All posts in: Design

11 Apr 2021

Blog Roundup

  • In A Role Reversal, Asian Americans Aim to Protect Their Parents From Hate [NY Times]
  • Michelin-Starred Ju-Ni Opens An Outdoor Omakase Counter [SF Eater]
  • 13 Sports Films You’ll Love Even If You Don’t Like Sports [Life Hacker]
  • Where to Stream the 2021 Oscar Films [W Magazine]
  • “We Already Belong”: A Conversation with R.O. Kwon [NPR]
  • America Ruined My Name For Me [The New Yorker]
  • After Working at Google, I’ll Never Let Myself Love A Job Again [NY Times]
  • These Are the 5 Deadliest National Parks [Outside]
  • How Do People Even Find Drug Dealers? [VICE]
  • Why the First Thing You Drink In the Morning Absolutely Shouldn’t Be Coffee [Well + Good]
  • The 10 Most Crowded Cities in America – and the 10 Least Crowded [Mental Floss]
  • The 26 Coolest Airbnbs in California [Green Wedding Shoes]

14 Mar 2021

Blog Roundup

  • 7 Meghan Markle Interview Bombshells That’ll Make You Anti-Royalist [Vulture]
  • How SF Restaurants Have Rearranged the Room for Indoor Dining [SF Eater]
  • The Death of Take-Home Design Exercises [Meaghan Li | Medium]
  • Revisiting the Great Covid Social Media Scold [Vanity Fair]
  • Steve Yuen’s New Frontier [GQ]
  • Asian Bodies That Proudly Defy An Archetype [HuffPost]
  • A Thailand Mall Has Two San Francisco-Themed Floors [SF Gate]
  • This Is Our Asian-American Experience [Byrdie]
  • Korean TV’s Unlikely Star: Subway Sandwiches [NY Times]
07 Mar 2021

Blog Roundup

  • 13 Things A Designer Would Never Do In Their Living Room [My Domaine]
  • The 43 Breathable Face Masks to Shop Now [Vogue]
  • FKA Twigs Discusses Shia LaBeouf Allegations in Gayle King Interview [The Fader]
  • Margaret Zhang Named Editor-In-Chief of ‘Vogue’ China [Fashionista]
  • Marin County May Be the Fakest ‘Woke’ Place in America [The Bold Italic]
  • Ten Years Later, ‘Greek’ Remains TV’s Gold Standard for the College Experience [The Ringer] not my college experience, but a series I loved!
  • Trailer for Michelle Obama’s Waffles + Mochi [Source]
  • Why I’m No Longer Staying Silent About Anti-Asian Racism by Sophia Li [Vogue]
  • Chloe Zhao’s America [Vulture]
  • We said goodbye to Daft Punk after 28 years
  • Swallowing Our Bitterness [The Cut]
  • The Future of Work Might Look Like This [Surface Mag]
  • I Love You, Please Get Vaccinated [The Cut]
  • The Invisible Artistry of Asian Actors [The Atlantic]
15 Feb 2021

Blog Roundup

Patricia Chang
  • Instagram Really Isn’t Optional For Restaurants Anymore [SF Eater]
  • Ella Emhoff and Amanda Gorman have been signed to IMG [Fashionista 1/2]
  • Even the White House Logo Got a Makeover [Fast Company]
  • How to Make McDonald’s Hash Browns At Home [The Takeout]
  • BTS Is Heading to ‘MTV Unplugged’ [NYLON]
  • The Most Popular Brand in Every Country, Mapped [Digg]
  • This Concept Video for Virgin’s Hyperloop Transit System [Mental Floss]
  • Why Aren’t More Asian American Costume Designers Helping Tell Our Own Stories? [Fashionista]
  • Former FBI Agent Analyzes First Date Body Language | WIRED [Source]
  • How to Adjust Covid-19 Social Distancing Pods When Someone Gets Exposed [Vox]
  • The Many Lives of Steve Yuen [The New York Times Magazine]
  • Jenny Han Talks ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ [Call Your Girlfriend]
  • ‘My People Are Dying in Silence – and I’m Here with A Megaphone’ [AdWeek]
  • Nordstrom Introduces Black_Space to Amplify Black Designers [High Snobiety]
  • I’ve Never Been More Prouder – Or More Heartbroken – to Be Asian American [Byrdie]
  • 38 Moments to Talk About From the “To All The Boys” Series [The EveryGirl]
20 Jan 2021

Hot Pink Teeter-Totters at the US-Mexico Border Win Beazley Design of the Year

As we end today, I am glad I never have to hear about “building the wall.” For years, this topic brought us both sadness and pain. As a country that has strong values in building bridges and bringing people together, the wall couldn’t have been more divisive.

Two Oakland based artists, [Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello] came together to bring their playful idea to the border. In July 2019 at the border of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, three pink teeter-totters were installed to connect both sides. While the installation seemed timely given the tension brought on by the administration, the project itself had been a decade in the making. Though the teeter-totters were used for only an hour, it left a lasting impression. Known for being used by children, you can see in the photo that it is being used by both children and adults. The message that this symbolizes is the unity between children and adults and that both countries can work together to physically lift each other up.

When asked about the administration separating families at the border, Rael shared this re: the proejct:

The teeter-totters represented the kind of balance necessary for any two people, two nations, to achieve equality, with the understanding that the actions on one side have direct consequences on the other. The teeter-totter is the physical manifestation of the Golden Rule—treat others as you would like others to treat you—a maxim that is shared by all cultures and religions. To experience joy on a teeter-totter, you must allow the other person to experience joy as well.

This highly prestigious award was given to the two artists from London’s Design Museum.

[Source]

30 Dec 2020

The Cutest Workout Weights

If you think that these are ordinary plushies, think again! They are actually the cutest workout weights you’ve ever seen. Honestly, you would think by now I would’ve acquired weights at home, but I’m still using jars and cans of soup. These, however, might push me to get real ones and maybe these ones to be exact. Inspired by Rilakkuma and friends, Japanese sports company, Mizuno, has designed the most adorable weights at one pound each.

When you’re not using them, they can simply be used as home decor. To get a set of your own, you can buy them [here] retailing at $38 USD.

[Source]

27 Dec 2020

Iran’s Hormuz Island

If you’ve grown up in a big city all your life, you often times forget about how different living spaces can look across the world. This [post] on Iran’s Hormuz Island stopped me dead in my tracks because of how unique and colorful this communal living community was. Designed as a multi-purpose project called “Presence in Hormuz” the vibrant bulb structures sit along the Persian Gulf.

Each structure serves to be used for a different purpose whether it is communal dining, laundry or for prayer. When asked about the intentions for this project, [ZAV Architects] answered:

In a country where the state struggles with political disputes outside its borders, every architectural project becomes a proposal for internal governing alternatives, asking basic questions: What are the limits of architecture and how can it suggest a political alternative for communal life? How can it attain social agency?

In our current climate, this type of living doesn’t seem possible. However, once we’re past COVID-19 it will be interesting to see whether or not ideas like this could be executed upon. And through the pandemic if other types of living are more accommodating.

[Source]

24 Dec 2020

My Thoughts On Micro Apartments: Then and Now

Like [Doobybrain] I once loved the idea of a micro apartment. I remember first being interested in them when I was college and learning that my neighborhood was planning on building spaces specifically like these. At the time, I was constantly on the move. The studio I was living in wasn’t more than 400 sq feet, maybe 350 at most. Since I was between school and work constantly, I was really only in my apartment when I wasn’t at those places or to sleep.

I loved the idea of staying minimal. Having a smaller space meant that I needed to be better at managing my own belonging and knowing when to get rid of things. It’s 10 years later and having gone through a pandemic where I’ve spent the majority of my time indoors and at home, I’ve had a change of heart. Watching a video of these micro apartments doesn’t evoke the same kind of desire I had for them once before. In fact, it’s much farther than what I actually want. Even as we shift towards a more remote workforce, I still am not sure if these will be as appealing.

11 Dec 2020

A Fully Stocked Felt Pharmacy

We were first [introduced] to Lucy Sparrow’s work a couple years ago when she created an entirely felt made supermarket. Since that time, I wondered if I’d ever come across her work again and here we are. Her latest creation takes us to The Bourdon Street Chemist, a fully stocked woolen pharmacy. In addition to being a drugstore, we also get a glimpse for a surgical unit that has been built out.

To be honest, it gives me some creepy vibes, but the attention to detail here is astounding. Every single piece that has been included was hand stitched by Sparrow herself.

[Source]

10 Dec 2020

Airbnb Hosts Ring Our Opening Bell

https://youtu.be/pAsRj6oDhZ4

It was a loud week of IPOs between [Airbnb] and [Doordash]. While both tech companies were celebrating major wins, I happened to catch wind of a video that Airbnb’s team had made to celebrate this moment and to acknowledge their community. Essentially, Airbnb is as successful as they are because of their community of hosts.

I love their take on “ringing the bell” and using this interpretation to tie it right back to their business. It’s really beautifully done as are the rest of the videos in their catalog.