18.6.10

About Ikko Tanaka


认识田中一光(1930-2002)是今年初在日本偶遇他的海报回顾展。60-70年代已经制作出这么多一流的作品,人工丝网印刷的海报很有质感,艺术感浓厚。无意中拜见到大师的作品可以说获益良多,亦对自己今时今日也只能‘骗吃’的水准觉得惭愧⋯

回到新加坡后在苏格拉底猫发现《设计的觉醒》一书,价钱贵了一半但是还是买了下来,数个月后的今天终于把它读完。



田中先生除了是一流的海报设计师之外,也热爱书籍、杂志设计,还能写文章,演戏剧,煮饭,出色的领导人和先见者⋯ 多产量同时又高质素,简直是神级的人物。MUJI品牌的产生,田中先生亦是主要的幕后功臣,当时原研哉都还未加入行列。

这几个月都一直带着它,有时间就刨几页⋯ 对于日本从大战后慢慢复苏,一班充满热诚的设计师把平面设计的理念崛起、延伸和茁壮起来,的确令人兴奋。旅行时刚好读到这一篇文章感觉特别亲切:

“ 一个人的创想之旅(1987)
设计师工作的原点是观察。观察世界,观察人类,观察文化。
只是,这样的旅行一定要一人独自完成,万万不可结成团队。因为如果不是一个人行走,是吸收不到有助于设计的养分的。而越是单独行动,才越有机会更多地和人和物接触⋯ ”

然后想起其实Sagmeister也曾经写过类似的话:Traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life, 突然为自己的旅程也感到兴奋起来。我不擅长表达自己的感想,search到这个人的读后感应该写得比我好: 齐婧妍。

很可惜好像田中一光,杉普康平,龟仓雄策,福田繁雄等等这种老一辈大师级的作品在网上并不齐全,比较简洁介绍田中先生的网站在这里。年轻的时候完全忽视这些最根本的设计之美,一直追求不实际的奢华的cool graphics... 而其实这些才是真正平面设计的内涵和底蕴所在。

要学习的,还有很多很多呢⋯


( By the way, the book I've read about Ikko Tanaka was in Chinese, I find it's hard for me to write this post in English, if you can't understand Chinese... use google translator >_< '' )

12.5.10

Food and Beverages and Design

Invited by BigBros Workshop to contribute artworks for one of the event during Kuala Lumpur Design Week 2010 - Design Cannibal. I've designed a series of posters featuring my personal favorite local foods, will definitely love to add more dishes into this series in future. Yummy~


19.4.10

from dusk till dawn.

Some old work. For Cutie Cultie Comic Show which already happened last October. The given theme is From dusk till dawn, hence my comic...

21.3.10

after all we're only ordinary men



Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
Forward he cried from the rear
and the front rank died
And the General sat, as the lines on the map
moved from side to side
Black and Blue
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and Down
And in the end it's only round and round and round
Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
the poster bearer cried
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside
Down and Out
It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny that's what the fighting all about
Get out of the way, it's a busy day
And I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died

16.3.10

so-en

I buy So-en 装苑 magazine once a while... Yeah it's quite a girly magazine, and I can't understand Japanese as well. I just like flipping through all those wonderful styling and photograph, every single images in it is nicely crafted and damn beautiful.

Just found out Aoi Yu 蒼井優 was on the cover of So-en men's special last October. The sweet Aoi in men dressing, kakkoii @.@... 好靓~

more pics here~

13.3.10

when genius meets genius meets genius

Jun Takahashi (高桥盾) + Dieter Rams + Asano Tadanobu (浅野 忠信)



Dieter Rams, is undeniable the world most influential industrial designer. We've seen how Rams influence on Apple products, and now even fashion designer Jun Takahashi (Undercover) taking Rams' inspiration further by playing a tribute to Dieter Rams in his latest Spring/Summer 2010 collection - "Less but better".

Currently Undercover Aoyama shop is displaying the new collection, together with whole bunch of Rams' products all over the place. Personal thinking that the products had become more appealing than the clothes, almost like a mini exhibition of Dieter Rams, but the details on the cloths just gel with the product so nicely, it is very inspiring still.



And this is the first time Undercover present their latest collections in a Mook (Magazine+Book) form. I bought one from the previous Japan trip ~ Beside the ingenious apparels, the things that grabbing my attention the most is a series of photo shoots with Asano Tadanobu! Yeah~ My favorite fashion designer + favorite industrial designer + favorite actor of all time... I really love this shit!


- all photos via Slamxhype.

9.3.10

long time no draw.

Always tempted to do some fashion illustrations... and recently a photographer friend Tian Xing asked me to add some graphics on his photos for Men's Uno magazine. Technically this is consider my first attempt on fashion illustrations, even though it was another tight timeline project but I was quite enjoy doing it.

These images have already been published on Men's Uno magazine, February 2010. Can't wait to collaborate with Tian Xing again on pretty female model's shots next time :P




See more. Here.

3.3.10

Let's find some beautiful place to get lost.


- Kyoto, 2010.

当日常生活中找不到任何意义,
旅行就突然变得充满意义。

27.2.10

到此一游


- September 2007


- February 2010

23.2.10

Tomodachi


Been promised Mari-chan that I will design a namecard for her about 2 years ago, and in return she will make me a Robonut plush toy! Apparently she had already made it and mailed to me while I was in Shanghai, but I never received it, it was long gone...

By having more time alone recently, I finally made a namecard for her. Based on the fact that all Mari's works are handmade and each of them are totally unique and different, I decided to make a stamp instead so she can DIY her own cards as well.



The Robonut's plush was lost, but in the end she gave me another 'nuts'! Really love these special peanuts. Kawaii! Arigatou gozaimasu.