Previous Articles
Lower Vancouver
lower-vancouver-poster.pdf During low tide a 0.5m cubic hole is dug in the beach lowering the average elevation of the city by 0.00000000055 per cent. 114,670,000.0m2 Surface area of Vancouver* 2.0m Average elevation* 0.125m3 Volume of hole 114,670,000.0m2 × 2.0m = 229,340,000.0m3 Volume of Vancouver above sea level 229,340,000.0m3 - 000.125m3 = 229,339,999.875m3 Volume of Vancouver minus hole 229,339,999.875m3 ÷…
Full Article | Aug. 14-09
Silver Circle Bicycle Diary
A day-by-day account of the 2,000km, 14-day bicycle touring route that loops across British Columbia from Vancouver to Banff and back. This particular trip was undertaken June 14-27, 2009. Part 2/2.
Full Article | Aug. 10-09
Essential Mac Web Design Apps
While working on a contract these are the applications and programs I have running on my MacBook Pro (with OSX 10.4) at basically all times while designing and constructing a website. I can’t work without these. A lot of Command-Tab, Command-r going on. What do you use? Grab Native OSX app for taking screenshots. Good for grabing areas of an…
Full Article | Jul. 24-09
Silver Circle Bicycle Tour
A guide and map to the 2,000km, 14-day bicycle touring route that loops across British Columbia from Vancouver to Banff and back on first Highway 1 then Highway 3. This particular trip was undertaken June 14-27, 2009.
Full Article | Jul. 21-09
Review in Tabs: The Orchid Thief
A review in tabs—excerpts I found noteworthy in Susan Orlean’s novel about orchid collectors in the swamps of Florida, about what passion really is and means. The non-fiction novel formed the basis for Charlie Kaufman’s film Adaptation, which inspired me to read the book. Page 30 Is what I did ethical? I don’t know. I’m a shrewd bastard. I could…
Full Article | Jun. 2-09
Design Project Hours and Budget
How much time and money does a 4th year design graduation project take? Nearly 1,000 hours and over $3,000….
Full Article | May. 12-09
2009 Emily Carr Graduation Exhibitions
You are invited to view the work of our Undergraduates and Graduates from the Design, Fine Arts and Media programs. Undergraduate Exhibition May 3-10 10am to 6pm Graduate Exhibition May 3-17 10am to 6pm Preview Night Friday May 1, 7pm to 9pm Emily Carr University of Art + Design 1399 Johnston Street Granville Island Vancouver BC V6H 3R9 604…
Full Article | Apr. 26-09
Review in Tabs: Life of Pi
A review in tabs—excerpts I found noteworthy in Yann Martel’s novel about a boy trapped on a life raft with a zebra, hyena, orang-utan and tiger. Page 31 “I’ll be honest about it. It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while. We must all pass through the garden of…
Full Article | Apr. 12-09
Cycling BC Road Online Calendar
A quick and fun pro bono project for the organization I raced under for seven years. A kind of giving back to the community feel. I was in charge of the frontend design of their new race calendar and results website, working with the VP of Road as project manager and a racer/programmer who developed the backend. We built…
Full Article | Apr. 7-09
What to Measure?
A progress report given in-class for an Industrial Design graduation project about measurements for our time.
Full Article | Feb. 27-09
Measure 2009
Thoughts on a graduation project proposal for Industrial Design at the Emily Carr University, 2009.
Full Article | Feb. 7-09
Saguaro by Carson Mell
A review in tabs—excerpts I found noteworthy in Carson Mell’s—who as far as I can tell is a young independent writer—writing about Bobby Bird, “a classic rock star who’s been producing rock albums of greatly varying quality since the early 60s”, 2006 (second edition 2008; ordered directly from Mell and his apartment in LA). Page 7 “But here I was,…
Full Article | Jan. 15-09
Transcribed Inspiration
Passages from films I’ve found particular poignant / relevant / inspiring of late. Adaptation John Larouche’s pollination monologue Note: skip to 3-minute mark “Point is what’s so wonderful is that every one of these flowers has a specific relationship with the insect that pollinates it. There’s a certain orchid looks exactly like a certain insect, so the insect is drawn…
Full Article | Jan. 14-09
Listened in 2008
The top 25 artists in rotation for 2008 as recorded by Last.fm, the website that tracks my listening habits in iTunes on my computer and iPod*.
Full Article | Jan. 12-09
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
A review in tabs—excerpts I found noteworthy in Gladwell’s latest sociological look at the factors that contribute to the outstanding success of individuals with talent, drive and, most importantly, the right opportunities at the right time. Page numbers from the first edition hardcover, November 2008.
Full Article | Dec. 27-08
Emily Carr Pilgrimage
A video: students of the Emily Carr University make a winter morning pilgrimage to the grave site of their school’s namesake, and Canadian painter, Emily Carr, in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, Canada. Post-respects coffee at Cafe Fantastico in Cook Street Village. Ed. note: best espresso I’ve maybe ever had. Also: below, an image of Carr’s ‘original’ grave marker, installed by…
Full Article | Dec. 20-08
iPhone University?
An open letter to Haig Armen, sessional instructor, concerning my concerns over his Spring 2009 2D Design Concentration course: Interactions and Applications for small screen technology (iPhone), at the Emily Carr University.
Full Article | Dec. 16-08
Clément Quotes
“Everything we see is an iceberg.” Clément Vincent, Assistant Professor in Communication Design at the Emily Carr University. Myself and a handful of senior students attend his weekly Design Futures class. We give presentations and discuss readings on the design process, how we define design, and the paths we take around / through / beyond it. Below, some quotes…
Full Article | Oct. 15-08
Congregation Wallpaper
By popular request, desktop wallpaper of your favourite heads of Emily Carr. 1024 x 768 1280 x 800 1280 x 1024 1440 x 900…
Full Article | Oct. 7-08
Notes on Ira Glass' Notes on Storytelling
A textual summary and paraphrasing of some tips Ira Glass (of NPR’s This American Life) has for people starting out in the broadcast business and want to know what makes a good story. Taken from a four-part series of little YouTube videos. Two building blocks of broadcast storytelling: The Anecdote A sequence of actions. Story in its purest form. A…
Full Article | Oct. 5-08
Grad Projects, One Month
Presentations by fourth year Emily Carr University Industrial Design students after their first month of initial research. Instructors Tom Becher and Jim Budd. Live-blogged from the classroom. All notes below paraphrased (at best) and interpreted by me. 9:27 Michelle: Secrets of eating habits. Research books (Richard Buchanan’s Rhetoric, Humanism and Design, Hungry Planet, (un)popular Design from Dunne & Raby) presented…
Full Article | Oct. 2-08
Scenes from Fitzcarraldo
Werner Herzog, 1982….
Full Article | Sep. 22-08
2360 Burger Night
Full Article | Sep. 20-08
David Foster Wallace Dead
The most influential artists in my life seem to kill themselves soon after I discover them. Spalding Gray, Elliot Smith and most tragically of all, today, David Foster Wallace. David Foster Wallace Dead of Suicide at 46 My favourite author, a man who was highly influential in not just informing my writing style in both essays, blogging, and even online…
Full Article | Sep. 14-08
Need and Affordance
Fourth Year First Day: A fourth year industrial design graduation project class at the Emily Carr University attempts to sort themselves into theme-based groups on the first day of their final meeting. (At this point the professors have already left the class in frustration). Tom Becher flips over the course syllabus at his desk in the design studio and…
Full Article | Sep. 5-08
Learning to Drive
I am learning to drive a manual transmission as we truck across America. Although I’ve driven extensively for 12 years, and have owned two cars in that time, I never had the opportunity to own or command a stick. Scott is teaching me how in his ‘91 Nissan pickup. The first lesson in first gear was at a gravel pit…
Full Article | Aug. 30-08
Montana to Murdo, South Dakota
We woke up at sunrise in the Middle of Montana to the sound of a vehicle passing on the gravel road close to the tent. Two minutes later the vehicle returns and a man yells “This is private property, get going.” And so we did, and continued across the never-ending rolling ranches and farms that is South Dakota. South Dakota….
Full Article | Aug. 29-08
Nelson to Middle of Montana
Scott buying coffee at Oso Negro in Nelson before heading out on Day 2. Oso Negro coffee in Nelson, BC. Recommended. View of the GPS navigator / DJ / Photographer / Videographer / Blogger office in Scott’s truck, heading over the near 1800 metre Salmo-Creston Pass. Gas station in Creston, BC. In Creston, too. Our first snack break: an…
Full Article | Aug. 27-08
Vancouver to Nelson
Scott is moving to Kennebunkport, Maine, USA. He’s driving there and I’m tagging along for the ride. This morning he took the ferry from Victoria and picked me up in Vancouver. We drove to Nelson. Before heading out I was given the task of configuring an Eee PC and a Garmin GPS for navigating and nerding out with over…
Full Article | Aug. 25-08
Future Perfect Career 1
The following email was written to a professor of mine in June, 2007. I’m reviewing it again to see if it still holds true: is my dream job still Jan Chipchase’s job? This two part article will first look at my thoughts on the topic from one year ago and then re-evaluate them in conjunction with what I’ve learned about design, and myself, over the past year of internships in Asia and an exchange in Europe.
Full Article | Jul. 20-08