Balance, Design
June 19, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
At an early age, German-born designer Blair Prietz began developing a worldly perspective as his father’s work took them around the globe from the UK, to Okinawa, to California. Recently graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Industrial Design program, Blair has relocated again to Brooklyn. His worldly and creative perspective is now being put to use at Williamsburg-based design studio AREAWARE. We asked Blair to develop a worldly mix for this week’s Playlist. Take a listen.
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Balance
June 12, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Designer, illustrator, and optimistic modernist: all good ways to describe San Francisco-based creative Brent Couchman. Before coming to the bay, Brent worked for Fossil in Texas doing branding, packaging, and illustration. Since arriving out west he’s worked for Hatch Design, gone solo with clients like Google, Facebook, and Herman Miller, and been named to Young Guns 9 by the Art Directors Club. This week, Brent gets the lead out with his own work Playlist. Check it out.
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Balance
June 5, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Whistle is a housewares, gifts, and accessories shop created by veteran retail buyer and merchandiser Katie Gaertner. Opened in February of this year in the Sunset district of San Francisco, Whistle showcases an eye-popping spectrum of eclectic, joyful, and design-centric items handpicked by Katie, an avid world-traveler with extensive experience in the retail market. We invited Katie to give us a peek at Whistle’s wares and share a little bit of its musical soundtrack in this week’s Playlist. Take a listen.
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Balance, Design
May 29, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
This week’s Playlist comes from designer and illustrator Gavin Potenza. From his studio at The Buddy System in Brooklyn, NY, Gavin has created work for Google, Fortune Magazine, and recently, Herman Miller. Named a “Young Gun” by the Art Director’s Club, and a “Young & Hungry Creative” by HOW Magazine, Gavin creates work that deftly combines rich color palettes with masterful use of space, shape, and texture. A fan of the late-night design session, Gavin’s playlist is the perfect way to kick off your evening and for pushing-on till dawn. Check it out.
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Balance
May 22, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Throw open the doors and windows, the first long weekend of the summer is upon us. Let’s kick it off with some of our favorite tunes from the past few months’ worth of Playlists.
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Balance
May 15, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Christy Lai and Michael John like the term “multidisciplinary.” We can see why; together, they have a lot going on. First there’s Colorcubic, their interactive studio specializing in UX/UI, 3D modeling, animation, and motion graphics. In addition to the studio, Christy and John run a record label called Nueva Forma. Nueva Forma produces and releases high-caliber records in multiple genres and — channeling their affinity for design — often produces limited-edition packaging as well. Next the duo plan to launch an online shop to sell their design products including music, apparel, and printed goods called The Color Bureau. For this week’s Playlist, they share a few tracks that inspire their multidisciplinary activities.
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Balance, Design
May 8, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
The narrative-driven work of artist, illustrator and designer Andy J. Miller combines bold, figurative imagery with abstract details and patterns like stars, spots, icons, and more. Though modern in influence, the work has a handcrafted feel to it, at once introspective and emotive. In addition to client for work the likes of Sony and Smart Car, Andy created the Indie Rock Coloring Book, a charity collaboration with the Yellow Bird Project. His site Art Directions offers online pep talks to artists and creatives. In this week’s Playlist, we asked Andy take a moment to pep us up with a sampling of his music tastes. Lend your ears.
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Balance, Design
May 1, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Soon after moving to the Bay Area in 2007, Ryan Meis and Sarah Labieniec collaborated on a letterpress announcement for friends and family announcing their new digs. They enjoyed their collaboration so much, they founded Lab Partners to continue to explore their shared creative passions. With a focus on design and illustration, Sarah and Ryan approach visuals with a combination of imagination, storytelling, and craft. This week’s Playlist has the creative pair storytelling with music. Take a listen at what they have to say.
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Balance, Design
April 24, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Architect Ray Tam left the advertising industry to begin studying architecture at the University of Oregon. After finishing his degree, he began a new focus on the rehabilitation of affordable and market-rate multi-family housing while working at BASIS Architecture and Consulting. Ray is also involved with the Bay Area Young Architects, part of San Francisco’s AIA chapter, and is a photographer. We asked him to take time out of his creative endeavors and design a sound musical structure for us in this week’s Playlist. Take a listen.
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Balance, Design
April 17, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
In the heart of Detroit’s creative and cultural midtown lies Nora Modern, a treasure trove of modern housewares, gifts, and accessories. The store was created by four friends looking for a way to change the tone of retail in Detroit. Together, owners Liz Boone, Toby Barlow and Joe Posch, and manager Michele Unverzagt offer Detroiters a unique source of thoughtful design — everything from stone and glassware, to timepieces, bags, and artwork. The Nora team has a saying: “We honestly don’t know what you want, but we have a store filled with things that we love, and maybe you will, too.” Sounds good to us. And speaking of sounding good, check out Nora Modern’s musical soundtrack in this week’s Playlist.
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