Photochopped
I guess some people are deciding to fight back against celebrity ads by sticking Photoshop panels on it, maybe it’s just geek graffiti? I guess they stick these Photoshop panels on the billboards in Berlin as some sort of commentary against Photoshop celebrities and models? I find it slightly funny…in a geek inside-joke kinda way. (via Gizmodo)
read moreiPhone Art
While we’re on the video tip, I had this bookmarked for a little bit intending to share this with you. Here’s a demo of a guy doing art using his iPhone. Another artists collects his iPhone art in his Flikr account.
read moreMusic Inspiration
Music has always been very closely tied to my creativity. Ever since I was very young, I always sketched, studied and sometimes slept with music playing. It didn’t really matter what genre…just something that suited my mood at the time. It goes without saying that sometimes when I need inspiration, I’d play some music in my office to try to get my mind going (much to the chagrin of my wife who prefers total quiet when she’s studying). The other day I rented a DVD full of Bjork videos. Her music is not for everyone,...
read moreDon’t play with dolls.
So the doctor told my wife yesterday that our little guy may come anytime after the next 2 weeks. EEEEP! Holy Moses smell the roses, am I ready? My wife looks seems calm and prepared, but I’m in a panic in my mind — “What do I bring with me to the hospital? Where do I drop her off?” I better figure this out right away! It’s not like we’re totally unready – just not as prepared as I’d like to be. My wife told me there’s a Chinese superstition that they don’t get ready till the...
read moreAsk Sunday
I struggle each day with time management. (here I am blogging when I should be writing proposals). I have a lot of tools to help whip me back on schedule. I use everything from iCal to schedule my appointments, I have online project systems to tell me when I might have a client task deadline coming up, I have address books, task applications, virtual sticky notes on my computer to remind me to dump the garbage today or pay my cell phone bill. It’s gotten to the point where even managing my management tools are taking a good amount of...
read moreDesigner methods
I love looking at other artist’s doodles. You get to see how they accomplished their designs…you either feel redeemed because they do things exactly the same way you do it, or you feel like you’re just totally unworthy. In most cases it’s usually the former. Thank God. For me, it usually begins with sketches just like the ones above. Sometimes some of the things I sketch are laughably silly…but it’s funny how eventually SOMEthing just triggers and a great idea comes along. Here’s a great article...
read moreEveryday things
Few days ago I pointed out how I loved design of objects where you just don’t normally think they needed re-designing? Here’s a couple more ideas I thought were interesting. The Muji Chrononotebook above is a neat concept. I saw this posted across quite a few blogs this past Summer, now I’m seeing it crop up in magazines too. I guess it’s a lot easier planning your day’s schedule around a daily chronograph chart rather then your typical planner where you got all those stuffy lines and boxes? One page is for the...
read moreHappy New Year
Here’s the illustration I worked up for this year’s card I’m starting to send to everyone. It reads: We missed our chance to say Merry Christmas & Even a Happy New Year, But it’s probably never ever too late to Spread a Little Cheer! No it’s not as clever as the Holiday cards from Roy Doty I pointed out a few weeks back, but I had fun doing the illustration anyway. I think my wife thought I was going crazy because I kept giggling to myself both at the cheesiness of this illustration and the pathetic look on...
read moreBest and Worse branding
I haven’t been back to “Brand New” for a while, but I’m glad I did. Looks like they have a new list the “Best & Worst Branding of 2008”. (via: BrandNew) I generally agree with some of the picks. The Pepsi one above I didn’t really notice until they commented about it here. The other week I was having lunch with my wife and I remember saying, “Hey, look the Pepsi can looks different…”. I didn’t even spot the logo change. While the new symbol doesn’t thrill me to...
read moreDesign is everywhere
To further my case that design matters…I’m often impressed when I see inventors take every-day objects we take for granted and put a modern improvement on it. Earlier this year my wife and I invested in the small little ball vacuum cleaner from Dyson. You know the hype, “no messy filters”, “no loss of suction” blah blah. Sure enough though, after about 5 months of using this thing, it seems to have held up to its bargain. From a designer’s point of view, what I’ve loved about this device is...
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LoweStudio Inc was founded by me, Raphael Lowe, a Honolulu based illustrator and web designer. I presently design and manage a few dozen commercial websites, but my main focus these days is acting as the head developer for Kapiolani Community College and teaching