New Site Launch: Kozai Modern Organic

We've recently completed the new website for Kozai Modern Organic. They make the most beautiful hardwood furniture and lighting that I've ever seen. After taking one look at their product line(s) - we decided to create a quiet interface that respectfully allowed the furniture to shine thru.



A lot of credit has to go to the talented Ryan Ilg who was responsible for building the site. The base of the site is in Flash but don't let the swishiness fool you. We spent a lot of time making sure the site successfully met corporate criteria such as Flash generated ULR's and a sustainable database driven by XML.

Thanks so much to Ron and Hideki, the wonderfully creative partnership at Kozai for all their support and creative input during the project.

Have a peak if you wish

See related Kozai post

~tyukawa

Tak helps with the RETHINK Scholarship

A sound teaching relationship with the Communication and Ideation Program at Langara College has given Tak Yukawa the privilege to be a judge for the Rethink Scholarship.

The judging panel:
- Dr Shelley Gruendler, head of CID at Langara College
- Ian Grais, founding partner and co-creative director of RETHINK
- Rob Tarry, group creative director of RETHINK
- Tak Yukawa, partner and co-creative director of Free Agency Creative

The initiative is a joint effort between Rethink and Langara College to nurture and develop promising young talent into future Art Directors and Designers. The PRIZE: an $18,000 scholarship to Langara's two-year Communication and Ideation Design Program and a 3-month internship with Rethink (wow!).

Applicants were asked to submit an 8.5 x 11 sketchbook filled with their ideas, inspiration and process.

Judging took place in the creative boardroom of Rethink with judges spending time with each book - all the while smiling and conversing about what caught their attention. In the end, a winner was chosen who best represented the ideals of the prize.

A special thank you goes to Cameron Walker (pictured in black shirt above) at Rethink for coordinating a fun afternoon.

To learn more about the scholarship details and to watch a great promo video by Rethink - visit http://rethinkscholarship.com/


~tyukawa

We, the Universe

From September to December of this year, Don and I were honored to be involved with the Emily Carr University on Granville Island in Vancouver. We co-taught a class called Senior Core Studio, in which 4th year students get to work with a topic of their choice. The students had 12 weeks to take their projects from Concept to Completion. Our job was to listen, empathize, motivate and encourage.

There were so many great projects, so many great ideas, however there was one project that stood out because of its wonderful mixture of concept, imagery, narration and execution. The project was aptly titled “We, the Universe” by Ms. Maggie Chok. Believe it or not, the universe was just one or four areas that she was hoping to explore within her all encompassing topic.

Maggie set out to explore the physical and metaphorical implications of DEPTH that transcended traditional norms such as art and literature. In order to achieve this kind of reverence for life, Space was to be her mechanism. She created a series of four books that utilized unique philosophical and metaphorical devices to approach outer space: Matter, Forces, Scale and Perception. Her goal for each book was to illicit a sense of awe and wonder in whomever read through them. Mission accomplished.

Nuff said, have a look. All Images courtesy of Maggie Chok

~ tyukawa (We’re looking forward to our next opportunity at ECU in 2009)