That was a nice summer rush-delivery project. :) It was a 7×7″ photo album with beautiful black photo pages with a custom spine design. Concept and design is all Rethink.

Here is the rest of the collateral that goes with the book. Very nice, fun stuff!

All photos from Lisa’s Flickr. Thanks, Rethink!

But as things progressed, we saw things begin to look up, and I’m very happy to say that both Chloe & I seem to be in good situations right now. I can’t exactly vouch for my partner, but I can say for myself that I am indeed very happy with where I am at the moment. And Chloe seems pretty chill the past few times I’ve seen her.

Anyway, here’s a quick gift:

Found via Our Neighbourhood Friends

• “No More Posters! Let’s See More Action!” by Eric Hieman

I think this image, taken from the page, might sum up a lot of what it’s about:

Somehow related, but a considerable tangent to Heiman’s article:

I recently had a quick chat with a former classmate of mine, Jonathan Fajardo, who is currently taking a Graphic Arts course at ECU. He wanted to talk about the design process with me and a few of his friends to gather content for his current assignment.

It was interesting because we got to talking about the subculture or the conventions within the design field. Granted, neither of us are particularly experienced, but there was mention of design that works, and design that is, in so many words, “good.” While there are pieces of design that may win awards and nods of design celebrities, there still is the question of context, and perhaps just how successful it is when taken out of the AIGAs and the Salazars, etc.

Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t always a hand-in-hand scenario. Sometimes an award-winning campaign (judged on photos and inter-design community buzz) could totally flop once launched in its environment. While graphic designers can write all they want about terrible graphics and typography, what I recently learned (with Chloe) was that sometimes, the standards kind of get blown out of the water—and not in the avant-garde super-exciting way.

More like, “This graphic is not the most sophisticated piece of graphic design, and will probably never win any accolades or nominations. However, the company saw a growth of 2% since we went with the talking cartoon turd.”

The world doesn’t run on who thinks what is an example of good typography, and neither does it run on how many magazines and blogs publish that one photo of your work. At least at the moment, it runs on how well the client does with your work, and their own measures of success. In this, I guess I’m comparing the “action” part of Heiman’s article to the action that takes place after the design, as well as our responsibility to consider what we are designing and what we are doing.

Perhaps “Good Design” doesn’t translate 100% to the outside world, but “Effective Design” might. I don’t know. I’ve begun to ramble. Any thoughts?

…binding a mock-up book for Rethink Communications! Yes! Rethink! The firm!

It’s pretty cool having Lisa Nakamura in the studio talking to us about Neil from Centennial Bookbinding. They probably don’t even think twice about these sorts of things, but it’s quite nice to be able to welcome others into our small studio. It makes the community feel just a little bit smaller, in that despite Rethink’s size and reputation, they basically know the same people we do—and, in a sense, “We’re not so different, Rethink and I…”

Same goes for my quick chat with Jeff Harrison today, who is probably one of the most personable characters I’ve come across so far. I’m excited that Tea Party is starting to get to know other places and people, and that it is much less scary to dive right into the local design pool. I feel much less of a small-fry, trembling at the doors of established design firms, and more like the new guy at the bar that all the bros want to go fishing with. Terrible analogy, but I hope it will suffice.

I look forward to seeing how else perceptions of ourselves can change as we grow out of being students and into young professionals.

It was really fun and interesting to have done this project, especially cool to be privy to such personal photos. It certainly was a pleasure putting this together, and by the end, Chloe & I started feeling like part of the family. Of course, in a non-weird non-stalker way.

The embroidery was particulalry nice to do, and despite Chloe’s claims that I’ve gone blind and I looked like a slave doing it, I really did enjoy myself. It brought me back to my Catholic school days where we’d have lessons on dining ettiquete, cross-stitching, and home economics. Ha!

Also, a special thanks to everyone who had stopped by this Sunday for our studio warming! :)

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us!

Super hot day. Jane tried her best to get us a table under a tree, yet it proved worthless as we both went home with tans the shape of our shirts. :(

The “Profound Thoughts” travel book was quite popular, which I am very glad to have found out. Lots of talented people were out there this weekend, and it was a pleasure to have met some new people and seen a lot of interesting things. As it’s only been our first craft event, there were certainly a lot of things to keep in mind (umbrella/sunscreen/water), but we were excited to have been a part of it. We’ll see you at the next one!

More images after the jump.

This is perhaps my favourite book to date. The travel companion for many of us who bump into epiphanies and moments that make us rethink the world once in a while. Especially for those of us with the opportunity to travel and extend our horizons, you might just be the philosopher or novelist that can define our generation.

I will have about 6 or 7 for sale this weekend. So come early if you want one!

Former ECU Professor Paul Mazzucca

Jane Koo

And some small notes to sell for this weekend: