Mission District - 826 Valencia, Graffiti Alley, Philz Coffee.

Although I've been living around the bay for almost 10 years now (holy crap,) I have only skimmed through the surface of the creative and organic culture of San Francisco. I don't know the cool spots to hang nor the best diner to grub on, but I guess that makes my every trip to San Francisco as refreshing as it can be. Anyway, I ought to go out more.

Good thing Michelle's a San Francisco native. and a good tour guide.


..except this time I am showing her around. 

I heard of this place through TED (check it out.) The "826 Valencia."

A place named after its address. The seemingly pirate supply store from first glance turn out to have a non-profit tutor center in the back that holds workshops and lessons for kids to swing by and work on their assignments. THIS is the kind of tutor center I'd go to - there's no turning away from a pirate supply store.

The shop portion was tiny but filled with witty, yet hilarious gadgets, posters, and items (all regarding pirates, of course.) Interior design of the place was incredible, too. Unfortunately, no cameras allowed inside.

So, I took a few photos outside:


..and grabbed their card and flyer for upcoming events.

↑ Don't mistaken it for a carnival flyer, this one's for a personal statement workshop. And seeing what they've done so far, I wouldn't be surprised if the workshop's just as fun as being at a carnival. A great example of the power of good and intriguing design.

I also found a few pictures of the products they sell in sore:




I'm a sucker for well designed things, so I got one of their posters for Raskeezy!


Then, we continued our adventure along Valencia.


Interesting flavor. Bourbon was a bit heavy.


Graffiti alley. I just made that name up.








Michelle's got word that Philz Coffee doesn't disappoint.




Typical bathroom in San Francisco.


Mint Mojito Iced Coffee's one of their crown jewels.


Last destination: Michelle's renewing her contract with AT&T.




Abe (ah-beh) interviewing people in line regarding innovation and consumerism. I happened to be one of the lucky ones. Except I stuttered a lot. And I gave a lot of, now that I think of it, moronic answers.

Feels like a boss, nonetheless.




Well, that's wrap

'till next adventure,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Tweet

Red Balloon x TIZ is back!

Red Balloon is a benefit concert sponsoring local non-profits organization and global efforts to secure opportunities for children in third world countries and here in our own backyard. They have events in Davis and San Jose to connect the community through music.

We're proud to be a part of the effort last year.


It's back and it will be hosted at Touro University in just a few weeks. From 5 -8 PM.

Once again, TIZ's given little snippet of time to perform. To optimize the time frame and the setting, I'm glad to work with Popping Club of UC Davis to put together something aimed particularly for this event.

We're also bringing back the Red Balloon x TIZ tee!

Background: Red Balloon's a benefit concert.
Just the basic idea of the event gave me enough room to brainstorm for ideas - music, red balloon, instruments.

Rough sketch:

Concept: A musician playing for passion and for the good cause of the benefit concert - minding the red balloon. Hence, the balloon looking head.

Final Design:






Lastly, a custom back logo also for the event.


Placement of the designs:

They are in Unisex sizing and ready to be [pre-ordered]. Check out [our shop] for the shirt!

50% will go to UC Davis Children's Hospital. [Pre-order here]!

↑ -Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Tweet

Campus Rotaract Club of Davis - Design Process

Cheryl from Campus Rotaract Club (CRC) of Davis contacted me awhile back to collaborate on their latest club tees - a shirt design that represents the club's aim for the given year. (This item's available exclusively via CRC at UC Davis.)

Here are a couple steps that I'd usually go through to whip out a design:

↑Research: If the club's done shirts in the past, I'd usually take a look at them to get a general design approach for the new design. Aspects such as the color way, placements of the designs, and the font choices they used are worth paying attention to.

Then I'd focus on the theme to brainstorm for ideas:

↑For this year, CRC aiming for "Giving service, guiding leadership." Picking out key words usually help filter down the cluster of various concepts.  In this case, I chose "guidance" and "service" as the root of the design.

Judging from the past t-shirts, the dominant color's red with white and yellow designs.

↑ Color's crucial. It affects the potential objects you can use in an illustration. It's best to settle down on what color you can work with before sketching out any ideas.

Once I figured out the fundamentals, I'd begin the doodle process:

I took a direct approach with the theme "Giving Service, Guiding Leadership" by having people building(giving service) the lighthouse.(the guiding light for leadership.)

While maintaining the original color way, I added the extra black as accent to offset the bright colors.


Details are fun to add.


Slightly rearranged the letters to complement the front design.






Ta da!

↑Courtesy of the CRC @ UC Davis


↑Courtesy of the CRC @ UC Davis

'til next collaboration,
 -Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Tweet

A Look @ Intel Inside

I'm fascinated by the workspace of companies. Image the hours it took and the amount of money spent to design a life long work environment for thousands, if not hundreds, of employees. Thanks to Cody, who's now a full time employee at Intel, I got a chance to take a quick look inside.

I do apologize for the less sharp photos of this post - had to rely on my iphone; didn't think it was a good idea snapping photos with my flamboyant orange strapped DSLR.


Oh snap. I'm amused by ANYthing with my friend's name written on it.



I notice that it's rather common to have dissected personal space(cubicles) within tech companies. Walls within walls.

Cody's man cave = Multiple laptops + phone + whiteboard.




As we moved our way down the isles, I got to see a series of toys, dolls, and table top decorations on top of people's shelves for personalization. But nothing beats this guy's collection:

↑ Epicness corresponds to the amount of that particular item you acquire. And this is way epic.

Met up with Layne, another super smart engineer at Intel. (Go Davis!)




Portraits of Intel. No faces, just circuit boards with, I'm assuming, something revolutionary on it.

↑No clue, but looks cool.

Their penthouse lounge.




Massive dining hall.


Gym - the only place filled with people. Intelligent people sure know how to keep healthy. I know I'd see myself at the penthouse lounge all day with my hot pockets and soda.

That's a wrap on a good note. Stay healthy, guys.

Check out the other campuses that I visited: Google. Cisco. Pixar. Pacific Bicycles.



↑Zeeb of the Day! Amanda with the Rabbit Tee. Photo courtesy by Michelle.

If you'd like to be the zeeb(s) of the day. Send us photos of you rockin' em Zeebs! or via Facebook, Twitter, or just tumblr label #tiz or #theimaginaryzebra..etc!

'til the next campus,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Tweet