Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Science is a verb now
I really like this t-shirt print and it's glow-in-the-dark to boot!
Created by Questionable Content and purchasable from Topatoco.
Created by Questionable Content and purchasable from Topatoco.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hong Kong and bad photography
I’ve been thinking hard about what t-shirt designs to print. I want to do something that relates to Hong Kong, while I’m still living here, but at the same time I want the designs to reflect things I’m interested in.
The theme I’ve decided on is to try to present the images of Hong Kong that captured my imagination when I first arrived. The three that immediately spring to ming are: the bustling markets, in particular Tai Yuen market, which is next to where I live; the improbably plumbed apartment buildings; and the heavily signed, busy shopping streets, in particular Sai Yeung Choi St. Although I want to capture the overall magical aspects of these places, I also want to show the understanding I've gained of them through living here. I'm hoping to achieve this by including the bits you don't notice when you first look at them, such as the bent-over men pushing cardboard carts, the roasted sweet-potato vendors standing over their unprotected gas burners and the boys that play between the rubbish bags behind their parent's market stalls.
My plan is that these images will be simple, hand-drawn (basically outlines) and probably predominately black and white (I want to only use colour to emphasise an aspect of a picture).
I took the photo below as a guide for how my market image might look. I've overexposed the image to try to simplify things, so I can use the outlines as the foundation for my line drawing. I’m not very good at photography, so stay tuned for more bad photography as I build up a collection of images to base my drawings on.
The theme I’ve decided on is to try to present the images of Hong Kong that captured my imagination when I first arrived. The three that immediately spring to ming are: the bustling markets, in particular Tai Yuen market, which is next to where I live; the improbably plumbed apartment buildings; and the heavily signed, busy shopping streets, in particular Sai Yeung Choi St. Although I want to capture the overall magical aspects of these places, I also want to show the understanding I've gained of them through living here. I'm hoping to achieve this by including the bits you don't notice when you first look at them, such as the bent-over men pushing cardboard carts, the roasted sweet-potato vendors standing over their unprotected gas burners and the boys that play between the rubbish bags behind their parent's market stalls.
My plan is that these images will be simple, hand-drawn (basically outlines) and probably predominately black and white (I want to only use colour to emphasise an aspect of a picture).
I took the photo below as a guide for how my market image might look. I've overexposed the image to try to simplify things, so I can use the outlines as the foundation for my line drawing. I’m not very good at photography, so stay tuned for more bad photography as I build up a collection of images to base my drawings on.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Looking for inspiration
Here is a bunch of cool stuff I've come across over the past few days:
1. This interview with Will Wright, where he talks about expanding into the "play industry." I think the concept behind Wright's Stupid Fun Club is fantastic.
2. The music video for Justice’s remix of “Let Love Rule” by Lenny Kravitz, directed by Keith Schofield. It's a refreshingly quirky video.
3. I really like the comic-book style cover McFaul Studio did for Computer Arts Projects - Issue 128. I'm thinking about incorporating a comic-style theme in my design of Silights.
4. These cool skateboard designs by Emil Kozak for LAB Kindergarten. I like his bold clear patterns and the 'do you remember' theme.
5. I think I need one of these t-shirts. The design is aptly titled 'Refill Required'. Glennz Tees via Gizmodo
1. This interview with Will Wright, where he talks about expanding into the "play industry." I think the concept behind Wright's Stupid Fun Club is fantastic.
2. The music video for Justice’s remix of “Let Love Rule” by Lenny Kravitz, directed by Keith Schofield. It's a refreshingly quirky video.
3. I really like the comic-book style cover McFaul Studio did for Computer Arts Projects - Issue 128. I'm thinking about incorporating a comic-style theme in my design of Silights.
4. These cool skateboard designs by Emil Kozak for LAB Kindergarten. I like his bold clear patterns and the 'do you remember' theme.
5. I think I need one of these t-shirts. The design is aptly titled 'Refill Required'. Glennz Tees via Gizmodo
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Photo Review of Honey BBQ Chicken Wings Potato Chips
Verdict: I'm a professional, don't try these at home!
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Silights instrumentality project
I’ve decided that working during the day as a corporate drone is not enough self-punishment. To address this, I’m going to take on several side-projects, which I will work on in my spare time.
The real purpose of these side-projects is to try to expand and develop my skills and experience in more innovate pursuits, with an ultimate aim of working in a more innovative industry in the future.
The five projects I’ve decided on are:
1. Silights re-design. In fairness, Silights does not have a design, so ‘re-design’ is somewhat of a misnomer. My goal is to draw-up several ideas, decide on an interesting and unique look for my blog and implement it. This probably sounds pretty basic to most people, but as I have never done anything like this before, it will be a challenge for me.
2. Weekly post about casual games and iPhone apps. This idea came about because I really enjoy playing casual games and ‘collecting’ iPhone apps, but I want to develop more of a critical eye about what works and what doesn’t. To force myself to be more critical, I’m going to try to provide a weekly commentary on the games and apps I’ve come across and am playing/using.
3. Make t-shirts. I’ve talked for years about making my own t-shirts, but have never actually done anything - but this is about to change. Once I move apartments (in the next few months), I’m going to pick-up a screen printing kit and print a few different t-shirt designs. I already have some ideas for prints and I’ve looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I envisage the first few attempts will be total disasters. I’ll make sure I take lots of photos, so you can all have a good laugh from the comfort of your browser windows.
4. Make an iPhone app. Similar to 2, my goal here is to draw up several ideas for iPhone apps and make them. I do not expect to make any commercially viable apps (though that would be nice), I just want to prove to myself that I can do it.
5. Make a simple computer game. I’m going to dream up, design, develop and create a simple 2D computer game. This project is the most ambitious because my programme skills are terrible (currently the only programming I do is designing excel macros in visual basic), but I also think it will be the most rewarding.
To force myself to be disciplined about recording my progress and for your entertainment, I will be posting a development diary for each of my projects. Don’t get too excited, as I have a somewhat onerous day job, I’m anticipating a long development time for these projects.
The real purpose of these side-projects is to try to expand and develop my skills and experience in more innovate pursuits, with an ultimate aim of working in a more innovative industry in the future.
The five projects I’ve decided on are:
1. Silights re-design. In fairness, Silights does not have a design, so ‘re-design’ is somewhat of a misnomer. My goal is to draw-up several ideas, decide on an interesting and unique look for my blog and implement it. This probably sounds pretty basic to most people, but as I have never done anything like this before, it will be a challenge for me.
2. Weekly post about casual games and iPhone apps. This idea came about because I really enjoy playing casual games and ‘collecting’ iPhone apps, but I want to develop more of a critical eye about what works and what doesn’t. To force myself to be more critical, I’m going to try to provide a weekly commentary on the games and apps I’ve come across and am playing/using.
3. Make t-shirts. I’ve talked for years about making my own t-shirts, but have never actually done anything - but this is about to change. Once I move apartments (in the next few months), I’m going to pick-up a screen printing kit and print a few different t-shirt designs. I already have some ideas for prints and I’ve looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I envisage the first few attempts will be total disasters. I’ll make sure I take lots of photos, so you can all have a good laugh from the comfort of your browser windows.
4. Make an iPhone app. Similar to 2, my goal here is to draw up several ideas for iPhone apps and make them. I do not expect to make any commercially viable apps (though that would be nice), I just want to prove to myself that I can do it.
5. Make a simple computer game. I’m going to dream up, design, develop and create a simple 2D computer game. This project is the most ambitious because my programme skills are terrible (currently the only programming I do is designing excel macros in visual basic), but I also think it will be the most rewarding.
To force myself to be disciplined about recording my progress and for your entertainment, I will be posting a development diary for each of my projects. Don’t get too excited, as I have a somewhat onerous day job, I’m anticipating a long development time for these projects.
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