PlayStation makes kids feel good about themselves.

Get your kid this kind of playstation this holiday. They'll look and feel better about themselves.

Seriously, between video games and hi-fructose corn syrup kids need some help.

Stainless steel serveware

So, not too long ago, I designed this group of stainless steel serveware items for a client. Its a combo of a couple of lighting pieces, and the serveware. In the set there is a platter, large bowl (with clear plastic insert) chip&dip, and the votive candle holder and the hexagonal candle holder.

This was an interesting project, not because designing metal serveware is intellectually challenging, but because of the various challenges an independent designer faces working with a company.
Often, the aesthetics of the designer and client don't match (surprise), and often, there are conflicting directions coming from within the client's own structure. For instance, the head of the department, who supervises the project lead who contracted me to do the work can have very different ideas of what the project is going to accomplish. As a consequence, the project lead and the dept. head go back and forth over aesthetic (patterns, shapes, proportions, etc), leaving me, the lowly designer, stuck in the middle trying, like a person stuck in a dark room, arms outstretched, feeling around for the right direction. Despite these challenges, I think it turned out well. We'll see. We should be seeing the first finished pieces pretty darn soon. The Fall market is coming up next month in NYC, at which point, if the set has made the earlier cuts (which I think it did), there should be samples on their way from China any day now. Some time after that, I should get a set...I'll photograph it and you can see it. Stay tuned.

CommonCause and Clean Campaigns

I was asked to create an invite for a non-profit organization who is trying to continue a grass-roots movement to clean up election financing. Their aim is to limit the influence and access corporate money has to our politicians and our political process- which in case you hadn't noticed is pretty much OWNED by corporate special interests...Insurance? Oil? Dow and Haliburton? You betcha!

Anyway- I digress. Here is the front of the invite. Unlike most fundraiser stuff out there, it wasn't designed on Microsoft Word...so hopefully, it looks a bit nicer than something with clip art in it!

Hawaiian spinner dolphins

Kauai. Catamarans, sun, and dolphins. Ok this was amazing. I think I've wanted to see something like this since I watched Jacques Cousteau movies on PBS as a leetle kid. Hawaiian spinner dolphins are amazing. The travel in large pods, up to several hundred members, that travel in a certain area, feeding, etc. In the mornings they hang by the coastline, in water that is about twenty feet deep or so, with a white sand bottom...That is what is pictured here. The water was beautiful, and the dolphins, who saw us coming, stopped what they were doing and swam over and started riding the bow waves. Pretty unreal.

The BLT

Once upon a time, Dansk created a tabletop set called the BLT: Breakfast, Lunch, Tea. Apparently it was a great success. It consisted simply of a deep plate, about 10.5" diameter, a cereal bowl and a small mug. It was rough hewn, rustically glazed and a bit on the chunky side with thick rims, etc. Very nice. It was all tied up with a hemp line, like a Japanese package. Back in the day when being different, innovative and fun were understood as a good thing, not as risky (my cynicism coming out), you could do things like that- every body got what they wanted...The designers got to show their skill and fun thinking, the company showed their uniqueness, the retailers got the clientele and the business...So anyway. While I was at Dansk, they tried to revive the idea of the BLT. To my knowledge it was less of a success. I can honestly say I was not happy with how my designs for the pieces were produced, glazed etc., but I really like how my packaging concept came out. That part was developed by an outside graphics/packaging firm.

set

set
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

closeup

closeup
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

invite

invite
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

Our Wedding Invitation Design

So, D and I got married on August 6th...It was an amazing day- it was pretty amazing to have so many loved ones there, all stepping up and bearing their hearts and souls for everyone there. More than a week later, both D and I still had raw emotional nerves- we'd tear up just thinking about it, let alone telling others about it or talking to each other about it. It was truly an amazing day...As we hoped it would be.

So these are some pictures I took of the invitation, RSVP cards, thankyou, and program for the ceremony. As I'm sure many graphic designers will attest, it is hard to truly do the work justice in photographs...Especially when its me doing the photography in the basement! Anyway, I adapted a concept by a friend of mine (a graphic designer, Nancy) who got married during art school. She and her talented husband created an invitation that I loved...In a profound way. So I can't take credit for the original idea- but the idea of originality is a different topic all by itself.

We produced about 130 of these - entirely by hand! Literally. My trusty Canon Pixma ip6000 home printer did ALL the printing. D and I did all the cutting, cropping, binding, finishing here at home. It was a huge job, but a labor of love. Being relatively new to the area, I don't have any printing contacts here, so I was hesitant to go out looking for someone to do it. And I couldn't afford the high end printers here in town (who I love).

The wild grass element was taken from our wedding site. At Skamania lodge, the wedding site is framed by small hill sides of wild grass...Which we loved.

The light grey background image is of willow branches, which were also taken from the area surrounding Skamania lodge. We wanted to emphasize the natural beauty of the Columbia gorge, and Portland and a foundation and backdrop for our union. The orange patterned band on the invitation packaged all the different elements together, rather than just stuffing them in the envelope. It created an intimacy with the invitation that really brings the viewer in contact with the object, not just the info inside it.

So check it out. Comments appreciated.

FlipTrivet_Dansk

FlipTrivet_Dansk
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

I designed this for Dansk about a year and half ago. It's finally on the market. I was asked to design a new trivet- rather than a mundane, static, patterned design, I created this- a trivet that fold out three sizes for whatever sized dish you have. I came up with a pretty good mechanism that, unfortunately, isn't so well executed on the production version- so its a bit sloppy...but thats the life of a designer, right?

Anyway, I think its beautiful.

I Bike Portland

I Bike Portland
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

so its got bumper sticker written all over it...but that wouldn't make much sense would it?

shameless commerce- get it here: www.cafepress.com/ibikeportland

I Bike PDX

I Bike PDX
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

A variation on a theme...Cause I love bikes, and Portland

from the shameless commerce division...I was sitting in the airport the other day and came up with this...there are so many of the NY ones around, and they are so tired and frought with baggage now...This is my homage to Milton Glasser. Available on Cafepress: www.cafepress.com/iheartor

I Tree Oregon

I tree Oregon
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

From the shameless commerce division...I was sitting in the airport the other day and came up with this...there are so many of the NY ones around, and they are so tired and frought with baggage now...This is my homage to Milton Glasser. Available on Cafepress: www.cafepress.com/iheartor

worlds largest catfish- Thailand (?)

worlds largest catfish- Thailand (?)
Originally uploaded by cagampang.

This is old now, but I still can't get over how big this thing is. Imagine if you put your foot down on this thing in a muddy river....eeech

First Post

Here it is.