Marie Forleo X Seth Godin

If not now then when? In 5 to ten years. What will you regret?

" Bigger isn't the point. More isn't the point. Are there bad ideas out there? Yes, there are a tons of bad ideas. Not all ideas are equality good. Finding a thing that works is sufficient.? That's the challenge. Entrepreneurs for example. too many entrepreneurs think that there is a prize for originality.  There is no prize for originality. At ALL. You should steal another persons idea. You should bring something that works in Detroit and bring it to Cleveland. Because you don't have to worry about apologizing... There are so many places that we need more of something...No one is asking you to be that person who invent something that never exist before... We are asking you to do, is choose to matter, and align with who you want to be. "

 

CS x INKTOBER

What kind of things have you sketched this month?

October is a fun month for creatives like us. It's especially fun for those who love to put ink to paper. This month implores us to doodle. Besides the expected thumbnail, chicken scratch, interpretive sketch we scribble at work in-order to quickly communicate an idea. We rarely draw for fun anymore. Thus far we've skipped a few days. But, in general we think we're building a pretty good collection. Check it out.

For those of you that are not familiar with Inktober. Inktober is when creatives (you don't have to be talented) draw one thing each day of October using traditional ink tools. It could be many things if you'd like.

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AXIS, Now in Portfolio

Axis controller built for the design sprint @ CCA. 

Many of you have asked us to load the AXIS online. Axis is a gaming controller we designed for the "CTRL+S" workshop. What started as a quick 2 hour CAD exercise. Mainly for talking points about our model making process. Turned into a fun little portfolio project. We're super stoked about this, because we've been MIA from blogging for awhile. Sorry. 

We're going to refine the model making presentation used @ CCA Saturday, and will upload it here in the next day. 

Gordon Murray The Mclaren F1 Designer

For this month's tech-talk we invite designer Gordan Murray to come talk cars, design, and career atPlayground. Gordan designs formula one cars for a living. He's a true mechanical thinker. I'd say he's more engineer minded than industrial design, but he does an amazing job at mixing science with art in creating innovative solutions. Gordon is famous for the iconic McLaren F1. A car that revolutionized many standards in modern cars today. The F1 introduced new techs such as: carbon fiber construction, automated rear spoiler, and ground control. Innovative for its time, but are things we take for-granted today. Currently Gordon continues to design. He's developed a lighter, more stronger chassis technology called iStream. Check it out here.

To me It's fascinating to hear other designers share their process. A common philosophy I hear often is: Fail. Fail a lot. Fail often. But learn from your failures and adjust as you move forward. I've taken a photo of my notebook as Gordon spoke. I'm honored to meet him and happy he signed and complimented my poor sketches. 

Doodle of Gordon and some of his quotes during the tech talk.
Gordan Laughing at the Doodle in Hoang M Nguyen Sketch book.
Hoang sharing the quotes he liked from the tech talk. 
Gordan signs Hoang M Nguyen sketch book. 

LEARNINGS FROM ADWEEK

We love stalking Adweek for inspiration. A huge part of being an industrial designer is to pitch ideas. Sell a dream, a vision to a clients. The best way to do this I think, is through story telling. Industrial design isn't just about drawing awesome shit, CAD'ing sex appeal and cool aesthetics. To us its about capturing a clients DNA. Telling them who they are. Then telling them who/what they can become. It's more important than the final product. Lay the ground work before building the building.  More and more we've realized that integrating a good analytical eye into our design process goes a long way. Be empathetic to who they are historically. Innovation is building upon the past.  

Today I watched a Nike ad called "Unlimited You" -- My immediate reaction was... I thought "Just Do it" was already amazing. Cudos to Weiden & Kennedy for  this one. They've captured the essence of "Just Do It" Then pushed the brand beyond it. I love it. 

from good to great

I've been reading the book From Good to Great by Jim Collins. Like most popular informative books. The content often feel obvious. Yet it strikes me that we often overlook or under practice the values and work ethics given in these books. In one of the chapters I read this line:

"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out is largely a matter of conscious choices." --Jim Collins

I'm reminded of Malcom Gladwell's ten thousand hours of practice. Its true. Greatness is evidence of making proper decisions, and long hours of obsession and practice.  Eventually you'll go from one whom appreciates to one who's a connoisseur. Are you good or great?

#WatchingTimeWithCS

Last Friday we posted an open invitation to the design community. Challenging anyone to take part in #WatchingTimeWithCS.  

The  whole thing started with the KAJ Alessi watch by Karim Rashid and a little dog. It then turned into a community fueled initiative that is loved and liked by KARIM himself. We're overwhelmed with everyone's enthusiasm and design submissions. As more people continue to submit designs today. We want to share all the great work done over the weekend, and that KARIM LOVES ALL THE DOPE DESIGNS. 

Monkey Watch, Monkey Do by Thom Doyle

Monkey Watch, Monkey Do by Thom Doyle

Whale of a Time by Dayne Tanner

Whale of a Time by Dayne Tanner

Time is Relative by Sean Missal

Time is Relative by Sean Missal

TickingTimeBomb quinlan draper

TickingTimeBomb quinlan draper

Time Flies by Elliot Raderman

Time Flies by Elliot Raderman

Time is Irrelephant by Sean Miller

Time is Irrelephant by Sean Miller

Kill Time by Frankie Vazquez

Kill Time by Frankie Vazquez

Koality Time by Mike Bolster

Koality Time by Mike Bolster

Juice Time by Tim Seward

Juice Time by Tim Seward

Kitty Kaj by Matt Gill

Kitty Kaj by Matt Gill

Late for an important date White Rabbit by Maxence Derreumaux

Late for an important date White Rabbit by Maxence Derreumaux

Lunchtime by Kevin Hoffman

Lunchtime by Kevin Hoffman

Slithery Seconds by Scotty Shu

Slithery Seconds by Scotty Shu

Peaclock by Linda Jiang

Peaclock by Linda Jiang

Penguin by Bernice Rivera

Penguin by Bernice Rivera

Subtime by Nhan Thanh Mai

Subtime by Nhan Thanh Mai

Soon to be Fossil by Mardis Bagley

Soon to be Fossil by Mardis Bagley

Time Is Money by Connor Pelletier

Time Is Money by Connor Pelletier

TimeTraveler by Ed Cox Linda Jiang

TimeTraveler by Ed Cox Linda Jiang

KingKong by Andrew Edge

KingKong by Andrew Edge

ADD TO THE KAJ COLLECTION

Last week we designed the WATCHDOG as an ironic  tribute to the KAJ watch that was destroyed by our favorite dog MANDU. What remained is the watchface, so we designed this holder for it. Check out the project here.  

Today, we ask all you amazing designers out there to design a version of your own. One of our buddies did  the "Whale,of a time." We want to see what you come up with. 

Download the watch CAD here.  Comment or email us your designs as they come here.  

One more thing. Here are a design criteria. 
1. HAVE A FUCKING CLEVER NAME!!! that's all. HAVE FUN. 
LOVE CS BROS.

Good listening adam vida - "tomorrow land"

A beautiful piece from our friends Adam, Mikos, L and Sam. Give this a listen if you enjoy good ol' hip-hop and great story telling. 

My first single as Adam Vida, produced by my brother, @MikosDaGawd. Follow him for amazing instrumentals and hip hop productions. Tomorrow Land, a song about how far we've come and how far we have left to go, because no day holds as much unrealized potential as Tomorrow. Off of my upcoming EP, set to drop April 2016. I chose to make this song my first single as Adam Vida, because it really represents the motivation I'm feeling at this part of my journey.. In life AND as a hip hop artist. Me and my friends I do this music with, we've come so far as a team, and I've come so far as A-1, but like all things in life I am changing. Adam Vida represents my growth as a human and as a musician, evolving from A-1 into something more worldly, more traveled, more experienced in life, hence the name "Vida". Hit me on Instagram and twitter: @adamraps And at facebook.com/callmeadam Peace ya'll, stay Thurl. Jahbahai.

talented or obsessed

"THERE'S NO TALENT HERE, THIS IS HARD WORK. THIS IS AN OBSESSION. TALENT DOES NOT EXIST, WE ARE ALL EQUAL AS HUMAN BEINGS. YOU COULD BE ANYONE IF YOU PUT IN THE TIME. YOU WILL REACH THE TOP, AND THAT IS THAT. I AM NOT TALENTED, I AM OBSESSED."