I rarely go to the theaters anymore, so when I do I'm reminded of that song in Annie the musical. Can you find the M?
A design that depicts solidarity and hope in light of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris. A beacon shining from the Eiffel Tower amidst letters that spell 'vie' or life in French.
I do have a sour gummy addiction, but this was more of a response to Fed Up the documentary. Had a me questioning if we're all sugar addicts.
Excited to launch the site for Creative Habit. I've been asked so many times about the inspiration, motivation and findings from the project. So pleased I can share them with you now.
Attended Quartz's event The Next Billion about connectivity and the next billion internet users. Got me thinking about how design can aid connectivity in the third world where the barriers are largely economic.
Sometimes you find yourself in tricky situations, and you're in a sort of suspended limbo before you decide exactly what to do.
Going to the dentist is never fun, but everything does feel so clean and fresh after. I actually tried to couple my creative habit with flossing. So pairing a strong mental association with a weaker one should strengthen the weaker one, in theory. I have about a 90% success rate with flossing. Unfortunately we aren't pairing habits in a vacuum, and things like...oh finite quantities of willpower and fatigue come into play.
A new shoe purchase is imminent as is the weekend. Funny how you get punny at times like these.
Saturdays in the city are for exploring. Obviously less so as the weather gets colder, but the meandering lines, on a grid, through and around the type suggests a sense of openness and possibility punctuated by blocks of excitement and layers of discovery.
Inspired by the "How Posters Work" exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt and a weird dream involving clowns and the beach. Those things combined make for some pretty quirky geometry.
My good friend is in the throes of her anesthesiology residency and will say the most entertaining things at dinner including most recently: "it's fun titrating people's pain meds." Brings me back to pre-med classes with her and chem lab.
Inspired by some real life politics and the story of Alexander Hamilton and his longstanding rivalry with Aaron Burr that ended in a historical duel and his untimely death. Some neuroscience thrown in there for good measure. Science for the win.
Moved by Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Joyce Theater. A passionate and energetic performance that left me inspired. Also, recently read an article about motor imagery, how regions of the brain light up as we imagine executing movement. Put more elegantly: the limbs move, but the brain dances.
Going home to see the parents for Thanksgiving! Thanks mom and dad for picking me up at the airport. Also, people watching on planes in only the most entertaining past time, especially if reading/working gives you a headache.
Note to self: when carrying a laptop, blanket and various other snacks down the stairs in the dark, pay attention and don't think about the next side project you're starting. Inevitably you will misjudge where the landing is and fall and be icing various injuries for the rest of the night.
Some people do donuts with dad, but I do noodles. Yum! We're alway mixing and matching and using zesty bold flavors, which apparently inspires a graphic noodle party.
There's a friendly egret that hangs out near the lake at home. We've become friends, and I've named him Igor. That is all. Oh also I thought it would be fun to place him in an 'e' shaped lake.
Confluence of events that inspired this weird typographic exploration: 1) Sprinting through ATL Hartsfield Airport to catch a plane like a madwoman. Got lost. Got angry. Sprinted some more. 2) Interesting dream about falling and quicksand 3) Monday morning smacking me in the face.
F for fort. Typographic exploration with the tree branches inspired by 'the fort' one of my favorite places in Brooklyn. Was also feeling the greens.
Think about Flaubert on a train ride to Connecticut. "Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."
—Gustave Flaubert
I didn't know the origin of the phrase "think outside the box" until recently. It's heard so often and has somewhat become cliche. But its origin is quite interesting. Some attribute the phrase to solving the 9-dot puzzle in which one has to bisect all dots on a 9-dot grid using 4 straight lines. Most people stay within the box or grid and can't find the solution but it takes going beyond the box to solve the puzzle.
I've taken some artistic liberties with this collage, but you get the gist of the solution.
This creative habit is ironic in a way. As I was creating it in an effort to encourage myself, I thought to myself 'what if I don't like the result?'. So, really not trusting myself at all. Well, as it turns out, I didn't like what I'd made. It just goes to show how cerebral creativity is. And how negativity can affect what we create.
Spent some time at the Etsy Handmade Calvacade organized by Etsy sellers. Learned a bit about how the sellers as users interacted with the application and what they would like improved. It's very excited to see the hand-made trend back in full force.
There's a fantastic organization called Minds Matter that transforms the lives of underprivileged high school students with mentorship and guidance that prepares them for college success. It's an incredible difference that these volunteers make.
Making type out of small shapes and rules in interesting. It's a balance between including too many pieces or too few. I'd give my execution about a 6. It was a rough day for creative habit. But been doing a lot of thinking about what it takes to make projects successful. It's a lot of maneuvering and makign sure everything stacks up right, and it doesn't always go swimmingly well, but hey you stick it out and keep building.