The Imaginary Zebra™ // Official Blog

Collaboration Pins - TIZ x hanchia

2009-11-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

For the first 20 who ordered TIZ's latest imaginations since 11/16/09 will be receiving 1 of the twenty pins designed by TIZ and hanchia with the his/her name also printed on rim of the pin.

Every pin's unique.

We split the 20 in 4 categories, each consists with 5 designs.

Styles.

Icons.

Objects.

and Type & Scenery.

just to name a few,

"facebook"

"mos def"

"Zeebified Albert"

Voila.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Help Ben Decide - Beta

2009-11-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, more than 100 people voted for 'yes' within the last few days. Well, majority rules, here goes the project.

This is a project where YOU can vote for a decision for me and influence my life. Sounds good?

Click here to start your influence.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Help Ben Decide

2009-11-19T00:06:00.000-08:00

Working on a new project:

I'm Benson. 21 year old. Student. I sell shirts. And I face plenty of decision making moments, daily. Some hard, some not so hard. So perhaps, you guys can help me make some?

Help me decide.
I'll need more than 30 votes within the next 5 days, or else I'll make my own decision.

poll by twiigs.com

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

CMF Western Regional Grande Finale

2009-11-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Our short film got into the Western Grand Finale for Campus MovieFest. Red carpet, delectable cuisine, and a group of great friends made it one hell of a night.

CMF's an epic event. More than 20,000 students participated and hundreds of short films submitted to CMF this year. 75 were picked by the judges for screening and down to 16 for the evening ceremony.

The place was packed.

More than 1000 attendees.

...but we still got our red carpet moments.

The ladies.

Future star.

Saw Kenny for the first time since months ago when we first shot the film.

Congrats on nomination of Best Actor, man.

Celebs came out, too.

Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs.

The 2 and a half hours in the theatre was intense, everyone was anticipating to see their own films on the screen. No one had a clue which films were entering the finale. 16 were picked and they play 4 at a time, splitting the event into 4 segments.

The films were the best of the best. As the short films were played, it was hard to grasp the fact that all the films were made within a week.

Nora Zehetner from Grey's Anatomy presented Best Drama, Best Comedy, and Best Picture.

..and guess what?

Hell yes. Congrats, crew!

Best comedy went to.. Top of Her Class.

Best Picture went to..The Butterfly King

See ya Next time, Abe, the MC.

Check out the rest of the shorts here. They'll blow your mind.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Zeeb of the Week - Sandy Hsieh

2009-11-13T20:03:00.000-08:00

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Fall 09 Lookbook now out.

2009-11-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Here's the preview, all shirts available 11/16/09. First 20 get their own customized pins.

Click here to view lookbook.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

IPod nano 3rd gen case for A BUCK?!

2009-11-13T00:57:00.000-08:00

From Dollar Tree.

Came by total surprise. I was just being frugal at the Dollar Tree when I stumbled upon this amazing deal. (Though, eveyone today's all over the latest iPhone, iTouch, and 5th gen nano cases..)

Mine was already terribly scratched up, but I just couldn't walk away from the dollar case.

Another product by Speck - silicon texture. (Wasn't able to find this through their official website any longer. Perhaps a fake? oh well.)

Also came with a plastic cover.

The fit was great.

BAM!

"Me and my frugal ways."

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

The Imaginary Zebra Fall 09..11/16/09

2009-11-13T00:27:00.000-08:00

Focus.

Each button will be DIFFERENT. And it's only for the first twenty to see.

Whatever name you put as the receiver when you order the shirt would be the name on the button.

11/16/09 Monday.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

New hair cut

2009-11-11T22:44:00.001-08:00

Met this friend - Karl, from an event at Sacramento. Turns out, he's a hairstylist from a shop called Black Butterfly, in midtown intersects between K and 20th.

After almost 2 months after our own haircuts..

We went to seek some professional help.

Man of the hour.

Best thing about having hairstylists is not worrying about how you want the hair to be, but just giving the creative freedom to the stylists and anticipating the outcome.

The sideburn of death.

BAM.

Thanks, Karl.

Result:

Clean and different, but not overdo. We like.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Layout rennovation - with stuff I use daily

2009-11-09T01:23:00.000-08:00

The blog layout was just missing something.

..that personal touch, perhaps?

My typical desktop on a daily basis - a mess.
It's where I spent all the time doing and typing the stuff you're reading. plus some.

Sidenote//Find Waldo.

So then I chose a few things that are quite personal to me

Sidenote//This case was only 1 dollar.

Last but not least, my Canon XTi lens cap.

There, from before..

to after.

Better?

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Dream like you mean it - Wall project

2009-11-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

I got this blank wall in my room. It needed to be different. And that was the motive of this project.

So I went around ACE and some nearby convenient stores only to realize they aren't that convenient when it comes to black masking tapes.

So I got 3 rolls off eBay for $15.

With those tapes and a pencil, the project begun....late

Time flies when you're a slow worker like me.

little tape left to go for the first roll.

Kevin dropped by to visit.

Roll 1. Done.

Attacked!

3 hours into it...and it was 3 AM.

BAM!

The End.
Sidenote// For those who once had a dream to do big things, mean it.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Sorry. Thanks. Road Rage Reduction Project

2009-11-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

..that if we all carry a sign behind our car that allow us to be more polite and sincere during one of those "merges/cuts" in front of other cars, it can significantly reduce road rage.

It made sense, so we went for it.

Cody's the man who carried out this project.

It all started..

Massive amount of supplies.

After we got the stuff we needed, summer school started getting into the way..

And just with a blink of an eye...

Time flies.

Enable to switch between "Sorry" and "Thanks", we needed a flick/control.

This is where all the magic happens.

Holes for the wire to go through.

To be visible and clear from far, yet fit the canvas with appropriate sizing, I chose Futura as the font type for this project.

Cut out.

Unfortunately, the beige couldn't omit the light completely, so we painted the stenciled surface black.

Also the box black to fit the interior of my car.

Then, Fall quarter started..

Setting up the wire to the light boxes.

Then....

BAM!

Considering how clumsy my driving is, this'd definitely reduce a significant amount of fingers I receive in the future. And perhaps gain a few extra smiles.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Remember Halloween & Daylight Saving

2009-10-31T13:33:00.001-07:00

For the occasion.

And daylight saving is Sunday (Nov.1, 2009).
Don't forget to set your clock an hour earlier, so we get to procrastinate just one extra hour.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

New Goodie for inspiration

2009-10-31T13:14:00.001-07:00

It's finally arrived. (Ordered this item on Oct. 9th.) And I thought I was a slow shipper.

I don't recall this packaging last time I ordered a book from Amazon. Very nicely done, the book was secured in 1 piece of flat cardboard.

Anyway, here it is.

I'm a sucker for books.
Sidenote// My sister's also really passionate about graphic design, and she once told me "Being a designer, the last thing that you should be frugal about is spendings on books."

Thanks, sis. Now there's an ever enlarging in my wallet.

Title, self explanatory, yea?

That was a teaser.

My mind's just exploded by inspirations.
Now tell me a book that inspired you.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Japan - Global House Design Process

2009-10-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

Melanie, a friend of mine from high school, is studying abroad in Japan right now. (NICE!)
She lives in the dorm that's known as the "Global House", in which resides the most diverse group of foreign and exchange students from all over the world.

They make tshirts annually. This year, I was invited to hop on board to come up with a design.(WOOT). Here it goes:

This is their dorm flag.

I was given almost all the creative space I need to do this one, except for the 1-color only guideline.

Here's the sketch:

Globe + World -> Landmarks + Diversity.

So I made shapes of some popular landmarks.

And group them all together.

Hopefully, this'd serve the justice of the dorm!

The End.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

TIME

2009-10-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Too many things to do and too little time, if only I had 29 hours a day.

Midterm in 50 minutes, wish me luck.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Halloween Exclusive Lookbook

2009-10-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

All pre-ordered Halloween shirts have been shipped out last Saturday(10/24/09).

The lookbook's out now. The shirt is no longer available, sorry.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

BIG breakfast

2009-10-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

The most important meal of the day! in which I haven't had breakfast since summer, when I used to wake up around 7 because of jet lags.

It was Jim's healthy idea. The day started early..for a Saturday.

Why hello, grumpy Jim.

I call this "Lightheaded."

Ingredients for a big meal.

Friends showed up to enjoy the phenomenon with us.

Carmut the gangsta.

Jim's soul mates.

People really are grumpy in the morning.

Joey

Kevin.

& Yen.

THE MEAL!

Thanks, Jim.

Breakfast was delectable! I hadn't felt that healthy and rejuvenated for a looong time.

Now go eat breakfast in the morning or just be creative with it:

Keep up the opened mind.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Surprise from TIZ?

2009-10-23T02:51:00.001-07:00

It's getting cold. Test run, perhaps?

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

When will the Halloween shirts be shipped?

2009-10-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

For those who pre-ordered, the shirts will be shipped this Saturday (10/24/09)

Keep up the opened mind & have a great Halloween,
Benson

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

SFA design process

2009-10-22T02:32:00.000-07:00

I'm forever grateful for Student Fashion Association. Nope, I still don't know the basics of making a dress, but I did throw my very 1st fashion show through their invitation:

Thanks Polina, Amy, and Ashley for all the opportunities!

Back to the design:

I was asked to design the club t shirt for 09-10.

Cloth, threads, needles were the first things that always pop up in my mind when the word "Fashion" flashes by. And BAM, that was the deal and concept of this shirt.

I also chose thin and clean fonts to carry out the elegance of the club.

The End. Thanks again, SFA.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Window 7 Launch Event

2009-10-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

Registered this event about 2 months ago. Why? Because by the end of the day, you'd get a FREE copy of the latest Windows OS - Window 7.

After taking my midterm this morning, it was off to SF we go.

Other attendees.

The launch event was at a classy AMC theatre.

Did I mention "classy"?

The golden ticket if you will.

The presentation didn't start till 1ish, so we dropped by Mels that was right next door.

This is a 1/2 sandwich, 1/2 salad meal for $9 + tax.

I'm glad to see how much Mel's concerns about our health by giving us 6 pieces of fries for this meal.

I spent 1/3 of the time fascinating over their new features and the rest napping over their info-filled presentation.

There it was, the copies of Windows 7 "Ultimate"!

Then, touring Japan town.

When time gets harsh, Tony'll be there, even if you're Spiderman.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

New camera?!

2009-10-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

Weigh less than 2 lbs. 200 times more durable. and takes no pictures.

It was a prop we made for the fashion show. (Official video coming soon.)

Here are the peeps that contributed to the making of this project:

With special appearance of:

The night started early.

We used Jim's Sony Alpha 100 as template to contruct this camera.

The lens, check.

The base, check.

Tony crafted the body.

Jim built the infrastructure to adsorb the impact when tossing this camera around.

I made the top.

Basic structure, done.

More masking tape added to serve as primer for paint.

Black spray paint always get the job done.

Adding clear tape to make the lens.

With some silver sharpie touch up.

BAM!

Done.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Fashionably Live Rehearsal pt.2

2009-10-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

just 48 more hours till the show, since around 8 hours ago.

People started to show up.

Nesquik & Raskeezy. They got magic powers.

Jen Sik

Julian Hoi

Jobu Cordoba

Nothing's tougher than rocking a mini-size old-school Dragon Ball shirt on the set. with Nestor. And having the name - Jobu.

Free ad for Weezer.

Too good for the web.

Now it's on.

Andrea Fourchy

Claire Sloan

Kellyn Wong

Rachel Getman

Stop drooling.

Cops came because AG newspaper's alarm was triggered. (?)

Good folks, though. They were pretty cool with us causing a "fire hazard" in the middle of the hallway. cough*ARC peeps*cough

The practice was explosive.

Jen's got the swagger.

LIKE WHOA!

Productive times. Thanks again, see you guys at the FINAL FINAL practice Saturday, then it's show time on Sunday. BAM!

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website

Zeeb of the..while

2009-10-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

We got Shawn Luis.

-Benson|| Twitter || the movement|| The Imaginary Zebra website