Touchdown 6:45am

Landed sleepy and bleary-eyed in New York this morning at a quarter to seven after an all-night flight. The sunrise was beautiful. The assault of the sudden cabin lights on my senses was not. After the pilot announced our arrival at JFK, I gathered my carry-ons and proceeded the mass exodus to baggage claim. On the way I managed to snap a quick pic (above) through the terminal window.

The hostel where I'm staying is much nicer than I thought it would be (which I am sure my Mom would be relieved to know). Its filled with international travelers, many of whom speak French. (FRENCH! Dare I test my abilities with these experts?? But if I'm left looking stupid, at least I tried, right?) The hostel has a mini cafe, a game room, an internet room (where I'm currently seated) and a reading room on the lobby floor. AND this place is only a 15min train ride from the design conference site ... sweet.

Ok, I'm off exploring now.

Expressive Typography

food type

An exercise in figurative typography:

"Using figurative typography or symbols, create a concept poster. Choose a minimum of one descriptive word." Ok. I have four words illustrated in type. Now I must combine these elements into a poster...

What is Graphic Design?

On a rainy Wednesday morning, I walk to the bus stop. I am carrying my book bag, my computer bag, my toolbox, a lunch, and my oversized portfolio case slung over my right shoulder. As I try to free a hand to open my umbrella, a woman who is already waiting at the stop watches me with intrigue. “You an artist?” she asks. “Sorta. I’m studying graphic design.” “Oh yeah? What’s that?” “It’s everything,” I smile. Three years of design school have taught me that graphic design is ubiquitous. It is the coffee cup we sip from on our way to work. It is the website we comb in search of new information. It is the sign we read that tells us where to go. It surrounds us. It permeates our environments and influences our culture. It is persuasive, powerful, and when done correctly, absolutely transparent. “Do you ever notice packaging? Or look at traffic signs or websites?” I ask the woman. “You build websites?” Her eyes brighten with recognition. “Well … yeah, that too,” I say, trying to allude to my discipline’s enormity. To know it by one name only is not to see it in its entirety. “Basically,” I say, “I help people communicate their ideas to other people.” “Hmm,” she says, “sounds useful.” I smile, “it is.” What is design? It is information with meaning, the language of the creative mind, planned visual communication. It is changing. It is you, it is me. It is and always will be.

Viewing the world differently

Proud owner of a new canon dslr!

Eames weekend cont'd

After the guided tour of the Eames house (outside only, the inside is not for the public) we are free to roam around the estate and shoot pictures. There is a lot to capture and the scenery is beautiful. What luck to able to spend a semester learning about these two fabulous designers, and to experience something as intimate as visiting their home. After this event, we visit the beach and brace ourselves for the long, rainy drive home.

Eames all day

Road trip!!!

Some classmates and I are driving down to Santa Monica to visit the office of Ray and Charles Eames and meet the legendary designers' grandson, Eames Demetrios. Our day trip starts early, 3:30 in the morning to be exact. I am the last stop before the freeway, so after Liz and the guys pick me up we'll began our trip.

We arrive in Santa Monica six hours later due to making good time on the freeway. We have many hours to kill before our evening event, so we grab a bite to eat and visit the beach.

Beautiful! what a nice change of weather from Sacramento's rain.

7pm rolls around and we make our way over to the Eames office. The party doesn't officially begin until 8 but, as excited as we all are, we wait patiently in our parked car, snapping pictures from across the street like a bunch of stalkers.

Finally! 8pm we're freezing from being outside and the Eames office is warm and inviting ... and has food! We nibble on hors d'œuvre and peruse all of the neat displays.

Neat-o shirts for sale.

Photo ops for everybody.

We also got authentic screen-printed designs for only ten bucks a pop!

Us was there!

What a wonderful evening! Before driving back to Sacto, we are offered an invitation to visit the Eames house tomorrow morning. We are so there. We crash at my friend Sam's place for the night.