Last week on Thursday, August 26th a mass of curious and creative individuals filled Domy Books and bared the steamy Houston weather in order to sit in on Pecha Kucha v3.
Photos by Sarah Fleming
Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night wondering what design really is? I do, but maybe that’s just me!
“To paraphrase David Burney in this video: Design is a way of life. Designers find solutions to the right problems through the balance of science, analytics, and math + art, spirit and intuition.”
What Is Design? from PermissionToSuck.com on Vimeo.
I subscribe to the idea of design as a process. For me, design is:
- problem-solving
- creating with purpose
Houstonians have a special place in their hearts for what they put on their feet.
As a newcomer to Houston one of the most memorable local brands is the Houston Shoe Hospital. Huge and bold and pretty much everywhere, it is proof of the local dedication to footwear. Numerous other specialty shoe stores and repair shops show that shoes are a central part of Houston’s culture.
For this post I used the help of the Flickr community. Thank you Pedro Vit, Photine and Amy Rosa for letting me feature your photos here!
Name: Tommy Leo
Place of Employment: National Oilwell Varco
Job Title: Design Manager
How long have you been an AIGA member and what do you get out of being a member?
I started with AIGA back in 2002 after the dot-com bust to gain a perspective on what was happening with the local design community and how other member organizations were dealing with the downturn. Today, the rewards of membership are a bit less clear as new priorities have reduced my opportunities to engage AIGA members. read more…
Name: Monica Yael Garcia
Place of Employment: City 17 / Thinking Through Making
Job Title: Jr. Interactive Designer / Designer & Illustrator
What inspired you to become a motion and graphic designer? read more…
Name: Leah Macey
School: University of Houston
Degree Plan & Graduating Year: BFA in Graphic Communications 2010
What made you want to study design? read more…
This structural feat combines symbols and a clear knowledge of patterns and spatial relationships. What appears to be chaos is actually a very intricate pattern. It’s impressive and mind-boggling to even think about the layout behind this.
I suppose the 3-D printing makes this possible, but I wonder if this could even be attempted by hand?
Houston Locals: Downtown from Monica Yael Garcia on Vimeo.
Towering skyscraper, busy streets, convention centers, stadiums, and a top-notch theatre district has definitely made this neighborhood the heart of Houston.
Name: Zach Kimmel
School: University of Houston
Year: 2010
What made you want to study design?
I’ve always been sort of a doodler. And a word guy. I love language; hitting upon that perfect word or phrase has always been a source of comfort and satisfaction for me.
I should mention I also really like helping people, and for me, design is one of the most unique and important ways of helping people that I’ve been able to think of, and, lucky me, I get to doodle and think about words when I do it.
What was the best and worst {I just want to forget that happened} experience of being in school?
My favorite awful experience: Toward the end of last semester, I’d been up working on projects for thirty-something hours, the last eighteen hours of which without eating anything at all. Sometime after I’d realized I’d gone so long without food, I got it in my head that breakfast would be beyond awesome—that an egg-based breakfast would be like a reward for a long day and night of solid work. But the only thing within striking distance was a McDonald’s. (Maybe you can see where this is going.) I told myself it would be fine, eggs are eggs, after all. However, it was not fine. What transpires on McDonald’s breakfast menu is a travesty, a crime against breakfast. I don’t know, maybe it was just that one location or something, but the point is, after looking forward to it for so long, after enduring the hunger pangs, that awful breakfast just… it made a bad day so, so much worse.
My favorite awesome experience not nearly as dramatic: there was one particular project—an informational poster—that just came together really well after a lot of difficult and often tedious work. Math was involved, if you can believe that—but it turned out to be a pretty nice piece in the end. I don’t think I could ask for a whole lot more than that, really, as a student or as a professional.
Name: Rowan Gearon
Place of Employment: Adcetera
Job Title: Creative Director
How long have you been an AIGA member and what do you get out of being a member?
I’m definitely one of the new kids on the block when it comes to membership … its been just about a whole month now! I’ve been attending AIGA events (design lectures and the occasional mixer) on and off since moving to Houston 7 years ago. As someone who believes in contributing to the growth and understanding of our industry, I figured I was overdue to actually sign up and offer my support!
The networking at events is probably the biggest drawcard for me. It is interesting to share war stories and be aware of what’s going on in our industry. Though i did just save a bunch of money on a new Macbook Pro 
