CRUNCH TIME

Last night I decided to drop in on my good friend Randy Noborikawa at his local Costa Mesa studio. He happened to be putting the finishing touches on some new artwork for a show up in Santa Barbara that opens tonight. Randy is no stranger to burning the midnight oil and like Kobe, he does his best work during crunch time. This time around he is putting his twist on classic and slang surf terms using neon and iconic imagery. Now, working with neon isn't for the faint of heart as Randy's girlfriend (Trusted Tattoo Artist/Owner Dejah Garcia) explained as she cringed every time they had to maneuver the pieces around the studio. They had been working on the project all day dealing with all kinds of issues, including a freeway closure on the 91 (which is the only route between the studio and the neon fabricators shop) due to an over-turned oil tanker. But in true Rando fashion, with Dejah's help of course, he finishes up just before midnight. I was lucky enough to get there just in time to see the result of all the hard work and get a sneak peek.







Check out more of Randy's work here:
http://www.randynoborikawa.com/

SURROUNDINGS

I believe being aware of your surroundings is a big part of being a designer. As I arrived at the LAB in Costa Mesa this afternoon I decided to take a second to check out the little things that give this "anti-mall" it's welcoming vibe. It reminded me of one of my first classes in art school when my professor hammered home the point that everything you see has to be designed. It's a simple statement, but if you take a second to think about it everything you see around you was designed by someone. With that in mind I took a couple shots with my new favorite iPhone app to try and capture some of the well thought out design that went into this space. Enjoy.

HIPSTAMATIC

These days technology makes it much easier to capture moments of your life and share them with anyone and everyone. Having a phone in your pocket/purse, most likely means you also have a camera with you. The only bummer is a "good" camera-phone is still a bit hard to come by. However, the creative human spirit pushes through and finds ways to adapt. While chatting about the weekend like any Monday morning in any office, a co-worker showed me this app "Hipstamatic" for the iPhone. It simulates a vintage flare to any photo taken with multiple lens, film, flash options and effects. After seeing a couple photo's Mike took, I was hooked and had to get it. Just one more way to capture the moments and memories we all cherish. Here are some examples of the vibe. Enjoy...

KEEP OFF GRASS

While touring a factory in mainland China, I started noticing these signs on all the small patches of grass outside. Not sure if they are meant to be this funny or if it's strictly a Lost in Translation moment, but I still found them hilarious. Some unexpected humor hiding in the grass...love it.

LOVE

It's nice to be reminded daily what is important in life and sometimes the writing is on the wall.

TWO WHEEL MOTION (part 2)

TWO WHEEL MOTION

Tokyo has to be one of the most inspiring places for a designer to travel to. Walking the line between mind-blowing and complete sensory overload, they seem to take everything to the limit. Whether it's fashion, music or art...Tokyo has it all. Wondering around on my last visit I became obsessed with taking photo's of all the customized bikes around town. Have a look for yourself...

TRAVEL

I truly believe that travel is a key element to growing as a person and a designer, So it's only fitting that my first post be a quick snapshot of some amazing places I've been lucky enough to get to explore.
Enjoy! more to come...