Thank you VCFA

It was such a pleasure joining the Graphic Design MFA program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts as the Guest Designer at their Spring Residency in April. Thoroughly impressed by the dedication of the faculty and students, based all over the world, and the passion and warmth of the community. Many great designers and design will blossom from this environment.

Let's Be Happy

When I called my parents for the new year today, my dad said "Let's be happy. Do work that makes you happy and spreads happiness... Have a bright outlook and good things will come." Thanks mom and dad, and cheers to love, health and happiness in 2014!

Swedish Energies

I recently checked out a show by Swedish musicians at the ISSUE Project Room, an experimental performance space set in a beautiful historic downtown Brooklyn hall. The space itself -- intersected by colorful sound-absorption panels and machines for colored lights, projection and sound -- already looks like an art installation. The performances were intense and engulfing (and at times, completely deafening -- have you ever heard a man play two saxophones at once?). Looking forward to more here. 

Autumn

Hiking upstate in a forest of yellow, oranges and greens -- one of the best ways to clear the mind and prep the soul for the oncoming cold front.

Immersion

Dark room. Projected film. Live music. This is one of my favorite things. Last week I had the great fortune of catching both We Have an Anchor, Jem Cohen's collaboration with Fugazi's Guy Picciotto and Dirty Three's Jim White (amongst other rockstars), and the 11-screen installation Massive Attack V Adam Curtis (the brilliant filmmaker behind The Century of the Self). The former:  exquisite, meditative, patient and sublime, with the most beautiful muted colors, quiet vast landscapes and moody score. The latter:  inquisitive, buzzing, paranoid and loud, with fascinating interconnected narratives and imagery from Siberian punk to CalArts to Jane Fonda to Prozac and more. Entirely different, both amazing.

Pop-Hued Charts...for Design Lovers

It was an exciting weekend for mem:o, the new iPad app I created in collaboration with Young Sang Cho. Thank you Catherine Shu and Margaret Rhodes for your fantastic articles on TechCrunch and Fast Company's Co.Design. 

A Morning Stroll on the Other Coast

Oh running in Northern California is so painfully scenic. The perfect breeze. Sunny and cool. Jurassic Park ferns and Lord of the Rings trees. Prospect Park I still love you, but...

City Folk in the Land of Enchantment

I spent a week in August on the road in New Mexico with TKOH, collecting stories for Totem's first pilot program. Hearing the experiences of ranching families, growing up breaking horses and working off the land,  was incredible. I was in awe of their strength after surviving such hardship through the Great Depression, WWII and a lifetime of back-breaking labor; but charmed by the sweetness in their voices as they reminisced over the small moments with their loved ones. What really matters after it all? Family. Hard work. Truth. God. And a man's handshake. 

Welcome

Launching this site marks a new chapter for me. Many good things have happened. And I feel myself moving forward with a brightened perspective, excited for the adventures ahead. Thank you for visiting. Many more tweaks to come here. Please bear with me as I pull things together.