This is the last poem the martyr wrote in his prison, before he was shot by firing squad in Bagumbayan, Philippines, and has played an integral role in shaping Philippine history as we know it (or perceive it to be). The visuals are more towards a stern and gloomy look overall, however the poem has patches of passion in both colour and typography escaping any chance it can get.

View the full poster here.

The form itself comes in small hard cover books with dust jackets, small enough to fit into pockets, and precious enough to hold within a child’s hands. Looking at the success of publishers such as the Penguin group, the style of the layout also lends itself to be a bit more on the classical side with such choices as predominantly serif type and lightly tinted paper associated with novels and classic literature.

Ibarra’s Historical Almanac is a short history of the Philippines, illustrated by pieces of literature specifically written during or about each episode in time. Highly subjective, it is a collection of texts to encourage the Filipino narrative from the Filipino perspective.

Especially as a post-colonial nation where history is judged and recorded according to the elite’s perspective, it is a necessity to hear the stories from the eyes and ears of those who actually lived it. We need to start telling our stories according to our standards, and not from the foreign perspectives of the Others.

Through this, Ibarra’s then becomes a call to action, for the new generation of Filipinos, born into privilege and education. As we all find ourselves growing into adulthood and becoming a more significant age for change, is it not our responsibility to carry on and begin to narrate Philippine history ourselves?

The books when laid out according to the timeline spell out, “Don’t expect thanks and laurels—crowns of laurels and flowers are the inventions of free people. But perhaps your children may gather the fruit of what their father planted.” (Rizal to Blumentritt)

The name reflects the idea of tea parties, where they may seem frivolous and fun for ladies (and old bitties like me & Chloe), but is very much about refined details and fine planning, and more importantly, about getting together once in a while to talk and do what we love.

The studio is open to various collaborative projects ranging from custom-order books to self-published works, and we hope that the encouragement and support can motivate many of us to keep doing what we enjoy doing.

More information here: http://teapartydesign.com

Looking into ideas behind participatory design and student relations between the art & design departments at Emily Carr, I decided to ask certain questions and test out several hypotheses and observations regarding these through initiating a collaborative effort with Benjamin Larose, a Film & Media 4 student from ECU. The project involved establishing very close and personal relations with an art student, and designing something based on a common intention, not a finished body of work. Both of our processes were ongoing, which required constant communication and clarification, and in a sense, creation from similar starting points.

Very much a research project to look into process, articulation, and collaboration, Nuit Blanche resulted in various promotional material that expands more on an artist’s message through designed collateral. By taking advantage not only of the graphic message (2-dimesional), but of the medium’s & material’s characteristics (3-dimensional), what resulted was a slightly different way of creating and interacting with the traditional poster and postcard. The collateral’s aesthetic is simple, but the tactility of the form and materials employed are designed to ask the audience for a little more consideration and sensitivity towards the artist & his message.

This message then becomes encased in a viewer’s hands with the delicacy of a light and frosted whisper, echoing the formal themes inspired by winters in Quebec found in Larose’s work.

Nuit Blanche also resulted in a collaborative effort in designing a small artist-run gallery space on Main and Hastings (The Plank Gallery) for Larose’s very first solo show. The primary goal was to convey Larose’s subject, and not his objects. We chose to focus on a more process-based exhibition, to invite the viewer to understand from beginning to end how his final art object was created.

As for more personal reflections, this project quickly became a lesson in studying what design is by exploring what it is not. Especially at a time where conviction and heartfelt gestures are so crucial to develop, we all need to be aware of who and what we wish to become, and in a sense, challenge these assumptions to gain the insight we need in order to survive as young designers.

This was a project geared towards responding to the then-Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan’s initiative, as introduced to us by our instructor. The class was asked to group together to create self-directed visual responses to the issue, which had ultimately ended in an exhibit at the Architectural Institute of BC, located downtown. This project was particularly special in that it concerned very real issues and very real people. What we realized early on is that despite our good intentions or the natural penchant to use humour and sarcasm, there was a substantial lack of information and genuine understanding—not only from the City’s perspective, but from our own, as residents of Vancouver and as students.

How can we respond to such an issue without even bothering to understand the roots and the causes of this? How can we create opinions if they are not based on anything fundamental or even concrete? Especially since it had been regarding the Downtown Eastside and the 2010 Olympics, it was not so easy to simply cast such unenlightened opinions in a public forum. This was not an insular issue to be forgotten as soon as the semester was to end, and definitely not just about creating something clever.
And so we took to the streets; armed with a camera, a small-ish blackboard with a fill-in-the-blanks questionnaire and some chalk for people to write with: “Hello, I am _ & I think a civil city needs _ ”

Information coming from a person first-hand is one of the most memorable forms of research, and conversations
started can lead to surprising discoveries not only about what others know, but about how little we ourselves do.

In keeping with themes of awareness and visual language, Holly and I also hosted a poster-making party, more geared towards art students. We invited others from Capilano College and Langara as well, but the party turnout was a bit more intimate than that. A few of our friends showed up, and however small our party was, it was still a great chance to talk about the city and what certain opinions that an issue such as this could personally entail. Some posters were cheeky, some were full of heart, and some in particular were thought-provoking.

More photos here:
http://flickr.com/photos/hellocivilcity

At one point in time, everyone knew about Britney Spears’ breakdown, and whatever opinions that one may have about her, there was still no doubt that everyone had something to say about her personal life. The monograph documents this turbulent moment, and subtly raises the issue of usually private and honest life experiences made public. The book’s aesthetic is meant to contrast the loud, obnoxious and messy nature of tabloids and trashy magazines, and to let the selected images speak more for themselves. It begins with the 17-year old Britney Spears, polished, sweet, and very alluring for numerous photo-shoots, and degrades into blurry YouTube screen captures of her slowly breaking down and falling into the image frames of paparazzi and cellphone cameras. Also included as a feature, there is a flipbook animation in the left-hand corner of Spears being goofy, which subsequently serves as a quiet reminder of a simple girl in a bad situation as the viewer goes through the content.

Does the publicized lifestyle elevate this into another performance piece, only laced with very heavy overtones of reality entertainment? In the time of reality television and entertainment, where can we truly draw the line?

The final piece is an invitation to a private viewing as well as a catalogue of her prints that opens up in a small hand-made book, which further opens up into a poster. It then serves three parts in one form: invite, catalogue, and souvenir of the event. The design reflects the same idea of intuition in Maggie’s process, as well as the manual nature of the screen printing process; where the cover itself could be changed and manipulated in different layer combinations according to the person’s preference.