to jar people out of the numbness and lifelessness of modern life, whether its with the usage of unusual colors, shapes and sizes on product designs. No matter how the vu ja de mentality is used, it has the ability to shift opinion and perception. Think of it as a splash of color appearing on your monochrome television set. It has the power to shake things up! For example, take this unique urban installations along various seafronts around the world. With a splash of design and color, these installations have created a much needed vibrancy to an otherwise dull and lifeless seafront. Source: CoolHunter.net

3. Breaking from the past

Clinging to the past means being safe and secure to a lot of people, and this might hinder innovation and the birth of new ideas. In the contrary, new ideas or innovations might result in higher risk of failures too. Does this mean you should stop creating or innovating new products, services or ideas? Of course not. Because we are living in the world where people’s taste always changing and new technologies are constantly being developed. These are the times when innovation and new ideas are crucial. But don’t discard your old ways just yet, instead replace them with better new ways. A good example of breaking from the past… Tea bags had always been square since they had been introduced in 1951 to British consumers; no once ever thought of changing the shape. Then in 1985, Tetley began doing research on consumer reaction to round bags. They went national with its round bags in January of 1990 and its tea market rose from 15 percent to 20 percent. Not to be outdone, PG Tips secretly developed and launched its new 3-D shaped tea bag a.k.a. The Pyramid tea bag in 1996 which promised faster brewing process than the other shaped tea bags (and beating out Tetley’s round tea bags sales number along the way). In essence, the shape of tea bags didn’t change for 34 years until these researchers saw the same old thing in a new way! vu ja de!

New Ideas come from old ideas

If you want to constantly being creative, you need to keep finding new places and ways to use your existing ideas and keep persuading others that your ideas are new and valuable. So how do you spark new ideas and persuade others that it is valuable? I will answer that on the next article…

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

HumblePied.com – Hey Creatives, Get Your Slice of Humble Pie here!

do-admin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:10 +0000

Oh Sweet Key Lime Pie! We found a website that serves golden slices of advice straight from a selection of inspirational creatives. All you need is a glass of milk and a pair of listening ears (and curious mind) in order to be inspired. Whether you are a student or a seasoned creative, you should take a look at this website Humble Pied. Its where we can find one inspiring creative sharing one piece of advice, all over video chat. Per website blurb, this humble project originally started as a crowd-sourced AIGA student presentation, with friends and peers alike offering their words of wisdom within the creative industry. This site was created to house all of the great bits of advice, and to stimulate dialogues along the way. All chat sessions were held with iChat video and recorded with ScreenFlow. Each interview was cleaned up and edited with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. This awesome undertaking can be credited to Mig Reyes, the cool dude who’s interviewing everybody and running the show, a designer at Threadless, hailed from Chicago. He did a great job and we have to find out how and why.

Why Humble Pied?

In Mig’s own words from another interview: “…Humble Pied wasn’t so much a kitschy name as it is an actual reference to a slang term for humility. As young designers, it’s easy to caught up in our early successes and build an ego. To eat the humble pie is to be taught humility, something I think every growing designer needs to practice more. With Humble Pied, I wanted to curate and archive bits of honest advice that will ultimately help inspire and nurture fledgling creative types.”

How long have you been running Humble Pied?

Since late late 2009 is when I started it. You can read a bit about it on the About page, and even take a peek at the design of the website before it was called Humble Pied.

How do you choose your interviewees? Do you approach them personally or they came to you wanting to be interviewed?

I started the project with my former bosses and close friends. It was easiest, I didn’t have to cold call (or cold email.) As the project grew, and as I met more people, I reached out to them. It snowballed from there. I’m lucky to be in a position where so many giving people want to contribute their thoughts, now!

What are your criteria of whom to interview?

I started with designers, artists and writers. I would love to have more writers, and definitely more entrepreneurial types. Anyone who makes things, does things and is willing to share their thoughts, I’m game.

If you were to interview yourself, what advice would you give to other creatives?

Run with your idea, no matter how silly it is. Humble Pied was just a quick thought on archiving videos of my friends sharing advice for a few students. People resonate with real projects done, something tangible. So get your ideas out of your head, otherwise they’ll only ever be just ideas.

What are your future plans for Humble Pied?

I’ve got some people to schedule, some people to invite, some site tweaks to make. http://twitpic.com/3kle2p/full And I haven’t told anyone, but I’m looking to syndicate to iTunes so people can subscribe. Much more to come!

Very exciting Mig! Keep up the awesome work and we look forward to all the great things to come from you. So get pied and listen to what other creatives have to say! Here are some of our favorite video-advices from Humbled Pied’s archive: (We are thrilled to find a lot of recognizable names from the creative community!) “Ignore your job title.” —Alissa Walker “Follow the momentum.” —Jason Santa Maria “Become a problem finder, a problem explorer.” —Cameron Moll “Celebrate your lack of plan.” —Liz Dancizo “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life. —Jessica Hische “Don’t take things personally, and have a sense of humor!” —Katherine Walker “Rip something off.” —Jim coudal “Train your weaknesses, race your strengths.” —Frank Chimero “Learn the culture of a potential employer you admire. Be persistent, and do you homework.” —Justin Ahrens “Great designers are never content, struggling with a design is okay.” —Nick Campbell

Visit: HumbledPied.com Twitter: twitter.com/humblepied

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

Top 5 Bi-Weekly Designolosophies: 2nd Week of February

do-admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:00:47 +0000

“A designer has one foot in imagination and one in craft.” —Brian Collins

Who says we can’t have them all? It takes the left-brain and the right-brain to make it work. It takes two baby…

“The dumbest mistake is viewing design as something you do at the end of the process to ‘tidy up’ the mess, as opposed to understanding it’s a ‘day one’ issue and part of everything.” —Tom Peters

Here he’s trying to say for us to view design as a problem-solver not as a problem-patcher.

“Designers, we have the power to use design to move hearts, humanized the souls and save the world.” —Siska Flaurensia

A design quote by our own Chief Designolosopher. Basically, she wants you to use design to save the world. You are a hero in your own way whether you realized it or not. Start small, grow big.

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” —Antoine De Saint Exupéry.

Heard of the old K.I.S.S.? (Keep It Simple Stupid)

“If you can’t draw as well as someone, or use the software as well, or if you do not have as much money to buy supplies, or if you do not have access to the tools they have, beat them by being more thoughtful. Thoughtfulness is free and burns on time and empathy.” —Frank Chimero

In other words, when you start to CARE you will beat them.

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

cause/affect: An International Design Competition for DO-Gooders

do-admin — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:00:33 +0000

cause/affect is an international design competition that celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society. From a Flash driven website that engages and educates users in such a way that it takes the fear and anxiety out of earthquake preparedness, to a political campaign that calls attention to Chevron’s dirty practices throughout the world. For these DO-Gooders, making a mark means making a contribution—to their clients, to the design community, to those in greater need, and it usually starts with a sense of curiosity, care, and compassion for societal issues surrounding them locally or globally. These designers are doing what we call as “Using Design for a Cause to Affect the World Positively,” and we are here to celebrate their work. The competition is divided into seven categories: Community, Environment, Political, Education, Arts, Health & Welfare and Student. Top three winners will be chosen from each category and from that winning list, People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice will awarded. Below are our favorite winning work from 2009. Take a look and we hope these will inspire you to be a DO-Gooder yourself. For more information on cause/affect and how to enter the competition, please visit their website and follow them on twitter. Competition deadline is June 24th 2011. Note: Description of winning projects are taken from cause-affect.org

Brute Labs / projectOPEN

projectOPEN addresses the pervasive plight of homeless in Santa Monica. By organizing a map based index of local homeless resources, medical services, and laws that affect the lives of homeless people, we hope to empower through information. With a generous grant from UCLA, the BRUTE LABS team printed and distributed the maps. For more info, visit Brute Labs.

CLIF BAR & Company / Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge

Currently, 40% of urban trips are less than 2 miles, and cars are used for 90% of those trips! The Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge hopes to inspire necessary change by both challenging AND providing solutions for hurdles folks may have for not riding their bikes for short trips. Goal: less oil, less money — more fun! Includes mobile biodiesel tour, online interactive module, and smiles… Free of charge. Please visit us at 2 Mile Challenge.

Underground Advertising / Chevwrong Campaign

Underground Advertising’s “Chevwrong” campaign was created with Justice in Nigeria Now (JINN). Its goal was to call attention to the social, health and environmental impact of Chevron’s dirty practices through out the world. Visit for more info Underground Ads and Justice in Nigeria Now.

Worldstudio and Citizen Scholar / Design Ignites Change

Design Ignites Change promotes and encourages talented high school and college students across the country to use design thinking and innovation to create messages for, and solutions to, pressing social problems. The dynamic Design Ignites Change website showcases student work and engages viewers to learn about and join the program.World Studio, Citizen Scholar and Design Ignites Change.

Tomorrow Partners / Reading Rocket Bookmobile

Many Denver Public Schools lack funding to provide library access to kids. The “Reading Rocket” bookmobile, which is operated by the Denver Public Library, brings books and a renewed excitement about reading to under-served schools. Visit Tomorrow Partners and Denver Public Library.

Factor Design / SFIFF51—51st San Francisco International Film Festival Visual Identity Design

Now in its 51st year, the San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest running film festival in the Americas. Factor Design was engaged by the San Francisco Film Society to create the SFIFF 2008 identity. The design challenge was to celebrate the theme of diversity while visually uniting the inherently disparate subject matter and aesthetics of the participating films. actor Design’s solution, a system that incorporates a seemingly three-dimensional multicolored ribbon that interacts with still photography from the films, succeeds both functionally and conceptually: it brings cohesion to a multitude of event materials, from tickets to film trailers, while elevating the festival’s overarching mission. San Francisco Film society Executive Director Graham Leggat is thrilled with the results. “The ribbon is truly the spirit of the festival,” Leggat says. “Our tenets are discovery, exploration, and transformation, and the design encapsulates all three.” Factor Design and SFIFF.

Hybrid Design / Impact Teen Drivers Campaign

Hybrid designed educational materials (distributed to every sophomore classroom in California) to launch a public awareness campaign on distracted teenage driving. For all elements, we had to find a voice that didn’t sound like adults trying to talk to kids, or even worse, adults trying to talk like kids. Each piece in the campaign ends with a question, letting the audience arrive at their own answer. Campaign elements include a series of classroom posters; an accident probability wheel; t-shirts; documentaries that focus on the impact left when a teen dies in a car accident; and viral videos that humorously demonstrate the dangers of seemingly innocuous items. Hybrid Design.

I Shot Him / Quake Quiz

Set in home, work, outdoor and commuting environments, this Flash driven website engages and educates the user in a way that takes the fear and anxiety out of earth quake preparedness. QuakeQuiz.org is a graphically engaging quiz that provides valuable tips on what to do the moment you realize an earthquake is in progress and in the moments that follow. Be quake ready with Quake Quiz and San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. Also visit I Shot Him Because I Loved Him Damn Him.

Shawn Chung-Cheng Hsu / Rise of a New World

Rising sea levels are a reality because of global warming. We know the problem is becoming more serious. As a graphic designer, the goal of my project is to warn young people about this issue and send messages about other consequences of climate change in my project titled, “Rise of a New World.” It is in the form of a graphic novel and newly designed action figures to tell this fictional story of life in the year 2106. In this project, I am using new and different methods to express the issue of global warming. Visit his portfolio and also Rise of a New World.

Si Yeun Kim / Six Degrees—Pictorial Explanation of Global Warming

Climate change is a global issue, therefore should be communicated clearly throughout the world. The initiative of this project is to design a pictorial language that can visualize complex information in a simple way, and most importantly visualize it so that it can form a standardized understanding throughout the world, no matter what spoken or written language is used. Si Yeun Kim’s Portfolio.

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Twitter: @SiskaFlaurensia

Designolosophy

5 Great Resources for Interior Design Inspiration

Designolosopher: Adam Coholan

The Free Design Test Dilemma

Nicholas*, Dilemma #1: The Free Website Redesign Test

Carol*, Dilemma #2: The Free Client Brief Mockup Test

When It Comes to Relationships, We’re All Beginners.

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

An Inspirational Look inside the Architecture Design of Grand Palace Bangkok, Thailand

References:

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Recommended Book: A Project Guide to UX Design

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Top 5 Bi-Weekly Designolosophies: 4rd Week of February

“When I’m totally unqualified for a job, that’s when I do my best work.” —Paula Scher

“When it comes to redesigning a corporate culture, there’s no 10-step program.” —Gianfranco Zaccai

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” —Nick Lamb

“Design brings stories to life.” —Yves Behar

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Creativity Exposed: What is Creativity, Anyway?

1. Variance

2. The “Vu ja de” mentality

3. Breaking from the past

New Ideas come from old ideas

Further Reading:

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

HumblePied.com – Hey Creatives, Get Your Slice of Humble Pie here!

Why Humble Pied?

How long have you been running Humble Pied?

How do you choose your interviewees? Do you approach them personally or they came to you wanting to be interviewed?

What are your criteria of whom to interview?

If you were to interview yourself, what advice would you give to other creatives?

What are your future plans for Humble Pied?

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

Top 5 Bi-Weekly Designolosophies: 2nd Week of February

“A designer has one foot in imagination and one in craft.” —Brian Collins

“The dumbest mistake is viewing design as something you do at the end of the process to ‘tidy up’ the mess, as opposed to understanding it’s a ‘day one’ issue and part of everything.” —Tom Peters

“Designers, we have the power to use design to move hearts, humanized the souls and save the world.” —Siska Flaurensia

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” —Antoine De Saint Exupéry.

“If you can’t draw as well as someone, or use the software as well, or if you do not have as much money to buy supplies, or if you do not have access to the tools they have, beat them by being more thoughtful. Thoughtfulness is free and burns on time and empathy.” —Frank Chimero

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia

cause/affect: An International Design Competition for DO-Gooders

Brute Labs / projectOPEN

CLIF BAR & Company / Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge

Underground Advertising / Chevwrong Campaign

Worldstudio and Citizen Scholar / Design Ignites Change

Tomorrow Partners / Reading Rocket Bookmobile

Factor Design / SFIFF51—51st San Francisco International Film Festival Visual Identity Design

Hybrid Design / Impact Teen Drivers Campaign

I Shot Him / Quake Quiz

Shawn Chung-Cheng Hsu / Rise of a New World

Si Yeun Kim / Six Degrees—Pictorial Explanation of Global Warming

Designolosopher: Siska Flaurensia