the past couple of days i’ve been driven insane by a text rendering problem in firefox when using add-ons.

the problem appeared suddenly, so i wouldn’t be surprised if this is just user error on my part, but it renders my normal text as bold ONLY when viewing the site i am currently developing. you can see the comparison in the image above.

i’ve since just removed all add-ons, but that has left me feeling a bit vulnerable with no web developer, html validator, or firebug. i’m hoping that someone out there in the world will have some sort of suggestion for me, this thing is driving me nuts!

hej folks, are you drinkers? or have you learned the hard way that you can’t hold you’re liquor, beer, or cider, even on a full stomach? did you get hungry just before going out, making you realize that it wasn’t a good night to get proverbially wasted? if your answer was yes, then keep on reading for a (cynical) account of what might’ve happened to you.

so, you thought it was a good idea to get a caffé mocha instead of a cider tonight. and maybe you also thought to yourself, “hej, why not make it a large one while we’re at it!”

well kid, to be quite frank, that was a bad idea. because now you’re finding yourself unable to sleep and it’s 612 in the morning and you’ve been awake for the past hour.

you’ve tried breathing exercises, letting the thoughts pass through your mind without grabbing onto them, ignoring the slight pain in your stomach from all the caffeine, and all to no avail. heck, you even tried playing GTA on your iPhone before you went to sleep to see if you could completely exhaust yourself in a futile attempt at avoiding this very situation.

what do you now? why write a blog post of course! here’s what it should look like:

1. make sure it starts off with an attempt at being witty
2. write in the third person about someone who is obviously yourself
3. don’t make it a post, make it a rant
4. tell’em what you’ve been doing since you’ve been awake
5. make a list of the things you wrote about
6. stop before you embarrass yourself any further in front of your readership of > 5
7. next time remember to drink decaf tea instead

i’m elated to report that my rocks have made it through the first firing! after finally figuring out how to mix my porcelain, thanks to my friends eszti + noriko, i cast the rocks… more or less successfully!

the photo above is the current state of the rocks. the pin holes were a suggestion by my girlfriend, min, and i will expand upon the idea once returning from vacation.

ja, ha ~ hej!

i’m right in the middle of my second hdk project that will hopefully be shown this coming february at the 2010 stockholm furniture fair here in sweden and it has been quite an interesting experience.

first a little background, because i’m sure that the image of a rock above may be confusing to those that know my work from before.

–

i came to hdk with the idea that i would be focusing on the intersection between typography + language and using that to frame different aspects of culture and life. my first project (http://secondcities.net) focused on trying to unveil the daily treasures that help make a city what it is – to reveal its identity through Real-time Archaeology; documenting a place in the present for preservation of experiences and memories. to me this seemed like a good project to help orient me in the city and make me more aware of my surroundings. it was also intended as a segway into projects more specific to understanding of sweden and swedish culture.

now if we come to present day you can see above that i’ve been doing something completely unrelated. this was, in fact, by design and not by accident. our current course gives us the option to either create a product / object / furniture that may be exhibited at the furniture fair or to take part in the organizing / collateral design / exhibition design for the hdk stand at the fair. despite my initial interest in taking on one of the design roles, i thought that i should really push my boundaries and try to create a physical product – something i’ve never done before.

–

my object is a light in the form of a slip-casted porcelain rock that i collected from an island here in göteborg called brännö (about 1 hr away by public transit, including ferry). in my life i have had numerous experiences where the role of light has been significant either in creating the atmosphere that allowed for the experience or by acting as a way for me to recall those memories. here is a (romantic) excerpt from my project description:

why do we choose to create in our own personal caves with lights dimmed, screens glowing, and surrounded by the dark; make friends over coffee in the warm light of candlesin the pitch black afternoon; gather around the fire when we have nothing but the forest around us and sky above; or fall in love as the sun rises, casting its gentle warmth against the early morning clouds?

by using light sources and hand processes (thereby creating a pure + direct translation from ideation to implementation) i will create the possibility for a better world by giving the opportunity for people to bond, find a meeting of minds, and understand each other through the shared experience of conversation and silent moments.

more to come later, i’m excited to see how this turns out.

without further adieu, i’m excited to announce that the my first project at hdk, SecondCities/Göteborg is ready for (semi) public unveiling!

Tokyo, New York, London, Stockholm, Seoul – while these ‘First Cities’ of the world lay claim to the highest populations, busiest streets, and fanciest clothes, they fail to impress with their big city attitude and glossy veneer.

Second Cities across the world – whether they are the places we were born and raised, studied in or passed through on our way to somewhere else – captivate us with their down-to-earth lifestyles, friendly people and underground cultures like no other place can. They are all inextricably linked through the sharing of certain common characteristics that are inadequately described in purely academic analysis. This project aims to unearth these areas of overlap + connection.

please take a minute to check out the site and get an on-the-ground-view of this amazing city: http://goteborg.secondcities.net

also, i’d love to hear any feedback here in the comments or via e-mail.

despite the designer fantasy of creating big brand logos, high-end boutique packaging, and fancy books, the reality is that keeping the simple things interesting is what makes us tick day-in, day-out.

prior to leaving albertson design in august, i was doing a lot of work with the bardessono hotel / restaurant / spa in napa valley, california. this little project was a membership card for their coffee club – i had fun coming up with this design that incorporated a date stamp and silver metallic ink to make this otherwise simple card have a touch of human hand.

one of the disappointments with canon is that their cameras are either large and well-built, or small and feel like toys. i was originally planning on buying a new 7d, but the honest truth is that after seeing it in person i had no desire to carry around a medium sized rock in my bag all day. the k-7 on the other hand appears to be a much smaller package, and with that lens i mentioned above i should have a great package to carry around with me daily.

enough of this anticipation, i’ll have a more in depth review and first-hand reaction later this week!

for me, this is quite a bit change in the type of project and medium i work with. coming from a rather traditional graphic design background with some dabbling in web design + development as well, making my first foray into the world of product design is quite a daunting task. while there is no doubt in my mind that i can adapt my process to this new way of thinking, i can’t help but be a little bit intimidated!

the framework that the design masters grade 1 (dm1) students are working with is the idea of play – yes, quite an abstract concept. it seems like the course is constructed to help the school launch their child culture design programme, the door of opportunity has been left wide open and i intend to fully embrace it.

my project will find my concerning myself mostly with lighting to help create chances to share and learn from ourselves and friends in 1:1 encounters and small group gatherings. as i have been jotting down ideas tonight, i realized how intertwined light and the atmosphere it helps create affect mood and conversation, and how that in turn makes it possible for people to open up, feel closer, and share with each other. obviously, this is not a finished concept, but i’m quite excited with this start and am looking forward to my first group tutoring session tomorrow morning to start getting feedback.

i had a great meeting with staffan @ kvarnen studio this past week.

we’re currently in the process of developing the information architecture for the new website. we are both learning a lot about what the studio does and what image + information is important for it to project through this site relaunch. what started as a very formal assessment of content has turned into a conversation about the larger goals of the studio and subsequently developing ways to help visitors understand their philosophy + working process.

the big breakthrough this week was the creation of a format for each case study to take. the intention is to show the process, personality, and thinking of the studio through the documentation of an entire project – a look into the relationship between kvarnen studio + their clients.

we also came up with an exciting idea for showcasing the final project, but i’ll leave that for another post – it is friday evening and time to get going!

exciting news!

i’ve recently started work on my first job here in sweden designing + developing a website for göteborg’s kvarnen studio. the studio was co-founded by my friend, staffan and is focused on creating high quality design while incorporating a sustainable design process. they are working with everything from eco-friendly coffins to home-built recycling bins made from ikea furniture parts – quite an interesting range!

i’ll be posting updates as this project progresses – my first time to blog an entire project from beginning to end – which will hopefully yield some worthwhile conclusions and documentation about my process. bare with me though as i’m a newbie in this realm!

the logo above was designed by nicklas heltman.

over the past 5 weeks or so things at school have gone from totally relaxed to the beginnings of what will be full on craziness.

a little background: our class has about 19 people in it right now from all over the world. the majority are from sweden (no surprise there), but the rest of us come from thailand, korea, japan, and the united states (that would be me). among us are product designers, industrial designers, illustrators, graphic designers/artists, interior architects, and more. to say that none of us intend to wear just one hat in the next two years would be a complete understatement. rather, the brilliance of the program is the shared knowledge that we have together as one unit combined with the desire to crossover the traditional boundaries we face as ‘designers’.

we have been broken up into discipline specific groups as well as mixed groups to encourage quality feedback and exposure. the first few group and individual meetings with teachers and students yielded rather few results, but today – after having shown our portfolios to each other last week – we all got to see the progress being made on our individual projects.

i took the picture above this afternoon during our mixed group meeting. you can see our teacher, ulf (far right), discussing tommy’s work (left) while albert looks on in the foreground. everyone is working on quite different projects at this point, and it is really inspiring to be in this kind of environment.

but don’t just take my word for it, to give a little bit of insight to the type of work being done in class right now, take a look at this flickr set. i think you will be inspired by what you see.

no matter what i do, i can’t escape japan.

today might be more than three years since i left, but i’m still a bit caught off guard with how much that experience has affected me. maybe that is the beauty of being lost in translation. unfortunately, i’ve never been able to explain it very well in words, so here it is (one more time):

i think i just left part of me there forever, and sometimes i’d like to be able to get back to where that is.

yesterday i went with some friends out to vrångö, one of the islands in the archipelago just outside of göteborg. despite the chilling wind we managed to enjoy our time outdoors on the ocean. there’s nothing like getting away from the computer screen for a couple hours and experiencing life out by the sea and under the sun.

last weekend i finally ran out of clean clothes. fortunately, minyup also ran out of clean clothes while he was crashing here and we both decided to do laundry together.

unfortunately, we put too many clothes in the dryer and ended up with wet, wet clothes and had to leave them hanging around the apartment for 2 days before they dried out (some of them ended up pretty stinky and will need a re-wash). such is learning how to live in a new place (we also almost bought fabric softener instead of detergent).

my friend minyup has recently started playing the ukulele. he is actually quite good and has been playing ‘rain drops keep falling on my head’ the past week or so. i would be lying if i didn’t admit that as a result the song has gotten stuck in my head a few times.

here is a low quality recording from my iphone, but thought it would be nice to share some of the hdk experience.

listen to minyup!