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Hi to all my new followers and welcome - I have been on hiatus! Finished a big contract with G-Form in Providence, RI, spent a week doing some quick "cameo" work down at Spark Design in Connecticut, and am now working at New Balance as an Advanced Concepts CAD Designer. I will be updating this blog shortly... I need to curate some things to fill these pages again. Until then, draw on folks!

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So I'm home now, back in MA. Funny, when I got to CO it had just snowed the day before but it was sunny the whole time, and when I get back to MA it snows immediately. Got to see a lot of art & design in Denver & Boulder... Will be posting some industrial design stuff whenever I get the chance. First I have to respond to a ton of e-mails I didn't get to while I was away!

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10 lessons for young designers/john c. jay

via: laurabielecki

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So I'm still on the road (currently in Silverthorne, CO, but will be in Boulder tonight) and wanted to post this up (again - not mine). Sketching is like a sport, or like writing. If you practice every day, you'll get good at it. But if you practice every day and try new techniques often, you'll get even better. So here's another technique to go try while you're drinking coffee this afternoon or waiting for that pesky render queue to finish up.

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A little something different today, but this reminds me a lot of how my dad draws faces, (he's an illustrator and graphic designer, currently teaching in higher ed). Or at least, the end result is very similar. Never knew there was a "name" for it, but that's what you get for growing up with something. FYI this is not my video - I haven't done any drawing tutorials thus far but that might happen in the future. I'm still waiting to develop a better pace with drawing.

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So my skateboarding portfolio piece just became my most viewed this month (65 views in 5 days leaves me with 0 complaints) but it will take a while before it dethrones my most popular project - The Hybrid Commuter Bag. It's a messenger bag and a backpack and a sling bag, and it lets you access gear while your hands are busy. It has wet gear storage, air suspension in the back panel... Oh and it's totally waterproof.

What's not to love?

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Redoing Critical Assets

Today I'm redoing my print portfolio.... Just a reminder to everyone that while web portfolios are fantastic (and sure help getting your name out), sometimes you absolutely have to have one on paper. Fortunately I got most of my client work out of the way last week so I have a day or two to get this done. Then I fly to Denver. Keep working!

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I don't miss being told on a Monday "Have 300 concept sketches for Wednesday." Except, wait... That still happens.

There are days I do miss school though.

What do industrial design students do? We draw. 75+ tables drawn and many of them fully rendered in the span of a week

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Got some free time today? Try out Scott Robertson's "coloring and weathering a greyscale rendering" tutorial for free over on YouTube. If there's anyone that can draw, it's this man.

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Just an old-fashioned quickie from in between doing work this week.

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That's a beaut! And rare - I remember this one being built. You can get in touch with Rus (head of Soda Factory) on Silverfishlongboarding.com. Just send a PM to "Scratch". Production boards (this is not one) available through PerformanceLongboarding here: http://performancelongboarding.com/brands/soda-factory.html

Again, no contact info for this manufacturer :(

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So I've been designing skateboards for over three years now (with the help of some pretty awesome folks that move them into reality), above are the Doubletap (on Randals and Hesher Snowballs) and the Killbilly Speedball - my favorite/best seller and my most recent, respectively.

Graphics by RodGon (Doubletap) and Jeff Monska (Killbilly Speedball) Want some light background on the design process? Check it out here

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Recently uploaded a few samples of sketch work. More to come soon, but I'm a little busy sketching right now to get them scanned!

Check out the full gallery here.

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Hey, I'm in this video!

Good weather for skating today so never mind tumblr. I never get pictures or video because lol skating solo, so here’s a few videos of guys who do what I do way better than I do it.

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"WhatDo" App for iOS - Visual Prototypes

Some people are busy every day. For those who aren't, this app helps you figure out what you should do with your leisurely day off.

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The Future Is Interdisciplinary from Michael Roller

An infographic created with information from the 2012 IDSA Conference in Boston, showing that Industrial Designers, UI/UX Designers, Web designers, product designers - we're all going to have to blend. The future isn't moving away from "products," but it is moving towards digital. Finding a way to be part of more than one discipline is important - finding a way to advertise yourself as such is even moreso.

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Perfection

It's hard to call yourself a perfectionist. As a child, it seems like something we should all be. Then as we grow up, people say "no, you don't want to be a perfectionist," or "oh, you're like that." People begin to hint at how perfectionists never get anything done and can't get out of their own way. But is this true? Perfection is an endeavor that some chose to pursue, feeling like there is an end to this search. It can mean obsession, complete consumption with the idea of making something perfect. This leads to the "it's never done," mentality, which leads to constant refinement and alterations. While revision is permissible and part of the design process, being able to accept something as having reached its finishing point is different. A professional painter of cars, props and models once said to me, "I'm not perfect, and I don't want to be. I just want my work to be amazing and I want to always be able to progress in my craft." In this, there is a humbleness that exists. Through this calmed approach to doing good work, this painter was perfect, when viewed from outside eyes. In his own eyes, he was doing the best he knew how to do, always wishing to do better. To me, the achievement of perfection in a particular skill or focus in life isn't do to everything perfectly, or even right at all. It is a state of flow; of zen. Being able to do an engine swap on a car in a weekend isn't something that can be done by perfectionists, but to outsiders it seems like something that needs to be done perfectly. It takes a mental state of movement where things go together as a result of skill, preparation, and the right state of mind. The same goes for a major work of art, writing, or circuitry which others come to accept as "perfect" - the creator may know its flaws, but is not bothered by them, as there is a bliss to the ease in which they have executed their job. Not because they're perfect, but because they're good.

(crossposted from my old student blog)