SHUT UP {&} DESIGN

I recently stumbled upon Richard Baird’s post on BP&O for an elegant organic fertilizer packaging (島の土 / Island of Soil) made by Osaka based design studio UMA. One would never have thought that packaging for fertilizer could be so elegant and straightward compared to the rest of its competition out in the market.

There is a sensitivity to colour, layout and illustration you do not often see given to such a product, lending it an unexpected quality. It finds a balance between the utility of large scale agricultural practice and the care and craft of a professional or home gardener, presenting fertiliser as a higher value product and further away from the perceptions of commodity.

—Richard Baird

The attention to small details and bold typography seems prevalent throughout the rest of UMA’s body of works—all designed with a certain sense of quietness, humbleness, elegance, and confidence that you don’t see too much outside of Japanese graphic design.

Ever felt like something just doesn't belong? The world can occasionally make us feel out of place in our own lives, but sometimes being the odd one out brings more joy than you may think.

A cute and short digital mag explaining the history of some of the most common UI symbols we use everyday.

Yes, it's another projection mapping video. But this time, it is paired with live face tracking!

Project Omote is a collaboration between Nobumichi Asai (projection mapping specialist), Hiroto Kuwahara (makeup artist), and Paul Lacroix (digital image engineer).

When people sum up or define what design is… Often times, it ends up feeling rather overthought and forced. I appreciate this quote for not overstating or putting design on a pedestal. Design is what it is, quite simply. And that's that.

What makes a design good is not about how much thought one puts into it or how much time is spent. Sometimes, the most fleeting and simple idea is the one that becomes the most successful. Other times, it's that inspiration that only pops up after many hours, days, months even, of toiling frustration… until it is just right. There's no linear process to design. And how it comes to fruition can be rather fickle and ever such a tease.

This silly little Tumblr that I’ve started (which also has a spin-off for all things food related @ SHUT UP {&} STUFF YOUR FACE) is a place for me to collect and share art and design that I’ve found on the internet, things I've spotted while traveling, and small side-projects that I've created myself. I’m a designer and this is my way to stay aware and reflect on visual inspiration that I observe within my day to day of staring away at an iMac monitor for hours, with tablet pen in hand.