Sense of Place
Every day is an immersion study for me; I am continuously observing, always looking…
Sometimes I'd like to move to19th-century Paris to truly master the art of flânerie—my present-day version being the "walkabout" whereby the sights, sounds and stimuli of the streets are absorbed and often photographed for future reference. Luckily, I live in New York where there is no shortage of sensory experience.
Guided by a deeprooted fascination with cities, regular walkabouts have honed my sensitivity to culture, character and use of space. These interests, combined with my professional design sensibility, have naturally led me to pursue a role in Creative Placemaking.
One such project is the Design/Relief initiative—an AIGA/NY pilot program that seeks to bolster and/or accelerate the revitalization of three waterfront neighborhoods swept away by Hurricane Sandy while demonstrating the relevance of designers (and their unique contributions) to such recovery efforts.
It is in the spirit of exploration and discovery—the foundation of any identity project or transformation—that I share the following vignettes as each speaks to becoming conversant with place:
*car / Starcar on Flickr: Eight years and six apartments into NYC, I still feel as though I have barely scratched the surface of this city. Nonetheless, I take pride in my findings thus far and delight in putting them to good use when friends ask for my recommendations or tourists ask me for directions.
Since a photo is worth a thousand words (and as a New Yorker, I am compelled to save space), my Flickr account has become visual shorthand for my walkabouts and a catalogue of my travels.
Skeletal Scavenger Hunt: Halloween 2012 found me in San Diego, and—given my infatuation with skulls and their prevalence there—I treated myself to a scavenger hunt of sorts. I decided to see how many of the city's skeletons I could find, and my forays into Hillcrest, Balboa Park, The Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Coronado and Pacific Beach yielded dozens and dozens!
The resulting showcase on Flickr caught the attention of Noah Scalin who featured my personal quest on his Skull-A-Day web site (yay!) on January 6, 2013.
Pseudo-Photographer:
An affinity for taking pictures led me to minor in Photography at LSU which, to this day, greatly enhances my resourcefulness and "eye" as an art director.
Shown here are figure studies shot in-studio long ago as well as more recent assignments for Open House New York [OHNY] and friends.
Writing Marathon: Ever since I can remember, my dad has led "writing marathons" in New Orleans where participants—after a brief introduction—depart in small groups to eat, drink and write their way across the city.
In the book, Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg introduced the idea of timed writing sessions each followed by a read-around, essentially a forum for participants to practice voicing their work without any comments or criticism from the group.
Dr. Richard Louth, Director of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project, took a more daring approach as he released attendees into the streets to write in context and in concert with their surroundings.
What began as an experimental workshop at a conference in his beloved New Orleans has since become a signature event for writers nationwide.
When designing the logo (a gift for my dad), I chose a shape that could be interpreted as a nametag, a notebook, a manuscript or a computer screen to convey multiple writing processes and community.
I then paired a handwritten scrawl with a typewriter's monospace to represent all matters of subject from bursts of self-reflection to long-form fiction, poetry to prose and everything in between.
For the cover design of the subsequent anthology, I considered the individual contributors and reveled in the inherent symbolism.
The classical vase—like the original marathon—is rooted in Greek history and acts as the vessel which unites the writers and their respective styles (depicted as pens and pencil). The cocktail umbrella and Fleurs de Lis pay homage to The Big Easy while the "WM" resembles a frieze and suggests continuity and writing marathons still to come.
In addition to designing Writing Marathon identity materials, I assisted in the event planning for its benchmark book release and also prepared posters, programs and a brief presentation for the reception.
Every day is an immersion study for me; I am continuously observing, always looking…
Sometimes I'd like to move to19th-century Paris to truly master the art of flânerie—my present-day version being the "walkabout" whereby the sights, sounds and stimuli of the streets are absorbed and often photographed for future reference. Luckily, I live in New York where there is no shortage of sensory experience.
Guided by a deeprooted fascination with cities, regular walkabouts have honed my sensitivity to culture, character and use of space. These interests, combined with my professional design sensibility, have naturally led me to pursue a role in Creative Placemaking.
One such project is the Design/Relief initiative—an AIGA/NY pilot program that seeks to bolster and/or accelerate the revitalization of three waterfront neighborhoods swept away by Hurricane Sandy while demonstrating the relevance of designers (and their unique contributions) to such recovery efforts.
It is in the spirit of exploration and discovery—the foundation of any identity project or transformation—that I share the following vignettes as each speaks to becoming conversant with place:
*car / Starcar on Flickr: Eight years and six apartments into NYC, I still feel as though I have barely scratched the surface of this city. Nonetheless, I take pride in my findings thus far and delight in putting them to good use when friends ask for my recommendations or tourists ask me for directions.
Since a photo is worth a thousand words (and as a New Yorker, I am compelled to save space), my Flickr account has become visual shorthand for my walkabouts and a catalogue of my travels.
Skeletal Scavenger Hunt: Halloween 2012 found me in San Diego, and—given my infatuation with skulls and their prevalence there—I treated myself to a scavenger hunt of sorts. I decided to see how many of the city's skeletons I could find, and my forays into Hillcrest, Balboa Park, The Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Coronado and Pacific Beach yielded dozens and dozens!
The resulting showcase on Flickr caught the attention of Noah Scalin who featured my personal quest on his Skull-A-Day web site (yay!) on January 6, 2013.
Pseudo-Photographer:
An affinity for taking pictures led me to minor in Photography at LSU which, to this day, greatly enhances my resourcefulness and "eye" as an art director.
Shown here are figure studies shot in-studio long ago as well as more recent assignments for Open House New York [OHNY] and friends.
Writing Marathon: Ever since I can remember, my dad has led "writing marathons" in New Orleans where participants—after a brief introduction—depart in small groups to eat, drink and write their way across the city.
In the book, Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg introduced the idea of timed writing sessions each followed by a read-around, essentially a forum for participants to practice voicing their work without any comments or criticism from the group.
Dr. Richard Louth, Director of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project, took a more daring approach as he released attendees into the streets to write in context and in concert with their surroundings.
What began as an experimental workshop at a conference in his beloved New Orleans has since become a signature event for writers nationwide.
When designing the logo (a gift for my dad), I chose a shape that could be interpreted as a nametag, a notebook, a manuscript or a computer screen to convey multiple writing processes and community.
I then paired a handwritten scrawl with a typewriter's monospace to represent all matters of subject from bursts of self-reflection to long-form fiction, poetry to prose and everything in between.
For the cover design of the subsequent anthology, I considered the individual contributors and reveled in the inherent symbolism.
The classical vase—like the original marathon—is rooted in Greek history and acts as the vessel which unites the writers and their respective styles (depicted as pens and pencil). The cocktail umbrella and Fleurs de Lis pay homage to The Big Easy while the "WM" resembles a frieze and suggests continuity and writing marathons still to come.
In addition to designing Writing Marathon identity materials, I assisted in the event planning for its benchmark book release and also prepared posters, programs and a brief presentation for the reception.
<miscenes> from my nyc walkabouts
friends of the high line
more miscellaneous new york city sightings <miscenes> and <starcars>
old-school figure studies shot in-studio
ohny: photography for open house new york
photography for friends' weddings
my skeletal scavenger hunt was featured on noah scalin's <skull-a-day>
<skalls!> souvenirs from san diego
writing marathon: logo and book jacket design followed by scenes from the launch party
