round 1 of our vector artsy-ness. Color themed ads for our recruitment campaign.

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a cutesy announcement post for the US Memorial Day for my L.a. based office. A soldier with a cute twist and a shiny smile.

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[property of the design people]

Just another set of nice icons for work. I love icons. This time, its a little bit more Japanese-inspired, as influenced by Toki Doki and other masters of the craft.

Today, I had the pleasure of dipping my hands into Illustrator. God knows I’ve never ever touched illustrator for prolonged periods of time. And I’ve always loved drawing in flash, so Illustrator never really came up in my list of favorite drawing tools in the past. So.. for a first time -artwork, aided by online tutorials this is what i came up with :) Yey. Yahoo.

Visuals first before my blog entry:

I love that CS3 tagline. Truly, this software breaks borders seamlessly. Imagine integration that we only imagined a few years back, and now its a reality. I absolutely love all the new features of Photoshop - the smart filters, better tricks with vector smart objects, amazing cross software functionality. With photoshop, you can now leap into other programs as if you were visiting the next door neighbor. Aftereffects also turned out to be a real beauty (although i would have to view more online tutorials before I get to master it’s touch). The 3d Integration is just wonderful as well, It left me in AWE after knowing that Photoshop isn’t merely a 2d platform anymore.

After listening to all the wonderful speakers, I felt that positive vibe in the room. People were raring to go back to their offices, try things out, experiment.People were actually challenged to try new things, to sift through creative juices and create something. And that, to me, was priceless.
I feel so loved.
Adobe and Macromedia’s union is bringing beautiful things for it’s users - and almost guarantees beautiful output, too, since it saves mounds of time and effort spent on what once were conceived as herculean tasks.
Of course, On the other side of the spectrum, the implications bothered me. I was saying…

Wait a minute! Stop right there Missy! Not everyone can be a graphic designer!
… Well, but photoshop just does exactly that. Everyone can be a graphic designer. Or a print maker or a web designer. Or a video person. What once was called Multimedia Arts was now becoming a norm.

Photoshop democratizes design to a different level wherein people without any art background at all (or no drawing skills for that matter) can deliver almost the same kind of output as people with previous conventional training. AND then i thought, hmm.. that was what drew people towards multimedia arts graduates - - - because they were expected to have that undying thirst to learn and deliver, across programs, regardless of the output.

Then, I ask.. Will this really matter? Is talent and creativity relative also to each individual, and could it be possibly replicated with the help of a few software tricks? Along with the loss of possible specialization in particular arenas, Aren’t we going to see a loss in the kind of out put that we deliver? Is this change too fast
paced for a society that’s probably not yet ready for it?

Hmm. It bothers me because not everyone should have the privilege of being called a graphic designer or an artist. A kid who slaps digital photos into his blog shouldn’t be called a photographer. In the same time, a kid who doodles and puts in photoshop filters shouldn’t be called an artist.

THE bottom line is, along with the democratization of design, also brings forth, to a certain degree, the loss of purposeful design. –.– Design that I’m sure me and my colleagues will strive hard to achieve, for years on end.

I’m not one to rally for a cause, but if I was to start, then I’ll start with design.
Art & Design has always been my lover, unknowingly, ever since I was three years old. Ever since I started drawing that Lion drawing, I knew that I wasn’t going to see myself doing something else when I grow up. I wasn’t going to be cooped up in a boxy suit, I wasn’t going to be analyzing reports…. I was going to deliver my art and broadcast it so others can use it.

Hmm  I like shiny things. They seem so…darn happy.

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Shiney, pretty logo design sets. For agent suite. Sweet indeed. Could you sniff its freshness? Hehehe.

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design by lello , Alfa Romeo Show
(from thevisualdictionary.net)

From wikipedia:

Graphic design is a form of visual communication using text and/or images to present information, or promote a message. The art of graphic design embraces a range of cognitive skills and crafts including typography, image development and page layout. Graphic design is applied in communication design and fine art. Like other forms of communication, graphic design
often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created, and the products (designs) such as creative solutions, imagery and multimedia compositions. Graphic design is traditionally applied to static media, such as books, magazines and brochures. Additionally, since the advent of computers, graphic design is utilised in electronic media - often referred to as interactive design, or multimedia design.

One of the keywords I would like to highlight is the two famed words - visual communication. This catch phrase has been tagged to mean a lot of things - expression, passing of a certain message, a tangible value, an impending cause - all of these things may be transmitted through the use of graphic design.

But, I must also note that Graphic design is constantly expanding in its definition - it is not limited only to anything visual, it now engages users into a different experience of connectivity.

What we are seeing now is the practice of graphic design within the Philippines transforming itself into a more progressive, innovative and cultural movement. Why is this so? And why does it seem to be happening in such a rapid speed?
(more…)

 i was tasked to color em’ and make them alive. :D

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my contest entry to mailmeart.com
This entry explores the asian belief that the world once rested on top of a turtle. I drew inspiration from it, and tried to illustrate the effects of suggestive ‘pre-destiny’. I also tried to incorporate the irony in it- the blissful contentment that comes with everything predestined in life, and the chaos that comes with the continuous search for pouring meaning into identity.

medium: mixed media
(felt tip pens, watercolour pencils, acrylic paint,
pentel pens, oil pastel) (more…)