Monday, June 29, 2009

The Wiser System

During the Spring term in the Langara College CS Communication and Ideation Design Program, I had the privilege of teaching a new course called - Independent Project. A class similar to that of Emily Carr's Senior Core Studio in which students were given the opportunity to choose their own topic/problem. They were to research its respective narrative and re-invent it for the better. As always, the students rose to the challenge and produced some promising results. I wanted to take the opportunity to share a certain project produced by Eugene Huh for its relevancy in our everyday lives.

From day one, Eugene wanted to help citizens make more rational, sustainable, decisions when buying products. His project was called "The Wiser System" and his goal was to influence consumers right at their particular point-of-purchase. Inspired by the Nutritional Facts labels on food products, he created a system that highlights a product's impact in three key areas: Environment, Social Welfare (community) and Personal Health.

To help convey his concept, he created a simply charming video reel using stop-motion animation and paper cutouts. Quite the fitting execution.



He also created 2 more reels in order to contextualize the real world application of the system on an iPhone (note: they're still in early stages - but his human sound effects are great).





A special thanks goes to Selma Zafar, Lisa Hemingway, Dean Ponto and Cindy Sheldan for their expert advice and encouragement to Eugene over the course of the term.

If you'd like to learn more from Eugene, feel free to contact him at eugene_huh@yahoo.com

~tyukawa

Monday, June 22, 2009

Enjoying Coffee







As a designer and an entrepreneur, I love making things, and if there is something I love to make, it’s coffee. Making a great latté requires attention to detail in the process of selecting, grinding, brewing, steaming and pouring the final product. During the daily activities of the design studio, we believe it’s important to stay connected to other crafts. Whether it be letterpress, cooking, or making coffee, we enjoy them all. If all else fails and we cannot make our own, there are a few coffee shops we believe are doing it right. They are (in no particular order):


Here are a few photos from the last round of coffees made in the studio.

Don.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

A beautiful building

I had the pleasure, this evening, of touring the Terminus building in Gastown. The Salient Group has done a wonderful job in collaboration with Acton Ostry Architects, Evoke International, Haebler Construction, and Inform Interiors to produce a harmonious blend of modernity and historicism in Vancouver’s Historic Gastown. Being a resident of Gastown, it’s really nice to see projects like this come to life. I only hope more developers are able to find ways to take traditional spaces and convert them into usable contemporary residents that are relevant to today. Here are a few of my pics from the tour.