Eight, Nine, Ten

Riding 8 miles a day to and from work is kinda like listening to a Bob Dylan song. Especially early in the morning when I am still asleep, it feels trite. You're not caught with a particularly catchy melody. Then little by little the blood starts to flow, and the words formulate an ever so subdued story. In my own little Juju world I am sure he's talking about me. A pigeon directly on my track is caught off guard so it flees simultaneously in the same direction just about a foot ahead of me. The harmonica eases out from the background.

♫ I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade. Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way. I promise to go under it... ♫

What felt trite just a little while ago is now alive and it feels like I'm experiencing the fourth of July. But wait, it's August - I start to form a smile. Whoa, it's 8-9-10, even the date is in order.

In my imaginary agnostic lent, I recently gave up listening to my Ipod while riding. Despite the insatiable company of Bob, I thought maybe I should I listen and think to myself. I need to create some concoctions for the near future regarding my employment whereabouts. Retail is fun, but what I really wanna do is be creative. As a matter of fact I figured out how to model a cookie inside a plastic wrapper during yesterday's trip. How lustful does this look?:



I think I should take away some reflective quality from this clear plastic material, but I like how crazy shiny it is. The criss-crossing lines look to me like perfectly controlled chaos, but it's really just trial and error, with a little bit of kismet thrown in the mix. Needless to say, it doesn't look real, but whatever for all I know I'm in some inception world by Leo DiCaprio.



If only my renders can become real things. I would for sure just render money every chance I get, and of course spend it every chance I can. That would be sweeter than if the city of Chi mysteriously relocates itself in the middle of the pacific. I think I watch too much Lost.

Postcard #3

Trying to go for fun and clever, I hope this doesn't come across as too crass
-Don't want to offend anyone. Either way, I like it. My Nike Dunks look nice.

The "loo" shelf

I finally saw Objectified last night. I think this might just be the single movie
to recommend when people ask me what industrial design is. I must say it is good, and it inspired me to do some designing today.

I looked through my "ideas" vault. I found this old orthographic drawing of a
toilet paper shelf from back in 2007. I think the idea has potential. But whoa!! what was I thinking with this design? It doesn't look all that pleasing.



I decided to redesign this object. Why hide the toilet paper anyway? it has a nice neutral color and a universal shape, why not showcase it? Using the same materials from the initial ortho drawing: wood and sheet metal, I came up with this shelf/installation, oo la la!



This is just a quick sketch render, but I think it looks sexy. I still want to show it in a situational scene, position it right above the loo (I am feeling British today). I also want to make the t-papers look more real and give it that soft, 2-ply texture to the eye. Anyway, here is another look.



I have illusions of grandeur for this. I already have a teaser layout in mind that will involve me in the loo...but not really.

Ideals, showmanship and crazy

It has been nearly a year since I felt the pressure cooker known as thesis,
aka Ecopala. Different facets of this project have been posted - they can be viewed here. I was recently chatting with my buddy Erik, from Mexico city.
We were talking about systems and ideals and materials, how design can
be dictated by these things. We are creative people, and he felt that not
many understand what he is aiming to accomplish with the business which
he intends to start. It was a good chat.

I thought of the ideal Hawaiian product cycle I proposed for my thesis. An attempt for a closed loop cycle which hopes to eliminate or lessen shipping
of Hawaii's waste to different compost sites around the world. Instead, finding
ways to turn waste materials into new products.



I received tremendous information from the City Recycling Coordinator of Honolulu. Her willingness to help really helped the outcome of my thesis. But evidently, when I emailed her my final project, her reply seemed to carry the tone of disappointment with how I seem to have been able to simplify Hawaii's waste stream problems with a couple of illustrations. She must have felt that I took a more businesslike, selling approach to a problem that is constant and very real to her.


Beach noodles and old surf boards

I am a dreamer. A designer. Selling my ideas is part of the showmanship.


Chimes and marker holder from military gun shell casings

So during the end of a substantial chat session with Erik, the word "dreamer" had been used countless times. He then said something which tickled my socks...he told me to re-read some of my chat logs and for every time I see
the word dreamer, change it to "crazy person."

Could I be?...ummphhh I think...therefore I am?.....CRAZY!! hahaha.

Wow I didn't realize that "crazy person" is 100% synonymous with "dreamer." Nevertheless, I'll continue to be a designer. The only way to be sane is to be
a dreamer. As long as I don't become a hazard to myself, I don't mind "crazy."


Rubber tires, beach mats, beach noodle and old boogie board

I quoted Bob Marley and said "don't give up the fight," to which Erik replied,
"I'd rather die than to give up the fight." Ha. gotta love being a "dreamer!!"

My Green Kryptonite

By "green" I mean eco-friendly. My design weakness in pretend.

In the alternate domain known as render, I am weak for chrome plating. With
the lights playfully bouncing, the cool and distorted reflections; this enigmatic material has got me applying it to 3d models for the sake of just seeing! It's a shame, really, that the process is not very good to the environment, because chrome make objects look extra sexy.



I found myself rendering the material to a flashlight! Of course in real life I
would opt not to, better to not anger mother nature. It's kind of like a white
lie, as long as it's only a render, none gets hurt, not even the environment.

On-the-Go

It's the mobile workstation. Perfect for the on-the-go professionals. It comes
with its own pull-out desk. If you only find one open outlet at the airport, no worries, because the mobile workstation comes with extension outlets with
usb ports. It even uses kinetic energy to charge an emergency battery so you may never lose power on your electronic accesories while on the go.



Now that the infomercial is over, I really do think that there's potential in this project. With some topple proofing and a little styling to increase its awesome factor, I think it might just be a hit amongst electronic enthusiasts. With its perfect dimensions for TSA standards, who wouldn't wanna travel without it?

Brass monkey funky, that RENDER monkey.

The following might not have been chosen for implementation at the UIC
Innovation Center, but not because they don't look good; I made sure they
look good. It's a shame really, I labored to learn how to render clear glass
specifically for these projects. They look pretty damn real to me.

This sculpture would have been difficult to make. The cubes spells "IC."


Not even part of the design, but the window on the right took much sweat.

Ecopala Table

The main reason for starting this blog is to showcase some of my creations.
Editing my portfolio is proving to be difficult; this is a proactive attempt to have
a place for my work excesses. This blog will serve as a less constricted, more
narrative showcase venue for my works.



I recently designed a line of products from waste stream opportunities, inspired
and researched from my recent trips to Hawaii, it's called Ecopala. The photo
above is the finished prototype of a table which re-uses damaged propane tanks
for its legs and refurbished wood for its table surface.

Form studies from Rhino models.



Render of corner tables with varying propane heights. Looking so yummy.



Another view, my damn sexy table gives this living room so much charm.



More Ecopala coming. Look here for the rest of the table photos.

Chicago Map Shelves

The material library shelving unit which I designed for the UIC Innovation Center
is actually being built. Never thought that it would happen. Kudos to Alex Jones
for further figuring out the structural support for the design, and actually building
the shelves. Can't wait for the finished product.

This was my design solution for creating a shelving unit for housing prototype
materials that is Chicago inspired and fits into the UIC identity.

The silhouette of the Shelves mimics the outline of the map of Chicago.
The colors of the dark and light blue are part of the UIC color palette and
also plays the notion of land and lakefront.

It's a fraction smaller than my initial design. Nonetheless, this is exciting.

Primary designer: Julius Mangubat
Secondary designer and builder: Alex Jones
Concept developers: Randy Chen, Julius Mangubat