Saw this MAC Cosmetics ad campaign on a blog recently and had to laugh. Now that I've been working on email campaigns for most of my clients, I see this email "failure" as a great pixel art form and solution for images that fail to load properly on a browser. How easy (or not) would it be to code for this?
Got a sneak peek of MoMA's exhibition “Talk To Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects” this past Tuesday (opens to the public July 24). Well over a thousand people were present at the preview, including a curious Stefan Sagmeister. The exhibition brings together everything from small gadgets to large technological installations that serve as “gateways” (emotionally, sensually, or intellectually) between people and other people/things. This is a must see for anyone interested in the advancement of technology in regards to communication.
The past couple of months have been CRAZY. There's been work to be done left and right, with two things standing out:
I'm currently working as a full-time Creative Services Designer at Experian's CheetahMail, "the trusted service provider of email marketing and customer intelligence technologies for top enterprises worldwide." Our clients include top brands like Adidas, RadioShack, and Starbucks, to name a few. I have only good things to say about CheetahMail and its people and am totally proud to have joined the team.
I've also started working with Mex and the City by writing a Weekly Post on their site in which I explore the foodie and other Mexican-inspired happenings in New York. I hope to collaborate with them on some art/design projects soon (see Previous Post on the collective for more info). What better way to get to know the City than a la Mexicana? ;)
And finally, I've moved into a beautiful new studio. Now that the dust is settling again, you'll once again be seeing the latest Art & Design happenings here (hint hint: MoMA private reception coming up).
Gros Bisous,
Lily Ann
Was introduced to the Mex and the City blog not too long ago and simply fell IN LOVE. Their site promotes the efforts of young Mexican creatives by giving a voice to their personal stories in the City and how they adapt and contribute to the ever-changing culture of New York. I was invited to attend their one year Anniversary Party at Hous Projects and got the scoop on how it all began: Mex and the City began as a group of young Mexican women sharing their scandalous stories in the City through the means of a blog. People became interested and soon nicknamed the ladies "Mex and the City" (see: Sex and the City). The word kept spreading until they were eventually featured in all sorts of Press. They've now "grown beyond a blog into a budding creative consultant agency, developing cultural initiatives with existing and emerging brands and communities in NYC". How can you not love them with posts like these (video below)?
Just had the pleasure of working with Olivia Fox Cabane on some printed Branding material. She was not only a complete sweetheart, but she has quite the interesting career: Olivia Fox Cabane is a well-known Leadership Coach who travels around the world to help people "increase their ability to help influence, persuade, and inspire others". She has been featured everywhere from The New York Times, to Bloomberg, Businessweek, & The Wall Street Journal. Why can't we all have a job like this? Video below of this charismatic lady in action:
Mexican-born Sustainable Designer Carmen Artigas and I recently met at a free textiles workshop, where she jokes that I seemed "possessed and working as if I was getting paid by the hour" (I was on a mission to sew a coat and hardly spoke with her). This past Sunday I had a chance to sit down and talk with her one-on-one about her life and work so far, and what a lovely surprise I got:
"Carmen received a grant to study fashion in Milan and, against all odds, was hired right after graduation by the hottest designer working at the time, Romeo Gigli." Here, she tells me, she had a chance to work alongside one of the most respected fashion designers in the world: Alexander McQueen. They were both only 19 at the time and still fresh fish in the fashion world. Carmen mentions that McQueen ("Lee," as she knew him) was always extremely sweet and down to earth.
Carmen continued moving to bigger and better things, later landing a much-coveted job with Donna Karan, where she worked as Assistant Designer for the Season's Collections. After that, she went on to do everything from curating the only Shoe Museum in Latin America; to designing costumes for movies, commercials, & dance; to finally showing her own line in the great city of New York.
Then came her 4-month trip to India... which changed her world. Here Carmen experienced the totally different sustainable lifestyle and realized she could never go back to the fashion world she knew. From that moment on, she chose the way of Sustainable Design and has since launched her latest collection: Viva La Vida, products made by prisoners in Mexico who have found positive outlets for their energies. Carmen also teaches an Ethical Fashion course at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Ole!
I was asked to represent the Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo Gallery (Mexico City) this past weekend at The Armory Show, NYC. After four tireless days of showing/selling artwork, I finally have a chance to write about it:
The Armory Show, coined "America's leading fine art fair devoted to the most important art of the 20th and 21st centuries," is a huge four-day event that takes place in Manhattan every March. It brings fantastic Galleries, Curators, Artists, Collectors, and Celebrities from all over the world to enjoy a full array of Armory Arts Week events hosted throughout the NY area. The opening reception was held at MoMA with performer Kate Nash.
The Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo Gallery represents artists from Mexico and Latin America working in varying media (incl. installation, film, photography, sculpture, painting, & video) who are relatively young and pushing the limits in Contemporary Art. The three artists we represented at the fair were multi-media installation artist Nicola López, paper artist Daniel Alcalá, and multi-media artist Omar Barquet. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nicola López was among the artists we were showing, as I had first come across her work several years ago in Texas through mutual friends, and had later run into the artist again recently at several reunions in Brooklyn (small world!). Her work is now part of MoMA's permanent collection as well as at El Museo del Barrio.
We had a great turnout and received a lot of love from renown museums, collectors, and the public in general. Oh! And among the artists we spotted was the fabulously eccentric Chuck Close. Loooove it. We finished the events celebrating with my bubbly, newly-befriended Stylist Derric Keith (shown below) and other cozy company. More craziness planned for this coming week and hope to be one of the artists exhibiting at The Armory Show soon ;)
A friend and I were invited by the lovely Sustainable Designer Carmen Artigas (who we recently met at a Textiles Workshop which I’ll write about soon) to the Sustainable Fashion NOW Showcase 2011 (NYC) this past weekend. I went in thinking that all I would be seeing was a lot of hippie madness and the usual trade show situation (designers/sellers attacking you from every angle) when I came upon a very beautiful, crazy lady: JoAnn Berman. I was instantly hypnotized by her collection, which took me back to my stay in London many years ago. It was edgy, Punkish, and extremely colorful like the crazy London street fashion, with spots here and there taken from Mexican culture. We spoke for what seemed ages about brujería (Spanish for witchcraft), culture, and everything in between. Hope to see more of this free spirit in the coming shows. Check out her latest Spring/Summer Collection 2011.
Finally! Haven't updated in sooooo long because I moved to Brooklyn ("Brooklin," according to my mom) 5 months ago and have been busy fighting landlords, trying all sorts of exciting jobs, and meeting fantastic artists and designers from all over the world. I have so many things to put up that I figured I'd start with the most recent event I attended, the "Gain": AIGA Design & Business Conference 2010 which took place just last week in Manhattan. The AIGA brought fab designers from everywhere to give workshops and presentations on how the design world is constantly having to re-invent itself to stay relevant (like everything else, of course...although not everything moves as fast as design!). Some of the gnarlier speakers included Robert Hammond (co-founder/executive director of Friends of the High Line), David Droga (Droga 5), eating designer Marije Vogelzang, and Jonathan Harris (number27). Since I've been exploring the idea of "Connecting" for the past several months, the speakers Marije Vogelzang and Jonathan Harris woke me up to the reality of the importance of trying to get people to re-connect in a more animalistic, primitive way (i.e. the battle with and against technology):
Designers who donate their time to Architecture for Humanity's projects are just so inspirational. This is such a great example of how design can directly improve people's lives. Pecha Kucha events have raised over $60,000 which, with the help of Architecture for Humanity, will be used to build their first school in Haiti (see: Pecha Kucha for Haiti). Keep kicking ass!!
Current project that's been keeping us busy busy. Got commissioned to paint several sky-themed murals at the Centennial Museum (El Paso, TX) along with painters Irene O'Leary and David Rey. This is the first of several rooms to be renovated. First pic below shows the project proposal's before/after (courtesy Victor Mireles, project coordinator), and the rest show our progress. First room's completed, so here goes an Article written about it in the EP Times. :x
Found these videos from an art/music show I organized back in 2005...2004??? It was something like 8 local artists showing/selling their work and 10 bands making us dance dance dance. If anyone has other footage from "International Velvet," let it be known and shoot me an e-mail! P.S. These kids are now touring worldwide: Zechs Marquise.
Was asked to design some promo stuff for Pecha Kucha Vol. 5. Invites shown below...now to get these printed.
All proceeds will go to Architecture for Humanity's reconstruction efforts in Haiti.
Thanks to Dusty Parilla for initial photos. (Pecha Kucha 20x20 , Pecha Kucha Night El Paso).
Finally. Some pics of The Daily Bread & Grind packaging. This week I'll be working on some promo stuff for Pecha Kucha Vol. 5, we'll see what I think up ... (hint: Chit Chat). Lovely fotos below taken by Joey Ponce, & the last one by Dusty Parilla :)
Packaging for The Daily Bread & Grind. What do you guys think of the logo? Other elements? Will upload photos of real, 3D packages soon. :)
I haven't made any more recent updates on the "Sexual Harassment" piece because it was illegally kept from me and was just returned last night! Haha I know it's hard to believe but it's true. So now I will happily go back to working on it :} BTW, I recently participated in a fun fun event called Pecha Kucha Vol 4. (Pecha Kucha 20x20 , Pecha Kucha Night El Paso). Official pics of the event will be up soon, but in the meantime, here are some taken by my sister:
