Author Archives: ayanaairakanmance

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Tom’s Of Maine Changes Their Brand Also | Filed Under #disappointing.

So about a month or so before all this hoopla about GAP changing is classic, modern brand to, what I consider a mundane, nondescript one, I needed to buy toothpaste. Off I went to Trader Joe’s to purchase my Tom’s of Maine Natural Antiplaque & Whitening Gel. To my surprise and chagrin, I noticed that…More

An Incredible Designer, Artist, and Spirit: Chakaras Johnson (via @BDNN_News)

As I was catching up on my reading yesterday I ran across Atim Annette Oton’s tribute to Chakaras Johnson on her Black Design News Network blog. Chakaras Johnson passed away untimely around 18 July 2010. After reading her tribute, I researched him and found that he was an incredible graphic designer, artist, and spirit. I’m…More

David Carson on design + discovery

As I move into another semester of teaching design students, I am continuing to chronicle here design resources and sources of inspiration to share with them and expand my arsenal of great resources. In my research, I have logged a myriad of great Ted Talks given on the subjects of design and creativity. I’m starting…More

Noted: Shades of Grey: Thoughts on Sketching

This article by Will Evans, Director, Experience Design for Semantic Foundry is quite insightful on the importance of sketching as part of the design process. “In designing mostly interactive systems (spaces, processes, and artifacts for people to use), I must increasingly stretch the limits of communication tools to explore and document what it will be…More

Noted: YouTube Adds A Video Editor

I’m always pleased when I “find out” about “new” tools that allow people to work without having to expend lots of money, and I did that today (23 June 2010) when I read an article in Television Broadcast (TVB), about YouTube adding a video editor (Google video editor post). This is great news not only…More

Cruisin’ in La Mission

Last week, I had the pleasure to “cruise” The Mission (La Mission) with my dear friend Nancy O. I so enjoyed re-experiencing the cultural richness of this once (and still in many instances) mainly Latino and culturally diverse community. First, I began capturing the fading theater marquees on Mission Street. These will appear again with…More