Click the image below for more details. We'll be in Chicago July 13-15. Come say wassup and chill. Let's design together.
"Building Stronger Children, Instead Of Fixing Broken Adults."
We felt like the opportunity to design Super Heroics first pair of shoe was awesome, but to spend the day with their Hero Lab at Escondido Middle School was eye opening. This brand is beyond a shoe, it's about keeping our children creative, active and playing.
Today, as adults we reminisce about being a kid again. Why not preserve that for as long as possible for our children.
In Jason's own words:
"It use to be that the athlete is the destination... Now every summer there is a Marvel movie, every summer there is Comic Con, so their childhood is based around moments with narrative. Second insight, kid's aren't playing sports like they use to, and when kids aren't playing sports, they're just playing. So as long we preserve that purity of play, that's the intention of Super Heroic. We're not here to tell kids that sports are bad. We're here to keep them in this mind-sight of creativity, imagination, and play for as long as possible. We're here to build stronger children, instead of fixing broken adults. "
WE'LL BE AT " CTRL+S "
If you have no plans for Saturday September 24, 2016. Between 1-5 PM come join the conversation at CCA in Timken Hall. I will be talking industrial design with Jason Mayden, Ti Chang, and Matt Swinton. Following the panel discussion there will be 4, 20 minute design workshops. I hope you can make it.
#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
Whale of a Time by Dayne Tanner
Time is Relative by Sean Missal
TickingTimeBomb quinlan draper
Time Flies by Elliot Raderman
Time is Irrelephant by Sean Miller
Kill Time by Frankie Vazquez
Koality Time by Mike Bolster
Juice Time by Tim Seward
Kitty Kaj by Matt Gill
Late for an important date White Rabbit by Maxence Derreumaux
Lunchtime by Kevin Hoffman
Slithery Seconds by Scotty Shu
Peaclock by Linda Jiang
Penguin by Bernice Rivera
Subtime by Nhan Thanh Mai
Soon to be Fossil by Mardis Bagley
Time Is Money by Connor Pelletier
TimeTraveler by Ed Cox Linda Jiang
KingKong by Andrew Edge
Pinnacles National Park
We spent the weekend hiking the Balconies Cave route @ Pinnacles for Anh's birthday. Def a place we'd recommend you doing once or twice. The weather was amazing and the people were too. Check out the video:
#LOVE from THEHUNDREDS
The age-old debate of whether we’re a product of our environment will forever be contested from both sides of the spectrum, but in the case of brotherly industrial design duo Creative Session, no other version of their adolescence could have shaped their respective careers like the one they experienced growing up in Portland, Oregon..... (READ MORE HERE)
CS @SKETCHING LAB COSTA RICA 2014
We've been super busy up until this event in Costa Rica. We didn't get to mentally prepare for the workshops yet alone get equipment ready to film Sketching Lab 2014. We literally prepared our presentations on the flight there. We used what was readily available to us which was Anh T Nguyen and My iphone. Used Anh's to film and mine to record audio for this video while running a workshop. There is no excuses to be honest. Use what you have. Make the best of your situation and continue to do work. Don't tell me you don't have the right tools, and when you do you'll make it. - this was shot on a smart phone yo!
#excusethelowqualityvideo
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. -- Helen Keller We are truly blessed to share our knowledge in design and creativity with the students this year at the 3rd annual Sketching Lab in San Jose Costa Rica. It was a memorable week and we will keep each and everyone dearly to heart. To be in the same space as Patrick Ballesteros and John Timms and to feel and learn their wisdom & energy is priceless. We hope the students continue to find new ways to stay inspired and adapt learning from this event into their lives and career. Costa Rica gave us new perspectives in life and design. Thank you very much and we hope to hear from everyone again. -- Links: Sketching lab : sketchinglab.com/en/home/ Patrick: PatrickBallesteros.com John: johntimms.deviantart.com
#sketchinglab2014
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
-- Helen Keller
This photo doesn't nearly capture how incredible this experience was. We are truly blessed and inspired to share knowledge and creativity withSketching Lab and the students.
To be in the same space as @patrickballesteros and @johntimms and feel and learn their wisdom/energy was so Priceless.
Costa Rica gave us new perspective and approach to life and design. Thank you very much and a video will be coming very very soon.
Frenemy
"Stop thinking it as a curse to have been given an enemy in life. It can be a blessing, too. A wise man gets more from his enemy than a fool from his friends."
Enemies or rivals call em' whatever you want. One thing I'd like to do, is thank you for the motivation you've given me. I promise every milestone thus far, in some way you've contributed your share to my growth and success. Frenemies you've become a friend to me.
On a recent trip with my buddy Paul Vu to Maui, we watched the movie "Rush" on the plane. A film based on the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda's 76th season in F1 racing. I felt angry the whole film at the poisonous relationship between the two world champions. James to me is one of those people in our lives that just have everything cut out for them. They seem to do the bare minimum and always WIN. I'm sure you can list a few of these people in your life. Niki is the opposite, we also can list these types in our lives. Constantly working and focused on their craft, but still WINNING though.
Ending the film, one racer said to the other "Stop thinking it as a curse to have been given an enemy in life. It can be a blessing, too. A wise man gets more from his enemy than a fool from his friends." My bitterness immediately lifted. I thought about the people who push us in life, the ones who challenge us, compete with us and make us better. If not a frenemy then who's to gauge ourselves against?
We all need a James or Niki to constantly chase our tails. My thoughts shifted to Creative Session. In a sense I've been spoiled for 25 plus years. Creative Session's momentum in a way has been a constant battle between my brother and I. On top of the awesome collaborations of course. He is the James and Niki in disguise. We've literally competed all our lives, whether toys, games, now designs. We've inspired, challenged and taught one another to compete at a higher level. Who is your James Hunt or Niki Lauda?
Lets all not scatter and find the closest hater friend and hug them just yet. I'm suggesting look at the situation in a new light. Happy National Siblings day YO!
(Photo)Maker, (Dance)Breaker
Last August I traveled to El Salvador with the All The Way Live Foundation and had the privilege of being alongside some of the most talented and generous dancers and artists I have ever met. Among them was ‘Terrible’ Mike, a pretty sick dancer and equally passionate photographer, which I would later learn as we documented the foundation's Central America trip. Here are a couple of the photos Mike recently finished developing from the trip, but if you have some time to kill, I recommend checking out more pics here.
Check out more of Mike’s work at http://michaelkenneth.squarespace.com/ And go to http://allthewaylive.tv/ to find out more about All The Way Live Foundation.
MORE BLACK MAGIC FUN.
While out exploring this weekend for potential hot spots to use in our next project. I brought along the BlackMagic Pocket. Practice makes perfect and I am trying to consistently shoot in RAW and better my color correcting skills. Here is a short video shot at Fort Mason. 200ASA 180degree 29fps on a lumix 12-35mm 2.8 CC in Resolve, Edit in Premiere and effects in After Effects. ENJOY
THE AUDI EXPERIENCE
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work."
--Thomas A. Edison
Coming into 2013, Anh and I felt hopeful for Creative Session and excited for what the future will throw our way. Incredibly for the both of us, opportunities are perceived as fun and hard work merely feels like playing. While we both juggle regular day jobs at Astro Studio and Lab126 we make it a priority to routinely get together, have fun, and design without limitations via Creative Session. With C.S. we love what we do, therefore it never feels like hard-work. As ambitious as this year unfolded, I have to be honest. I never imagined it ending working with AUDI.
It went down like this. We posted on Instagram. Audi Re-Posted with the caption "If this is just a doodle, imagine a full drawing. Now that's impressive. " The sketches gained traction on Social media. Sarah Lindberg (Marketing @ Twitter) tweeted "That would make an incredible fabric print. #IWantanAudiDress." Audi reached out and the rest was history.
"If this is just a doodle, imagine a full drawing. Now that's impressive. "
--Audi
The best part about doodling is the freedom to imagine and explore ideas loosely on paper and then to interpret them into something of visual value. These therapeutic sessions inspire new avenues but notably has become a series we dub "5 Minute Doodle." Who would have imagined a simple 5.M.D posted on INSTAGRAM would've opened up unimaginable doors: designing a dress inspired by Audi from a Post-it note and attending an Audi A3 reveal, a private rooftop party. It still feels unbelievable, even today.
(Custom artwork designed using our Audi sketches.)
"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but doing it."
--Greg Anderson
Audi’s request was simple but the experience was HUGE. Design a dress that retains the original sketch and captures the company's aesthetics. For us both, this journey was worth every moment; as professionals, we are often silo-ed into very specific trades and to say we're only industrial designers is to deny us of the very reason we started designing. Basically, we do what we do for the love of art and creativity and shouldn't be limited in anyway. This project captured more than just industrial design for us, this project allowed us to be uncomfortable, to experiment and to collaborate which is what CS is all about.
Here is a photo diary and video of our Audi experience. We can't say this enough but we are truly thankful and honored to have been a part of all this.
--
This is what started this all:
MINUS-8 LAUNCH PARTY - RSVP!
The DOPEST thing about designing with the ASTRO crew is the amount of creative control and support each and every designer is provided. We're all given the rare opportunity to explore and fall in love with design through creating "passion projects." It is the things we love most, we fight the hardest for- and personal projects are the ones that push us to do just that. This is the result of a 3 year long ASTRO incubation from our CD Dana Kreiger with the support from the whole ASTRO crew! Make sure you RSVP and show up to the event to see and hear the complete process, from sketch to manufacture! Below are a few grainy snaps of what to expect from the Minus-8 launch party!
BE SURE TO RSVP: LAUNCH@MINUS-8.US
"LAMPFIRE" CORE77 FEATURE
"Welcome to the Great Indoor Gathering" --Core77 <--read the full article here.
We designed "Lampfire" around this same time last year at about mid December to early January. If it was remotely anything close to how cold it is right now, I can imagine the influences in having a faux indoor campfire. (doesn't produce heat though haha.)
Nostalgia is really the main driver in designing LampFire. The memories linked with crackling fires, burnt indigenous wood, clothes suffocating in smoke and mesquite flavored hair are all attributes of bonding around an amber lit campfire. The feel involved around a campfire are the influences applied in designing an indoor lamp that advocates coming together and bonding around a central matter.
In light of the situation here are some unreleased photos of "LampFire" (no pun intended.)
Lumix 12-35
As you know we recently picked up the new BlackMagic Pocket and super excited about using it for our future projects. Now if you're in the same boat as us and looking for an affordable video camera packing some major heat, this is your camera. We picked up the Lumix 12-35mm 2.8 lens last week and I think this will be our main squeeze for the type of video work we do. So if you mainly shoot interview style and process type videos this lens is fully capable and exceeds expectation. It is equivalent to a 24-70mm when locked onto a Micro Four Thirds. The process video shot for Baker's Son, if scroll up to the next post, was shot with this lens.
SOME MORE VOODOO BLACK MAGIC
Here is a snippet of a project we've got going on. This project should be ready for show & tell in about a week n' half. All shot on the Blackmagic Pocket in Raw with a 20mm 1.7 -- Color corrected in Davinci Resolve and edited with A.Premiere
2013 DESIGN DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT
What happens when you herd a bunch of designers into a playground in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, provide them with a bunch of kegs/ paint a few makeshift chalk outlines in the field/ throw in some dodgeballs, and let them have at it? For as long as I can remember the design firms of the Bay Area have gathered for some lighthearted fun every Fall in the annual Design Dodgeball Tournament at Jackson Playground. This year’s tourney, hosted by FuseProject, took place a few weeks back, and we headed out to document some of the fun, as our senior member Anh represented for his day job Astro.
Here’s a quick recap of the day, for your enjoyment, along with some footage of the after-party held at Huge Design.
Congrats to Fuse Project for winning three years straight. We’re looking forward to next year’s battle, and maybe we’ll even see some of you out on the fields.
Seize the Summer
The weather has been incredibly supportive of us being lazy about work and spend more time outdoors. Yes, we're both consistently pumping out good design work for our concerned clients. But! we're also squeezing in extra time for more surfing and mt. biking. Last night I made time to edit footage taken at Skeggs Point this past weekend with the new go pro 3. I love how convenient and compact the go pro can be, it really saves me weight and space from lugging around my heavy ass canon 5d.
Here is snippet of what I've edit so far. I'm waiting on more footage from a friend, once that comes I should be able to wrap this up. Enjoy this for now.
Skeggs Point (WIP) from Creative Session on Vimeo.
DEEP WORLD TOUR
Huy(wee) Pham is that "GUY" He's the friend you have that is always doing something super inspirational and cool. Each time I see him he's progressively grown like 20% more cooler. Its gotten to the point that I expect huge things coming from him time and time again. Huy is an ecstatic man, music connoisseur, rad DJ, entrepreneur and probably one of the coolest dancers you'll ever meet- I'm glad to be his friend.
He's coming to the San Francisco this weekend after finishing his first "DEEP" tour in Seattle WA. All you party people come out to support. I mean awesome dancing and great music why not?
Coca-Cola Sharing Can
