Design - Viewership and Takeaways

Apparently there's stuff like CSS DESIGN AWARDS. I wasn't keen enough to read through how this award works or how legitimate it is... I never really read the details of it and I still don't really care. What's super cool is that they do list up their winners, honourable mentions, and (my favourite and only section I know of) their chosen WEBSITE OF THE DAY, adequately abbreviated to WOTD. Grool.

And then through WOTD, I stumbled upon this website: MARTINA SPERL. Combined with beautiful photography, html5, long scrolling, German words that I do not understand (#ForeignContentIsAlwaysSexy rule applies here), and--most impressively--video integration, Martina Sperl does more than just showcase her furniture.

The online design competition to gain respect and to never fall behind the latest web design trends is on its edge right now. I don't think we have had a demographic like the one that exists today; a viewership that sincerely cares about and notices a company and/or designer's web designs. The online "eye-shoppers" have become the critics, the judgmental verdict-givers, the brand ambassadors, and the shit-talkers. Note how I labelled them the "eye-shoppers" as they may totally be just internet passerby's and have absolutely no connection to the site's subject; in this case, shopping for boutique, indie furniture. This kind of people includes me! I have visited, gotten awed, and felt compelled to discuss more.

The brilliant perks of this site essentially boils down to the video integration and the personable aspect of it. By including the designer in every large section of the content, the viewers are exposed to the human-touch--the handmade-ness--which adds a feeling of notable specialized touch to each product. Once I heard from a boutique furniture designer and company owner that the sales drive the company's continuation, however it is more about the process and each creation's existence that matters to him more. The appreciation he gains from the people who have seen, commented, experienced his couches is the fuel to his work. This process of making such individualistic creations is intricately portrayed in details through short videos and photos that create a story until the very tail end of the scroll down the site. You're hooked! So what are her products like? Well, then, you are led to her SHOP. Check out those chairs!!! Subsequent to your semi-brainwashed state of appreciating Ms Sperl's undertaking, you are mitigated to having fond sentiments to her chairs. They aren't bad at all either. I wish I had a few in my house, hehe.

>>http://www.martinasperl.at/shop/

Anyways, all in all, we see so many pretty sites now that we are really spoiled as viewers of masterfully planned content. It is only until we face the developmental stages ourselves that we realize the time, effort, and talent that went into such outcomes. We are exposed to infinite number of excellent reads, images, variations, you-name-it! On so many portals! Magazines, online publications, social networks!!! What's the future then? UX/UI & aesthetic designs of the sites for upper-handed differentiation? Maybe. Maybe so. Like this one. Like Martina Sperl, no matter if it is furniture design or pure content writing.

****************************************************

Less words, more images... Created for lazy visual viewers like (me and) you! 

I am Purpose on tumblr

This Chrome Extension Will Change Your Life: WhatFont Tool

Nevermind the infinite pursuit for the perfect web types, the hunt to even know what font is used on that beautiful one-in-couple-hundreds-you-stumble-upon is even harder.

It's like that paradigm where the most fundamental step gets skipped when giving help to others and instead you learn the most difficult step in a painstakingly meticulous way. For instance, when teaching how to write an essay to fifth graders (or do you learn this in sixth?), teachers tend to explain what a paragraph is like this: "A multi-sentence structure where they serve together to talk about one topic. They're indented and look like this. Seen them before right? Okay. Now let's move on to writing the thesis." And we all know how awfully difficult it is to formulate that perfect thesis; you don't even know what the true meaning/purpose of a thesis is until like three years after you start writing the dreaded 5-paragraph essays. And maybe you don't even know how to correctly pronounce the word, haha. Yet this topic of writing the perfect thesis is broken down into steps and drilled into you every single time the teacher assigns an essay assignment.

But the sad part is... When you get your essay handed back... All of the red comments are on errors regarding paragraphs: how the paragraphs were split wrongly; the paragraphs are missing the topic sentence; or the paragraph transitions are clunky. UHHHHHHH. Dear teacher, you NEVER taught me how to write a goddamn paragraph.

Same deal here. There's a ton of materials and resources on how to pair web font groups and which work the best and where to go (eg. Google Fonts), but no quick-and-easy, two-step process to find out what font is what...

...Ladies and gentlemen, meet WHATFONT TOOL!!!!!!! 

Download the Chrome extension HERE and then FONT AWAY!!!!!! It's FREE!!!!! (#wtfmoment) I believe that there is also a version for Safari if you click HERE. 

You just turn on the WhatFont tool, and then hover over any thing to know which font it is. Then you can CLICK on it to open up the box to know more details (like PIXEL SIZES and LINE HEIGHT!!!!!!! and even WEB COLOUR CODE) as so: 

I will now proceed to tweet Chengyin Liu to thank him for such an awesome tool. You can, too. Let's show gratitude... Also click the link if you are curious (like me) of how this holy WhatFont tool guy looks like... cuz you know that's not creepy at all........

Source: giphy.com

...And let the weekend begin!

@iampurpose on Tumblr

Fucking Awesome, the brand.

Here is the origin of using the word, "fucking," the right way for a brand.

vs. 

Korean street brand Leata's "FUCKING SUMMER" hit it big in 2013... I never understood the appeal...

❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑

Fucking Awesome is so unknown (ish) yet so famous for being unknown (ish) that they have FAKE MERCHANDISE selling on the internet. How did they do it?

1. Jason Dill is one of the two founders and he loves pissing people off and doing lots of drugs while being super good at skating.
2. The brand's been around for so long that bursts of notoriety happened over spans of time so that Fucking Awesome was forgotten (ish) and then remembered again (ish). If this is hard to understand, then think direct opposite of what Kim & Kanye does--constant spamming.
3. The Jason Dill follower base connects to the skate world follower base connects to streetstyle brands connects to it's about time that Fucking Awesome hit the main limelight. But then again, FA isn't supposed to be a street style brand:

Wouldn't you define FA as streetwear, though? 
No, I think of it as an idea company. I only make something when I feel like it's right, or if I have the right materials. I don't use the internet. I find everything I put out by hand and sometimes I don't find enough material, or I make stuff and then I just don't like it. Also, Fucking Awesome isn't seasonal. It's just there when it's there and I don't make much of it. I constantly shoot myself in the foot from a business standpoint actually because I make it for sale but at the same time I don't want you to have it. It's a bit of a personality disorder company.  

Direct quote source: Vice interview 

4. Nobody at FA actually gives a fuck. The following are few examples...

• They printed t-shirts with dictators on em: 

• They exploited John Nozum by having their website just be... uhh him playing the piano. This was apparently super cool and okay to do so because when they found the video of Nozum playing the piano on YouTube, only 5 people had seen it. It's a nice idea until you realize that maybe Nozum is crazy (check out his website and see what kind of a strange world this guy lives in!!) and maybe FA just wanted to fuck around with crazy shit. 
• They didn't really have an online store that sold stuff until recently. They seriously only had Nozum playing that piano: 

5. Selfish people create self-serving products that the selfish society likes to engulf. This last point is thoroughly subjective. What I mean by selfish here is the "no-fuck-giving" attitude; FA doesn't give a shit what is being said about them or the "impact" of their designs and acts. What is really interesting is that the consumers like these FA products and they buy them enough for them to sell out! Note the "BACK ORDERED" status of the "Coke Dad" and "Chloe" decks. FA is the perfect getaway from the trendy and branded streetwear culture we have going on at the moment.

I sound like I hate them, but that is not so. I find their identity intriguing and easy to ill-talk on. If I didn't like this brand, I'd have more of a hateful tone... I mean how can you hate a brand that has done nothing in terms of promotions and marketing to become one of the most coveted branded items ever?! Dill, though he is still a little too throttle-y for my liking, seems to always supply the world with entertaining and visually satisfactory designs and products. FA has done good collaborations with larger skate brands (Vans, Etnies) and are true punks in the industry that they belong in. Their shirts are priced around 30 bucks US and sweaters around 60; they can't get any cheaper than that! Now go to other street brands sites and see what they charge for a goddamn tee, pfft, A LOT. And I'm sure you'd rather get your hands on these shirts that are only printed in small numbers and doesn't have the logo screaming everywhere. Plus, Chloe Sevigny's adolescent face is involved. So yeah, FA is fucking awesome. 

Can somebody tell me HOW this page garnered almost 900 likes without doing anything with it? 

Hi Chloooooeeeeee, rrrrruvvvvv yewwwwwwww

If you're keen on knowing more about the brand.. watch the following video interview! Dill will now start to uncontrollably stammer yet make complete sense of what Fucking Awesome is all about.

❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑❐❑

See ya later!

@rachelchungg

If I had disposable income...

If I had disposable income...

I'd most likely spend it on drinks. #TypicalMillennial.

But then again, if I had a ton of disposable income, I'd buy myself fonts. Bundles and bundles of fonts! All licensed so I can just use them ANYWHERE and feel good about it, because they are licensed. It's like I'd buy all my music on iTunes and I'd never torrent any softwares. I would be like "What is torrent?" in a super snobby British accent.

Today, I introduce you DAFT BRUSH. 
Fun, easy, and full of positivity. It's like a splash of (mature) childhood and dreams! And surprisingly full of delightfulness rather than the predicted obnoxiousness. I mean, brush fonts are supposed to be completely obnoxious; they are supposed to be in the similar category as Comic Sans. Gross! Yet, DAFT BRUSH seems to do an excellent job of getting rid of all those feelings and making you think of a) brunch; b) Hawaii; c) Spam (I prefer Spam fried) and d) future possibilities. 

All photos from MyFonts.com

I'm not too interesting of a person, but follow IG @rachelchungg

CULPRIT COFFEE

View Larger Map

Located on Vine and 4th Avenue, Culprit Coffee created a local uproar (basically) when they first opened. I didn't know why until I visited.

1) IT'S SO CUTE. It's a small joint with BRIGHT yellow walls and cute stepped entrance. What more can you ask for?
2) Everyone's smiling. And they talk to you... This one guy, he asked me to guard his cookie. #CivilizationAtItsBest
3) Coffee is good. Note that I didn't say FANTASTIC! But it's good. If I had been less poor, I would've grabbed their foods. Their baked goods look delightful while the sandwiches sound crisp and fresh.

But why won't I return? Like everyday?
It's just. Kind of. Really pricy.
I know that cafe culture is actually a luxury, but Culprit seems to be just a little less worth than what they charge. And because I just like drinking espressos or americanos, I guess coffee is more important than nommy-bites. I miss Dose's coffee. Soon, I'll make a trip to Dose.

Omg.

Now I can't stop thinking about Dose.

Anyhow, enjoy some pictures of Culprit! (In case you don't catch on, I biked there with my new bike and it was really painful!!!! I won't ever bike there again!!! LOL)

CULPRIT COFFEE FACEBOOK PAGE

STALK RACHEL ON TWITTER

L O O M S T A T E

I came across a fantastic brand called Loomstate located in NYC but also available worldwide through their online shop. It's special for everything is made out of certified organic cotton using SOCIALLY & ENVIRONMENTALLY responsible production !!!! They fully supervise the factories and manufacturers they get their beautiful clothes produced !

Founded in 2004 by designers Rogoan Gregory and Scott Mackinlay Hahn, their collections are just pure casual classics. They claim to have "washed and softened fabrics to tumble and aged hardware" which truly rings through when you browse through the pieces. Now they have many special projects such as Zero Waste which is done with a prof for Fashion Design and Sustainability from Parsons The New School for Design !!! I actually came across Zero Waste first (on Twitter, of course) and then travelled to Loomstate ! Zero Waste's limited design is a beautiful anorak that goes for $345 and only pre-order through online and will ship November 17 - November 21 2011. It comes in an organic dark ish grey and has this high collar which calls for NECK & CHIN WINDSHIELD WOO HOO !!!!! Since I've been working at JNBY, I found new appreciation on neutral tone colours and sustainable and high-quality materials. This anorak is 100% wool and it sure looks like it will keep you 100% warm & stylish !!

Loomstate has both MENS & WOMENS collections along with accessories and more special projects. Here are some of my favourites from both Mens & Womens collections that they have; I especially love their "Classics" line, and it's phenomenal how they can make sustainable DENIM !!!! I'm so impressed, hahaha :') :')

The paragraph below is from Loomstate's About page regarding their sustainability:

Loomstate is fully committed to organic farming, which is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. Organic cultivation requires managing and preserving the sensitive ecosystem as opposed to stripping the land of its resources as conventional farming does. Loomstate uses 100% certified organic cotton from various regions of the world such as Turkey, Peru, Africa, India and the USA.

Visit Loomstate's page
Visit Loomstate's blog
Follow @JNBYCanada
Follow @rachelchungg

WEBTOON N°2

Situated in the Best Dojun [베도] page of Naver, Holy Mountain 홀리마운틴 by Abikyuhwan is the reason I got into checking out Best Dojun webtoons. In case you don't know what best dojun means.. These webtoons aren't the picked, paid, and official webtoons that Naver sponsors; these are unpaid and are products of attempts to get on board the official webtoon list. Anyone can upload on the Dojun site, and the best rated ones get promoted to Best Dojun. Pretty simple.

Holy Mountain, 홀마 for short, is a story about a girl and her affiliations with the concert hall, Holy Mountain. Deals with variety of parts of life: school, Korea's idol culture, developments in the smaller areas of the cities, gangsters, and friendship. I love how it touches upon very unusual occupations and that it has viewpoints from adult characters as well as a middle schooler (the protagonist). But the whole thing has a musical background and I can proudly say that this guy has a FANTASTIC MUSIC taste ! His first episode features GIRLS !!!! I've never heard of a Korean - living in Korea - that knew about Girls when they debuted !!! TOO COOL.









홀마 also has a huge design element. This author is not only just a mangaka, but more of an artist. The way he incorporates music into each piece, he also makes sure that there are a variety of cuts and different angles. His play on text is especially interesting and his unique darker pop-art style is definitely something to note.





So I got really interested in what kind of a human Abikyuhwan was. And you can find out more about him at his blog here: click click 작가블로그 Abikyuhwan's blog click click You can tell that he loves music and manga; no wonder he can produce such a quirky masterpiece like Holy Mountain. He made me make a Naver account so that I can leave comments on Holy Mountain and on his blog, too !!!!! ><;; This is how much I love this webtoon. Sigh, hehe.

click click TO GO TO THE WEBTOON EP ONE click click
click click TO GO TO THE WEBTOON EP ONE click click
click click TO GO TO THE WEBTOON EP ONE click click