Pictorial Recipe

First saw this off Sur La Table's facebook post (orignally from Fast Company), which was in line with the mini 'food theme' my mind is currently in. A different take on recipes, using graphics over words to explain a recipe.

 

 

What interest me more though, was the comments and thoughts of the people who saw this. Particularly this one by Mike Harris - "An experienced cook generally needs no more than a mental image of what is being done and this is a technique I have seen in multiple restaurants."

As a designer, the default is often that by simplifying things we are targeting the novice and beginners. But here presents a different take of how simple design actually speaks more to the experts who already have the technical know how and just need a few visual cues. A beginner, having little knowledge of the subject, would need the in depth text.

 

Jamie's Ministry of Food

I first watched this video a few years back. It was what essentially got me interested in cooking something other than ramen noodles.

Been really drawn into the whole aesthetic of cooking, food, organic farming, etc ever since. The video below is an example of the mentioned aesthetic. Perfect for the coming summer.

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Achieving Without Goals

“When we fixate on goals, we shut ourselves off to new opportunities that open up in different directions — opportunities that we couldn’t have foreseen when we started out. But because we’re fixated on the goal, we don’t allow ourselves to go in this new direction.”
— Leo Babauta, zenhabits.net

An interesting read on achieving without goals. ​For me, through my time at Art Center (going the rigors of a tight deadline and learning how to have a healthy work/life balance), I've learnt to set goals in order to establish a direction to head towards, while leaving my options open along the way. Much like in compass navigation, where you plot a course towards a certain location but more often than not have to improvise along the way.

​via zenhabits.net

Rethinking Wheelchairs

An article I came across from Popular Science that caught my eye. A wheelchair that uses planetary gears to allow the user to pull (like a rowing motion) instead of push to propel themselves forward. An action that is ergonomically superior to its predecessor. 

Rowheels by NASA scientist Salim Nasser's

Rowheels by NASA scientist Salim Nasser's

​I do hope this will create the new standard for wheelchairs. On top of the physical benefits, ​this product has a chance to do so much more in terms of the emotional and social aspect of wheelchair users.

How can we break the stigma that is attached to wheelchair users? It may not just be the wheelchair itself, but the urban environment too. Like how a design does not exist alone, but is part of a larger system - branding, user experience, customer service, etc. There is so much potential for design in this area.

via popsci.com​

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Doodles

Line work for an ink ​painting assignment for the Visual Communication 5 class.

What's great is that this week we get to sketch any subject matter (as compared to usual weeks where it's product sketching). So, true to the anything-goes nature of the assignment, I just sketched whatever I felt like sketching and let my hand and head simultaneously run astray, which was a pleasant breather.

Shoemaking

I've always had a slight fascination with shoes, as it is an element of one's outfit that reflects mood, personality and style. Through my stint at Pensole last spring, I gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of footwear, not only for the design of shoes, but the whole storytelling and manufacturing aspect of it as well.

What I like about this video is that it personalizes the shoe making process, essentially embodying the soul of the craftsman into the shoe itself - perfectly befitting the aesthetic of the final product, a dress shoe. It wouldn't be as effective if it the final product was say a running shoe, for which a technology focused video would be more appropriate.

via theformed.com