Show Your Gratitude!

When I first arrived in California, I knew I needed one my of staples satisfied: SUSHI! After poking my head into a couple of restaurants with pre-cut, small pieces of fish in their bar coolers, I was so happy when an open, beaded doorway promised "Sushi Special." When inside, I instantly felt good. Maybe it's the fact that the walls are nearly covered in the green stuff. Dollar bills expressing gratitude and love. I don't know about you; I don't need my sushi restaurants to be very fancy...I do need great service, generous cuts of fish, and hot edamame and Tomo Sushi on San Fernando in Burbank delivers. The salmon sashimi = 5 enormous pcs. Spider roll = freshly cooked soft shell crab, and veggies. The white tuna = epic. Did I express my gratitude? Oh yes, and I keep going back...recommending to friends, and being generous with the green stuff.

Sustainable Use: Use Fewer Resources

"The use of biological resources in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biological diversity." Shown above: David Trubridge's Coral Pendant Light. Uses: plantation-grown hoop pine untreated plywood.

Have been offline for a while during my move out to California. Check out some of the posts below, as I just added several today.

Do Ergonomics Sell Product?

I was at the grocery store recently and needed deoderant. The oddly shaped bottles of Secret attracted my attention for sure, but really. Even though the bottle fits both right and left hands beautifully, AND contains less, will NOT make me purchase it. Would it improve my 'experience' of putting on deoderant in the morning into some life-altering one? Lemme think about it... Other companies are guilty of trying to make their product more 'sexy' by adding ergonomic features. Take Banana Boat. 'Sure, let's throw some grip indentations on it so when you have the slimy lotion all over your hands, you don't drop the bottle!' There's a catch though consumers, lefties may need to turn the cap around...er, if it will move. Hmmm...

CarrotMob–Start Yours Today For Change

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Want to reward a company for it's commitment to be Green? Start a CarrotMob in your town, city, 'Burb. Watch the video and see what you think!

Please Lock Door!

Love this hand-drawn diagram for a door lock on a bathroom door at my favorite tea place. I didn't even think that the door might be unlocked when I turned the small knob...until I saw the drawing! AND, twisted the knob on the inside, which turns even when locked.

It's A Rally Weekend!!

Enjoy!!

More Cars...Driven and Designed

I'm back at my computer after finishing the One Lap of America race a week ago. Shown in the photo is my co-driver, Mike in his 2007 Civic Si. If you've never heard about the One Lap before, it's a week of driving to a different track a day (sometimes two tracks per day). Add on top of that hotel breakfast food (hard boiled eggs, yum), at least one cheeseburger per day (I just couldn't do the cheese about midweek), unloading/loading the car daily, and driving late into the night for your reward: a hot shower and a bed at Holiday Inn Express. Mike and I switched off on the driving--both racing and the transits--Mike was lucky, he got the rain days. The trek started and concluded at the South Bend, Indiana Tire Rack headquarters and otherwise proceeded as follows: Indiana to Iowa to Texas to Louisiana to South Carolina to Virginia to Pennsylvania and back to Indiana!!! Phew-a little over 4000 miles-not counting track time! There are lots of photos to browse online on the One Lap of America site and Flikr. Thanks go to all of the event organizers, people who fed us, timing and scoring, people who kept checking in via phone and emails, all night gas stations and GPS!! I know I'm not mentioning everyone, but I am grateful to everyone that made this a life-changing experience for me! One that I will treasure for a long time...I guess until I do another One Lap! Thank you! Thank you!!!


Thanks goes to Bill for putting up this image of Matthew Johnson's new Open Class rally car. Matthew and I worked hard over the winter to design this graphics package for it. I'm very happy it turned out so well!! I know that Hankook Tires and RalliSpec will be thrilled with how this design shows up in print and video!

Gas Prices? What Alternatives?

Just saw a special on PBS' NOVA Car of the Future. This is just a teaser ad for NOVA, but you'll get the idea. Does America have alternatives? Sun and wind can power our homes and businesses, but cars? Driving through Kansas, there are many windmills being installed to farm the wind energy. So much talk is about cars, what about trucking? Would Colani's truck designs be an option? I have heard up to 70% more efficient than current day?

Airline Seats

SOLUTION:
After traveling in a economy class seat this month, I once again state that something must improve about airline seating. For my graduate thesis project, I presented a concept that would certainly raise my fare, but would be worth it!! My project intent: to define an individual space for a person traveling in 'economy plus' on an airplane.

Pssst! Can You Hear Me?

I'm a bit concerned. Apparently, as a way to market an upcoming show, the use of hypersonic sound makes it sound like you have someone whispering in your ear. Without your permission. It's covered in an article in Wired Magazine called "It's All in

Your Head" which also talks about TMS. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation...a process where parts of your brain are stimulated and your behavior and motor skills are effected. Now in the case of epilepsy, TMS seems like a great development. But my question is: Is impending mind control on the horizon? Could the experiments in the book I recommended (The Brain That Changes Itself) become commercial...like learning to play the piano? Let's see, how can we market THAT?!

I don't know about you, but I don't want people poking around in my brain unless I ask them to. As a creative person, what happens to say, proprietary ideas and information? Recent movies like Minority Report, Paycheck, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have ventured into the realms of digging around in our brains, as well as numerous other media. That notwithstanding, our basic privacy is at stake here if the view is only 'mind/people control.' What if instead, a collective group of people all agreed to have their brains connected to create solutions for the world? I stand for possibility. I have been often called idealistic, but I am not afraid of dreaming...even if someone might be listening. Hey wait, maybe they're not MY dreams!?

At the Conference on World Affairs I attended recently, I genuinely got the message that it's up to "WE THE PEOPLE" to take a stand for our rights and liberties. The article in Wired says the same thing in its closing. Our civll liberties sound like they are increasingly at risk. How did we get here? By being apathetic...and feeling powerless. I've heard over and over again that the greater percentage of wealth is controlled by the smallest percentage and while that may be a fact, that very statement stunts possibility. I say it's time for the growing 'middle class' to take a stand. If we are growing and we unite, we are the majority!

60th Conference on World Affairs

In the foothills of the Flatirons at CU Boulder today, I went to a couple of panels at a conference discussing world affairs (click on name above for the link). Super interesting and it was great to hear various concerns. The two panels I attended were the "Advice for the Next President" and "Third Party Spoilers". If you click on the link, go to Fridays schedule and you can find out more about the topics and panelists.

Off the top of my head, some of the advice consisted of keeping on the current secretary of state for one more year with the new president to help navigate the Middle East; get clear about the role the US has in the world--one all about power vs part of a global community; nuclear power; and really, really, really consider how global warming effects jobs. We ID people that attended the national IDSA conference in San Fran got a big earful about how our industry needs to be uncompromising about the topic of sustainability and green manufacturing. And on another note, interestingly, when the democratic candidates were mentioned, curiously, Clinton's name was omitted on several occasions... Hmmm?! Do they know something we don't?

Anyway, I digress.
The second panel was very entertaining and informative to say the least. Overall there was great discussion about 'Third Party Spoilers' like Ralph Nader and the like. The very opinionated and most eloquent of the bunch there was Jello Biafra. I enjoyed him because his rhetoric was buoyed with what actually made sense backed by facts. He blew the other panelists away.

There is hope for us all yet, the consensus was, as long as we at the grassroots level stand for what we believe in. In any event, the sessions were recorded and there might be access to them somehow, somewhere. If I hear of anything, I will post!

Cars...I Love Them, Now and in the Future

Some sketches I did a while ago...have you seen the movie Minority Report? Strangely, my sketch looks similar.

Transumerism

This is one reason I love www.trendwatching.com: The term Transumerism. Did you know that you can 'borrow' almost anything? Quick and easy and without the full price? Okay, so cars and houses are a given, but the latest jewelry designs, electronics and practical stuff? Stuff that you want right now and hesitate to jump at because it 'costs too much,' 'will be out of date before you can afford it,' or 'will break before I pay it off.'
Here's a quote:

What's to like, for TRANSUMERS? A mix of:
:: Avoiding hassle: the more stuff you permanently own, the more you have to worry about: repairs, going out of style, theft and so on.
:: The latest and greatest: with ever shorter product development cycles, leasing ensures consumers can always enjoy the latest and the greatest.
:: Multiple experiences: TRANSUMERS with a limited budget can now, instead of owning one single expensive object, rent, enjoy, then dispose of many different objects, maximizing the number of experiences.
:: Climbing the ladder (MASSCLUSIVITY and UBER PREMIUM): status-conscious consumers resort to luxury fractional ownership because it's the only way for them to be able to flaunt (both established and new) status symbols.

Now, I recognize this is not a new idea...and might explain why there appear to be knock-off products in almost every category. For me, the experience is the lure. And the real beauty of the idea is that it fits every consumer segment (self-expressive, careful indulgers, impulsives, conflicteds, and bargain hunters)! Beautiful. Here's what I'd like to experience:

Watch Rendering in Illustrator

This is a watch rendering I did today in Illustrator and Photoshop. Fun exercise. More to come.

High Plains Raceway in Byers, CO

Here's a YouTube simulation of the new track in Colorado driven in a BMW M3-GT for those who are interested. The downshifts in this sim are a bit much, but the track looks like it has respectable elevation change, blind corners, and off camber bits. Can't wait to drive it! Here's what the video post says:

An in car view from a race prepped M3 of the new High Plains Raceway east of Byers, CO. This version includes new configurations for T3 & T4 and has accurate camber. Curbing is only estimated at this time and has been exagerrated for the sake of the sim.

Enjoy!

Denver Auto Show

I couldn't believe there were so many people on a Sunday morning poking around new cars. I shouldn't be so surprised. There are as many gearheads as race car fanatics here in the mountains. We've also had quite a few spring-like days in Denver, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who is eager for winter to be over (there was snow on the ground this morning).

Sadly, the Denver Auto Show doesn't really attract any concept cars, but several long awaited releases were there. The BMW 1 series was attracting a big crowd. And I was amazed that VW is living up to its claim to release 7 new models about 4 years ago. There weren't 7 new ones there, but the EOS, GLI and Tiguan showed up very well. I realize the photo is of the old and new Rabbit...classics are sometimes hard to beat.

It doesn't take much for my feelers to direct me to performance cars and the Nissan GT-R didn't disappoint. Photographs in the mags don't really tell the story. I also like that the taillights are round instead of the angular ones in earlier photos. Oh, and don't forget the new shape of Subaru's STI...fastbacks are back...en force! Everyone seems to have one!! Are we looking for less drag? To use less gas?

Otherwise, the other big excitement for me was being able to talk to Karl at the RM SCCA booth about the new track being built east of the Denver Airport. After losing Secondcreek, which was pretty much in our backyard, this new track promises some good elevation change, safe run-off and flatout corners-I'm told not for the faint of heart.

When a friend joined me, our focus was on smaller, economy cars. But tell me something. Why aren't these cars getting better MPG? Unless you get a hybrid, you're looking on average of between 24city to 35hwy? Hmmm. I do not own an economy class car and that's what I get. Guess I'll have to look at hydrogen.

What Does Humanity Have In Common?

Here's a review about the book I'm currently reading:

From Publishers Weekly--For years the doctrine of neuroscientists has been that the brain is a machine: break a part and you lose that function permanently. But more and more evidence is turning up to show that the brain can rewire itself, even in the face of catastrophic trauma: essentially, the functions of the brain can be strengthened just like a weak muscle. Scientists have taught a woman with damaged inner ears, who for five years had had "a sense of perpetual falling," to regain her sense of balance with a sensor on her tongue, and a stroke victim to recover the ability to walk although 97% of the nerves from the cerebral cortex to the spine were destroyed. With detailed case studies reminiscent of Oliver Sachs, combined with extensive interviews with lead researchers, Doidge, a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Columbia and the University of Toronto, slowly turns everything we thought we knew about the brain upside down. He is, perhaps, overenthusiastic about the possibilities, believing that this new science can fix every neurological problem, from learning disabilities to blindness. But Doidge writes interestingly and engagingly about some of the least understood marvels of the brain. (Mar. 19) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

And another one:

Oliver Sacks--Only a few decades ago, scientists considered the brain to be fixed or "hardwired," and considered most forms of brain damage, therefore, to be incurable. Dr. Doidge, an eminent psychiatrist and researcher, was struck by how his patients' own transformations belied this, and set out to explore the new science of neuroplasticity by interviewing both scientific pioneers in neuroscience, and patients who have benefited from neuro-rehabilitation. Here he describes in fascinating personal narratives how the brain, far from being fixed, has remarkable powers of changing its own structure and compensating for even the most challenging neurological conditions. Doidge's book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain.

As an designer, graphics and industrial, the accounts in this book add to my empathy of others and give me a feeling of faith that 'where there is a will, there is a way.' I'm halfway through the book now and yes, I am saying a 'will' allows for new possibilities in creating tools and products that enhance our experience. I am not a scientist, but am interested in how things work...including our physiology. Our physiology is a machine that my industry has been attempting to pick apart to profit from and, I think increasingly, improve life on earth.

DWR Design the Modern Snowboard Event--Success!

The evening at the DWR in Cherry Creek went super! The snowboard designs were diverse and prompted plenty of discussion. Good thing too as the winning snowboard was chosen by public ballot! Besides the debate over the designs, there was plenty of music and refreshments supplied by Fourteener Vodka (out of Boulder), Hapa Sushi and DJs Sharpshooter and Guy! So fun!

I've included a few photos from the event, including the winner of the competition and his board. His design will appear as a top sheet on a K2 snowboard and proceeds will go to Snowboard Outreach Society to get at-risk kids out on the slopes riding!! : )

Design Within Reach Design the Modern Snowboard Event

Community...
Tonight is the night that my snowboard design will be judged...among designs from the Denver community of graphic designers that were invited to participate! Amy, the proprietor of the Denver DWR location knows a bit about me, so I am honored that my name keeps popping up in her talent pool!

My Mission
Design a 'modern' snowboard for K2 Snowboards, the Snowboard Outreach Society and Design Within Reach Denver to raise awareness and funds for SOS through sales of the winning design produced on a K2 snowboard. The design brief also included three words: Humility, Simplicity and Believer that represented each company.

Research is always my first step. The recent Ride Snowboards design contest featured skulls/skeletons, images of gambling icons, cyan/yellow/magenta colors, and street art. When I asked people from Colorado which designs were the most appealing, I was surprised. The feedback I got was muted colors, simple design, fluorescent is okay on the bottom. Hmmm.

I have to say that I am driven by what resonates. Not always an easy thing to do, evidenced by showing some of my early attempts to people I know are deep in snowboarding love and knowledge. One design looked 'too spiritual' and the other design was a cool idea, but too simple. The current design has faired much better!! The background graphic uses K2's snowboarding logo with subtle use of SOS's snowflake logo. On top of that, topography lines depict mountain terrain and words of aspiration (not inspiration) replace altitude. The words: Humility, simplicity, believer, courage, wisdom, discipline, carefree, grace and truth.

So, onto the show!!

Denver Design Council Design After Dark Fundraiser

When Steve Chucovich of Architecture Denver invited me to collaborate with a team to develop and fabricate an "object of desire," I was psyched! The 'object' would be auctioned off at the Design After Dark Gala called 'ISH' held by the Design Council of the Denver Art Museum in February '08: http://www.denverartmuseum.org/utility/calendar/eventDetails/eventId--168505

The team consisted of an architect (Steve), a metalworks sculptor (Ira), a fashion designer (Nancy) and an industrial designer (me!). The kickoff for the project was a gathering to select a our 'ISH' word and object of desire (a piece from a well-known designer). Our team selected the word 'stylish' and the Ghost Chair. With word and form in hand, our departure point was established!

At the conclusion of many meetings to brainstorm, sketch, and play with materials, our mission statement went like this:
"The piece is about movement and transformation, texture, transparency and form both indeterminate and defined. The female shape both a sensual and artful ideal, breaks down and transforms using machine-like prosthetic elements as activators to deconstruct and evolve into a indeterminate ethereal form of complex folded transparent and reflective surfaces and spaces."

At the gala, our piece generated a art acquisition price of $650!! Success!! Here's the article the Denver Post wrote: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_8191287