I just recently returned from a 5-week trip to South East, South, and East Asia. Among the places I visited were Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka, Bangkok, Singapore, and Beijing.
Here’s a selection of fun digital Lomo photos that I took with my digital toy (i.e. fake) Lomo camera. These auto toy camera filters have their uses! Pretty fun to use, I must say. Saves a tonne of hours in the dark room, that’s for sure. Enjoy!
Hopefully I can get the post production/editing of my Burma and Sri Lanka photos done relatively soon. I shot those with my “real” camera (Pentax SLR). I shot loads of those photos, and the files are HUGE, so will take a while to edit…. Stay tuned!
One of my latest projects included a logo design for Rosalee Yagihara, director of Sumitra Media. It was a fun and challenging project. Rosalee asked for something that was whimsical, tribal, hand-crafted, contemporary, chic, et al., and which also contained owls. I was scratching my head, for sure. Lucky for me, Rosalee provided me with quite a few images of things that she liked—mostly being illustrations of hand-drawn owls.
I started by drawing an owl, experimenting with different shapes, faces, features, angles, and textures. When I came up with one that I thought was acceptable, I scanned the drawing and converted it to vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator. I then coloured the drawing and added typographic elements, and sent it off to Rosalee for feedback.
We went back and forth that way a few times until she was satisfied with the product. We both agree that it’s a fun and playful piece, and also reflects Rosalee’s vibrant and dynamic personality.
To learn more about Sumitra Media and all her fascinating projects, check out her site at sumitramedia.com.
I recently completed a project for Deborah Calloway, Law Professor, University of Connecticut School of Law. Deborah approached me a few months ago, with an incredible manuscript which she wanted to self-publish as a book.
Over the course of a few months, Deborah and I worked together to design, format, and layout her manuscript. In addition, she asked me to create a number of custom illustrations to help explicate the book’s content.
I coordinated the print production, and worked directly with the print shop, making sure to follow their print requisites, as well as review all the hard and soft copy proofs before going to press. I further assisted Deborah with the ISBN code registration, purchase, et al.
The final book measures 6×9 inches, 352 pages, perfect bound, edition of 1500, was printed in the US and then shipped directly to Deborah in Connecticut.
It was a real joy working on this project, because Deborah was not only a gracious and kind client, the content of her book was very compelling. This book is certainly not just for lawyers! It would be a valuable resources for anyone who has a high-stress work environment/career.
Her book is available for purchase here: http://www.vajraechoes.com/product_p/dac-colon-bjl2012bk.htm
Did you read my last post? About how Feng Shui and the Four Pillars of destiny can be incorporated into designs? Well, I did something similar for Samantha Plovie of Chi Solutions, only this time it was a website (rather than business card).
I had designed a website for Samantha a few years ago. At the time, I was asked to design something with a lot of fire, and some wood. That website was predominantly red, with some green accents.
A few weeks ago, Samantha approached me saying that she had since acquired new information (about her birth time) which had completely changed her Four Pillar chart. The revised chart indicates that she needs a lot of water, with a bit of metal, wood, and fire.
We maintained the same “wire frame” of the first website, but just made a new skin for the site, based on the newest colour requirements. So, Samantha’s new site is a silvery grey, with white, red, and green accents.
In addition, I worked closely with Samantha so that the site not only included all the Feng Shui requirements, but that it also suited her and reflected her bright and unique personality.
To check out the new Chi Solutions website, follow this link: chisolutions.ca.
There are many types of clients out there, not excluding family members! I’m lucky that my mom trusts my graphic design abilities, enough to actually hire me to design her business collateral.
Teresa Hwang is a Feng Shui Master, and her design requisites are much different than your average clients’. Most of the time, I’m asked for designs like “fun, chic, classic, modern, elegant, etc” and when Feng Shui and Chinese astrology is involved, there’s a whole extra layer of requirements…
Feng Shui includes Chinese Astrology and one’s own “Four Pillars” destiny chart. According to our individual Four Pillars charts, each of us has a different destiny, which is expressed in the 5 elements, 12 animals, and yin/yang. The Four Pillars chart is calculated based on the year, month, day, hour, and place of our birth. All these elements play a role in our respective destinies. Once a Four Pillars expert (like my mom) analyzes and interprets our chart, they may recommend that we enhance more of certain elements to bring more balance into our chart (i.e. lives). So, some folks may need fire, and some need more water (or earth, metal, wood) or any combination of these.
My mom, in particular, needs water, with a little bit of metal and fire. She asked me to incorporate these elements into her new business card design. I did so by using dark blues and wavy shapes (water), with hot pink and white accents (fire and metal).
Designing with Feng Shui in mind is always a challenge, but who’s not up for a good challenge, eh? 
Feel free to check out more about Teresa Hwang here: teresahwang.com.
