The Imaginary Zebra™ // Official Blog

FAME SS2012

2012-05-05T03:51:00.001-07:00

-- We interrupt this blog with an entry from fellow intern, Karen. --

Last Saturday was Bobbi Vie's bi-annual F.A.M.E. event. With Benson away on his month long trip to Asia, it was the interns turn to take on F.A.M.E. on our own. Actually, it was our first event on our own, period.

The team arrived in San Jose around 0230PM to check in and start setting up our booth. The event was starting at 0600PM, so we had plenty of time to figure out how we wanted to arrange everything.

We also had some extra help from our buddies Adrian and Will.

Adrian, Taylor and Will adding some finishing touches to our display.

Around 0500PM, people started lining up for the event.

Around 0600PM, Eden and I went to go pay for parking. We parked in the parking lot across the street and it had the strangest hours for when you needed to pay. Parking was free before 0600PM, but we had to pay after 0600PM. The process was also not a smooth one with the machine being temperamental. I think the line to pay for parking was even longer than the line going into F.A.M.E. since the machine went through cycles of not wanting to take our cash, freezing up when someone inserted a credit card and even restarted on us a few times. The frustration became a nice bonding moment amongst the people in line though!

Once the doors were open to the public, the venue filled up with people quick.

Check out the sea of people!

Before things got busy, the interns took turns checking out the food trucks available outside for a quick bite to eat. I ended up getting the menchi burger from Saruno Burger.

It was amazingly delicious!

The event itself was very lively. The music was blasting non-stop. There were many different brands present, booths selling random things from iPhone cases to bow ties, from cake pops to paintings. There was even a nail shop, a tattoo artist and a vintage shop. Entertainment consisted of a fashion show and dance cyphers.

Though there was no dress code, there was a masquerade theme for the event that several people participated in. Person with the best mask won $100.

Other random photos throughout the night:

Taking breaks for some photos!

There were several staff members walking around handing out free IZZE drinks.

Free always tastes better.

It was an incredibly long, but fun and worthwhile day. Thank you to all our loyal supporters who swung by to say hi. Thank you to all our new supporters as well. We had several people stopping by the booth asking of Benson's whereabouts, so Benson, you were definitely missed!

Thank you, Tim, for the photos!
For more event coverage, check out F.A.M.E. SS2012's Facebook event wall.

'til next time!

-Karen || Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

My first experience in Beijing - Day 1

2012-05-03T06:58:00.002-07:00

Like a tourist should, my first goal was to check all the iconic sights that have been publicized by travel agencies/tour guides. Beijing has its own story that stretched thousands of years back and most of the architectural structures I visited have been a major part of Chinese culture for centuries. The merging both modern industrial skyscrapers and traditional grand palaces have made Beijing a unique destination to check out. Not only did I filled up my SD card in a matter of just a few locations, so was my head with the historic stories of each (though, I must admit, Wikipedia has lent a helping hand for the write up of this post. My memories aren't as accurate as the photos stored in them SD cards.)

Here goes day 1:

I blame jet-lag. and internet. I was so pumped about the trip, I stayed up till 6AM to research all the spots that I wanted to swing by. I'm big on spontaneity, but all the homework should have been done prior to my departure from the state. Half of the day wasted. Lesson learned.

According to some sources, China's air isn't as cleaned as their weather forecast broadcasted. The sky's been grey 5 out of the 6 days that I visited. I'd rather be safe than sorry, hence, the mask:

The mask kept me free of pollutant AND added a swagger of a ninja. Win, win.

Transportation of this place is super convenient. and incredibly cheap. I was able to get to ANY spot for 2 RMB. I couldn't even get on the bus with 35 cents in the States.

Unlike Japan, everyone talks on the phone in these transportations.

The subway's always filled.

Cool thing about China is they have their own EVERYTHING. Facebook -> RenRen. Google -> Baidu. Twitter -> Weibo. And Yelp -> Dianping. And those things don't coexist, all the western social networks are blocked by the censorship and are unaccessible anywhere in the country. People offer proxies to grant access, but with a Mac, it's even more difficult.

~~Great power~~ more people comes with great responsibilities. The YouTube videos are true.

Tiananmen, also known as the Gate of the Heavenly Peace.

It serves as the gate to the main palace. On the other hand, there's been many student protests in front of the gate since early 1900s. The infamous June fourth incident also took place here.

This video explains it all: video.

I wasn't the only one taking self-portraits.

Weather was pretty gross.
But it also made the plaza clear of people.

Indoor ice skating rink is boss.

Leica store! Each camera worth $6000+, hand made in Germany. One of my every photographer's dreams has always been to own a legendary Leica camera. The store also displayed a couple of limited edition Leicas, including a pure gold anniversary release.

As I browse through the shops within the China trade center, I only saw the following:

Ramen time:

I really wanted to try authentic Chinese food through out my trip here, but due to the horrible weather and the holes in my shoes, I decided to stay in to satisfy my craving for Japanese that I've been having for awhile.

Less than $4!

In a blink of an eye..

The marts here offers assorted style of beer:

..and transparent canned drinks.

Their Arizona's are almost $3. Everything here that's America related is incredibly expensive.

Proof:

Eventually chose the milktea by Kirin. 3.60 RMB.

Oops.

Later in the evening, Yen showed up!

He's been working in Shanghai for a year and a half now. While working, he also took trips (business and vocational) around the cities of China. Other than catching up, he also became my guide for Beijing when Max isn't around. Chyeah!

Dinner first.

Indeed, only in China are there restaurants that opens 24/7. And not just fast food, they're legit.

BAM:

Good meal pairing with good people. It was a good start for this trip.

Getting late, heading back to the hotel "loby." ..ha.

Time to wrap up the day and prep for the next trip.

'til day 2,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

My first experience in Beijing - Arrival

2012-04-27T08:59:00.002-07:00

I've finally visited the place the makes millions of products around me. Well, part of the place. Just this past week I had the chance to layover (for 7 days) the capital of China, Beijing, before my way home to Taiwan. Beijing is one of the most crowded CITIES in the world with around 20 million peeps, that's half of the STATE of California. It also preserves some of the worlds most phenomenal monuments and architectures, mainly because it was the home of many China's emperors. The trip was amazing and I'll show ya a glimpse of my time in Beijing through my next several blog posts.

But first, the arrival:

Margaret's my sis. She's awesome. Not only because of her Keith Haring x Uniqlo t-shirt, but also for dropping me off at SFO.

Countdown begins:

Had my last expensive western dish before my departure.

On my way to the gates, I saw an intriguing set up for the new 3D books. Clever idea and hook to get people checking out the products. Except for the biproduct of nose grease.

Rule number 6 - make sure all your entrainment's ready before your long hour flights.

Easy access, check.

Oooh yeah.

Airplane food often looks better than it tastes. This time's no exception.

Finished. No exception.

Not even half way through the plane ride, I realized I only had less than 4 hours left of battery life. To optimize the time, I focused on finalizing just one project that needed digitization. And sketch down inspirations that I stored in my laptop for doodles later.

I used to bring books. Then, I discovered audio-books. Sounds make me fall asleep even faster.

Temporary work station.

Design flaw with plane lights:

Just one more round before I submerge myself in the sea of delectable Chinese cuisine.

BAM!

At first, I thought the weather was as gloomy as ones we have at daly city. Later I found out those are dust particles, not mist, covering the atmosphere. Air pollution at its best.

First impression:

Max's the guide for the trip. The founder of Mapiz (Appnana) has been doing a little of traveling himself across the great plane. A geliveable source to help experience the fun side of Beijing.

Will be staying in this inn for the span of this trip:

Cool part of most Asia country is able to find great food at ANY given time. To kickstart my trip, we dropped by a Sichuan restaurant close to the inn: Spicy mix pot for the win.

A very common drink in China - Lian Tea. (that's how I call it.)

...and the og of all og soda. Beijing exclusive:

Hot dam.

Fried buns:

That's a wrap. Day 1 will be posted shortly.

'till tomorrow,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

The Imaginary Zebra Photography Internship

2012-04-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

Fill out my online form.

-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

afterschoolspecial & DANakaDAN - Rebranding

2012-04-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've worked with afterschoolspecial, an uprising band from Southern California, on a couple of items in the past, but this time I was given full control to rebrand the group for the next chapter of their career:

afterschoolspecial's used as one single word. It's quite long. Though, the abbreviation would shorten the phrase, it doesn't lead the audience directly to the full identity of the band. So, we scraped that off our sketch book and finalized the logo with a type treatment for "afterschoolspecial."

↑All lower case were chosen by the band to bring continuity from the old logo to the new. The lower case types also creates dynamics for the visual with its descenders and ascenders. The word's contained in a box to the keep the phrase compact and drive audience's attention to the word.

In detail, slight modifications of the type were added to off set the steady weight of the chosen font.

Application:

I was also asked to come up a logo for DANakaDAN, the leader singer of afterschoolspecial.

First met Dan a few years back at one of UCDavis' events. With his signature rockstar charisma, it's not difficult to have a strong impression of him. Just can't seem to ignore this guy even if you try to. With that idea in mind, I designed an identity that's bold, wild, and shouts personality.

↑Hand written font were chosen for its organic nature that well reflects the characteristics of Dan.

Though, I've experimented with various approaches before settling on the hand script concept:

↑All custom type faces for uniqueness. I've played with ambigrams and music device symbols.

..but most of which are too static, which doesn't quite fit the image Dan perceives of himself.

Applications:

Under the rebrand of afterschoolspecial and the identity design of DANakaDAN, a character of DAN was made to be used as the mascot of the band and future campaigns.

Given the specific suggestion of the "zeeb character" look, I came up with this:

Also, related icons were made for site and other applications:

Applications:

↑Custom background for various media.

Business cards:

BAM.

*afterschoolspecial: http://afterschoolspecialmusic.com/
*twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DANakaDAN
*YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/afterschoolspecialsd
*facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afterschoolspecialBAND

'til the next project,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Olympus EP2 - First Look & Unbox

2012-03-30T03:20:00.000-07:00

Love the quality of a DSLR, but its bulk size (yet, I'm already using a baby size DSLR T2i) and its obtrusive construction has been swaying me to get something more portable and subtle for my daily outings. Mirrorless cameras/ Micro four thirds seem to be the best of both worlds.

So just a few weeks ago (this blog post's way past due) I pulled the trigger and got myself the Olympus Pen E-P2 camera. Here goes the quick look:

↑Aside from the camera, I got quite a few other things to complement its look. Those I'll get to later.

BAM: Star of today's post - the Olympus Ep-2.

The price of the body's about $265 after shipping and handling. $265! That was a price that I couldn't pass on for a mirco 43rds. I also got the body-only because I wanted to purchase the Lumix 20mm f1.7 (pancake) instead of any of the Olympus kit-lenses.

The unbox:

Stuff inside the box: Pretty self-explanatory.
↑Since it was my first mirrorless experience, I actually read through the manual. Wasn't as informative as I hoped. YouTube's still the way to go.

The presence of a beauty in undeniable.

Basic specs:

Closer look:

85% metal construction with the back penal made with plastic. The built gives this beauty a good amount of weight for sturdy handle. Metal also makes this more rigid and legit. I'm big on aesthetics, which is also one of the big factor why I chose the E-P2 over the E-PL2 and the GF series.

Quick appearance comparison between the two: Episode two vs girlfriend two.

↑Though, some have said the olympus series produce better still images, I think they're both pretty dam good. To be honest, I think the look's the only advantage the E-P2's got. And that's just my personal preference. The retro look really hit the spot.

↑With the Lumix 14mm f2.5 lens + metallic lens hood. If this camera's a man, it'd be James Dean of the 21st century.

Now apart from the look, one big down side of this camera is its LCD screen.

↑I'm not sure if I just got a factory defect, but the low light display from this LCD screen is..CRAP. I can't stress how horrible it looks. Though, the pictures turn our perfectly fine, the live view almost made me threw up on myself.

Back to its good side, it's got a several fun art filters to play with. Quite entertaining.

Now onto its ISO performance:

↑Still tolerable.

Really pushing it.

If you're going for the retro tv set look, boost it up to 6400 will do the trick:

Bottom line is - If you're coming from a DSLR user, the image quality will throw you off a bit. For big and important events, I'll bring my 550D with my Sigma f2.8 17-50mm. But for most occasions, where taking the right picture at the right time is what's necessary, I'd gladly stick with the E-P2. I'm hoping with the mobility of this camera, i'll be posting more of my day-to-day happenings on the blog.

To wrap, here are just a few shots I took recently: Both in doors and outdoor in various lightings.

Hell yes, time to experiment with street photography. Now I just have to learn to walk out my front door.

'til the next unboxing,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Design Exercise: NBA Ticket Redesign

2012-03-13T17:37:00.002-07:00

There are plenty of things out there that are beautifully and intelligently designed - NBA tickets aren't one of them.

Inspired by the Boarding Pass FAIL project by Tyler Thompson, this is an exercise that I came up with to allow participants to think critically on the importance of info and the visually friendliness of the layouts. Hopefully by partaking in this project, one can extend their perspectives and rethink the way how anything's designed.

In this case, the mind behind this redesign exercise is Taylor Fulwiler, our latest design intern.

↑She's a second-year student at UC Davis working towards her BA in design (with an emphasis on visual communications). You guys will see plenty more of her work in the near future.

I briefed her quickly:

-Dimension: 72dpi, same WxH proportion to the original ticket.

-Think about the info on the ticket: what info's priority? What is the purpose of the ticket? Should anything be enlarged? What's the most appropriate typeface?

-Feel free to omit what you think may be unnecessary

-Feel free to use colors.

She evaluated the ticket we have now in our box office:

It's confusing and, frankly, quite hideous, relatively when compare to the NBA enterprise. NBA's got great commercials and terrific branding (teams, web platform, related accessories). It's where amazing happens, how could they allow such ticket design?!

That's me ranting. Unlike me, Taylor put her ideas into action and created a several versions of the NBA ticket.
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This is what she came up with:

"I kept it pretty simple due to the fact that it's main purpose is to provide information. For text, I made sure the teams playing were the most dominant, followed by the date/time and the seating. I used a simple typeface that's easy to read, made the layout pretty straightforward and omitted information that tended to be repeated too much. I also used the Sacramento Kings' team colors, but made sure to use them in a way that allowed the information to be read easily without being an eyesore. I also chose to omit the background pattern, as I felt it was unnecessary and only made the ticket seem more cluttered." - Taylor

I, then, sent her the boarding pass examples and asked her to rethink some of the attributes of the tickets:
"Few notes from the boarding pass examples:

1. It seems like they didn't stress too much on the destinations. Perhaps it seems obvious to the ticket holder, so they weigh more on the seating and other info.

2. The design doesn't shout the brand of the airline, neither. I think having the color accent and small logo's enough to spread brand-awareness.

3. The types are dramatically varied in sizing. Yay or nay?

4. Contrast is a good tool to attract attention to important information. (but does it always work? would it make the layout too cluttered?)

5. Some of the boarding pass designers really thought outside the box - using diagrams as instruction manual; making things more personal with sentences...etc "

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After reevaluating the info on the ticket, she designed this:

"So after looking at my first redesign, I admit that I was more focused on the function of the ticket (being able to provide information in a clean and simple way) rather than its aesthetics.

After checking out the link you sent me, I decided to:

1.) Place more emphasis on the seating. After all, it's what people look at the most when they actually enter the basketball stadium.

2.) I kept the color scheme and logo the same to promote the Sacramento Kings without being too over the top.

3.) I personally like the variations in type sizing. I feel like the eye naturally adjusts to big text faster, so I took advantage of this to promote the seating numbers (as well as the time).

4.) Sometimes using contrast can be a hit or miss. I tried it out with this redesign and I felt like it worked well, brought more attention to the seating number (something I keep stressing, I know haha).

5.) I wasn't really a fan of the personal sentences, due to the unnecessary words getting in the way of processing the important information. I feel that short, sweet and to-the-point is more effective in this situation, as basketball goers are more concerned with getting to their seat, getting their food, souvenirs, etc. They don't have time to kill (unlike passengers, who may be waiting for hours), so I feel like they would not want to waste time "reading" their ticket for crucial information. As for the diagrams, I tried them out but I didn't think they worked well, so I ultimately decided to omit any diagrams." - Taylor

I went "A few more things to consider:

1.) People typically read from left to right. Would that affect the way you design the ticket?

2.) They usually use "thermal printing" for tickets. Meaning the only color would show up is black.

The ticket itself can be pre-printed with graphics, but any info that may be vary between tickets would have to be black.

3.) Check out the ticket below:

(http://www.kjcardinal.com/bloggraphics/Game6_ticket.jpg

They eliminated a lot of info, how do you feel about that? Are all the info on the current ticket necessary?

4.) If you could change the layout ( though, remaining the same dimension) how would you change? Vertical vs horizontal? "

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Finally, she ended up with this:

"For this rendition I chose to have more fun and change it to a vertical layout. As a result, I did not have to worry about the whole people reading left to right aspect as most things were centered. After looking at the example you showed me, I really liked the idea of keeping the info on the ticket as minimal as possible, so I ultimately decided to eliminate the location (pavilion) and the day of the game (Saturday). Finally, I took out the logo. I figured in reality the logo can simply be placed on the back of the ticket (on what I hope would be a full-colored background to compliment the colors on the front of the ticket).

I admit, the thermal printing thing really got me. As a result, this redesign isn't as flashy in aesthetics as the last, but rather more practical. It's very simple, but I wanted the main focus to be on the seating and the time of the game, as I saw those two tidbits to be the most crucial to the ticket-holder." - Taylor

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What do you guys think?

till the next redesign,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Automotive Shoots

2012-02-27T03:18:00.001-08:00

Cody's recently acquired a Mazda Miata in superb condition. For once, Cody's mind is actually occupied by something other than coding. I don't blame him. It's a beauty.

And like any new car owners, we find ways to preserve the moment.
I've tried stills (waaay back when all my images were still awkwardly sized) and have always wanted to shoot these beautiful machines in motion. Given the opportunity and with Tony cruising in the front seat, I had my first expensive-car-in-magazine-ad like photoshoot for the first time.

Excited like X'mas morning, we planned the whole shoot (well, mainly just when to leave the house. which is crucial.) Wanting to capture the sunset silver-lining the curve of the car, we took off around 5PM.

↑Vick came along with his classic Honda CB-250, an amazing looking bike.

Being my first motion automotive shoot, I assumed to position myself in the backseat, which would allow me to maneuver to either side of the window for different angle shots. Turnout, that worked out pretty well. But do have a note to self - wear a beanie. Shit was cold.

Here we go: Miata NA 1.8 Supercharged.

Using my Sigma 17-55mm f2.8. ISO100. 1/80. f/11:

Waiting for the sun to set just a tad bit more.

..while waiting:

↑Ain't easy to resist a man like this.

Vick was all set up for this shoot:

BAM black-and-white-ness.

Going back to the road.

Personal favorite:

Frog lamps up (What do call those lights again?)

Close ups:

Old school emblem for the win.

'till the next shoot,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Linsanity - Design Process

2012-02-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

From sleeping on his brother's couch to Time Magazine cover, Jeremy Lin, or most of us known him as Linsanity, is what flooding people's facebook dash page. He's an underdog. And everyone loves an underdog story.

Not only is he swiping people off their feet with his selfless team-plays, swift passes, and nimble drives to the basket, he's giving every asian kid (heck, every person) hopes that one day they could also challenge the status quo and be whatever they want to be (Not everyday you get to see an Asian NBA player that scores up to 38 points a game. )

What Jeremy's done is phenomenal, and that's made his name a motivational symbol. We support because we can relate. And we can relate because we all want to climb to the top. (Of course, his plays are pretty dam exciting, too, but you don't see 600 different kinds of Steve Nash shirts.)

After throwing some ideas with a fellow colleague, we decided to express Linsanity with our own hands - beyond types and photographs of Lin himself, but a design that we can also relate.

This is a Zebra and Panda collabo.

Andy, the mind behind ASN (Always Staying Native) clothing:

"ASN is a clothing brand based on Asian Culture and Foreign Lifestyle. ASN stands for “Always Staying Native,”… meaning that people should be proud of who they are and where they came from. The goal of ASN is...." Get the whole picture of ASNclothing here.

We wanted to incorporate Lin's character while maintaining both of our brand's aesthetics. The first approach didn't go too well:

Though, with the illustrative style, the details and shading on Lin's face were making the overall look too complex. We wanted something simple.

Panda's the ASN's mascot. Most, if not all, of their collection have its star appearance. It's no exception for this collab as well. So I intented to focus on the iconic Panda and our Zeeb character.

Here's what we came up with:

↑Key elements are flat, thick bordered, and minimalistic design.

The final design:

Front.

Back.

Pre-order begins 02/22/12 8PM PST via [our e-shop] and ends 02/26/12 11:59PM PST

↑ -Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Make Music - Make A Wish Concert

2012-02-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

Eden, one of the core members of TIZ, have been missing. Aside from her occasional Friday dentist appointments, one can find her investing majority of her time planning this benefit concert. She's been going at it, making phone calls, and scheduling appointments since 2011. All her effort, along with the rest of DPS and AKPsi family's, have been put on display just a couple weeks ago. The Bandaids, Tim Ferguson, Jenny Suk, and many major UCD talents have all joined force to make this happen.

Amazing performances, smooth transitions while keeping the audience on their feet with jokes and raffles, the concert was very professional. I wouldn't believe it was Eden's very first event planning experience if I didn't see it myself.

↑ Kicking off the night with host Stephanie and Ben, who's also the lead vocal of the The Bandaids. Talk about multi-talented.

Most of the stunning photographs you see under this posted are captured by Adrienne:
↑Up close and personally. Whatever it takes for a good photo.

Here goes the show:

The Spokes is a Davis based all-female acapella performance group. Freaking amazing.

Originally know as Ben and the shooting star.

UCD based dance crew melting people's faces:

↑Recently had a collaboration for their club tees, more info will be posted soon!

Popping club!

I like this.

And for those that haven't had enough of Airwick:

↑Wipe your mouth, fan girls.

Too bad not the entire crew of April Chase could it. Nonetheless, Tim Ferguson made it worth while.

Calm yourself, ladies.

↑Pmac and Adrian complemented the performance with some sick flows.

Last but not least - the headliner - Jenny Suk.

Johnson, a former TIZ member, also came back to support.

BAM, job well done! Now, can I have you back yet?

↑The coolest peeps you'll meet. Oh, they're all also part of TIZ, son.

'til the next concert,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Lunar New Year Dinner

2012-02-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

I don't typically attend dinners like these. The meet and greets, the dress up, the shows, and the 3 hour dinner just sounded like it hassle. I'd prefer keeping it simple with the family at home. However, unlike the past years, this time around, I was given a mission. Since my parents are pretty activity within the Richmond senior center, I was asked to part take in one of their fashion shows. Not coordinating, modeling. (?! what.) To my understanding, every year they've been showcasing the assorted attires from the various cultural era to celebrate the heritage of Chinese culture. This year's no exception. Never have I done a cat walk before, we'll see how that goes.

The venue was way larger than I expected. Around 300 attendees and a dozen of shows lined up for the evening.

↑ Check out those golden dragon (balloons, clever) in the back. Freakin' majestic.

Show started right on time with the lively and spirited MCs. Apparently a celebration for everybody.

Kicking off the party, we had the Lion dance team. Same tricks, but never gets old.

Note to self: for glorious occasions for Chinese celebrations, use LOTS of GOLD and RED.

Couldn't help but to examine the photographers around me. Sometimes I'd paid more attention to these folks than the actual show. Curse of a photographer. Anyway, looks like the 2.8.

↑ Stop drooling, you canon fanboys.

Capturing the moments.

Series of traditional dances throughout the night:

Antonia and her sis, Lucy are loyal attendees of the annual Lunar events:

Her uncle's a performer, too:

Dance workshops that got people off their bums to burn out their lunar dinner calories.

Seems effective.

My aunt's beauty:

The 11 year old prodigies awe the crowd with their stunning performances. Professional ballroom dancers. Insane.

Soon the time's come for the fashion show.

I was an ancient warrior that passed out candies and red envelopes to the crowd. I had a mixed feeling between amicability and masculinity. Obviously, I failed at both.

..but the ladies still loved me.

↑ And that's my dad on the left.

Wrapping the day up with another ballroom dance session:

Fun times.

'till the next fashion show,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

BBQ 101

2012-01-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today we talk BBQ.

Just this past weekend I've had one of the best meals ever. Not to brag, but what came out of this seemingly ordinary BBQ experience are butter crabs, tender charbroiled chicken, and smoke squid. Man, just recalling those memories made me drool. On the downside, I don't think I'll ever have better. dam.

The crew:

Took off around noon, we headed up to Sacramento for ingredients.

This is probably the most crucial part of a BBQ. Although I'm not big of a cook, I understand that having fresh ingredients would be the fundamental of a good meal. Hence, when I cook bad, I'd blame the ingredients.

we grabbed a small lunch nearby knowing that we're soon going to pamper our tummies with delectable BBQ dishes,

↑For those that can't read Chinese, "山東麵館" means Boba Cafe.

Salted soy milk. (It's a Chinese thing. pretty darn good if I must add.)

Fries.

..and omelette.

How we roll.

Vegetable? No idea what that is.

Got shopping out of the way, time to prep. It was our first time processing squids from ground zero. It's got tiny teeth embedded within the suction cups.

Crab + salt + butter + sugar:

Marinated chicken.

Ginger and garlic waiting for mussel.

Last but not least, heating up the charcoal for grilling.

Finally, the BBQ 101's last step, which happen to be most people's favorite - a taste of the joint effort.

Fire's just right.

Bacon roll.

Butter crab.

Mussel soup.

Smoke squid.

Sausages.

Quick cameo of Vick's bike.

nom nom nom moment.

Great food with great company, what more could I ask for.

'til my next mouthgasm,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Valentine's Day 2012 - Pre-orders now Available!

2012-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

TIZ's putting out a limited set of photography related valentine's tee for 2012! Collaborating with Plushtography, we want to make this vday a picture perfect one.

Time flies, hard to believe this is our 5th edition of Valentine's day tees.

An occasion-neutral design makes any day a good day to wear these! (especially for you photography enthusiasts.)

IMPORTANT: The design does NOT get cut off around the edge - the entire graphic wraps around the waist.You can form a heart from the front AND the back.

↑Alvin and Adrienne sure made Cupid proud.

↑Pre-order now available via our [online shop]!
It's $25 during the pre-order period and $30 after.

-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

The Imaginary Zebra Design Internship

2012-01-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

If you have any questions as well, please contact us via "benson@imaginaryzebra.com"

Looking forward to working with you in the near future,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Wacom Intuos4 Pen Tablet - unbox and review

2012-01-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe more like an unbox and first look than a review. I've had this guy for about 2 weeks now and I don't think I've had enough chances to thoroughly dissect all of its elements and bring out its full potential as a design tool. Partly because this is my very first pen tablet device. Mouse has been my dominant tool of choice.

Ever since I started design back in the days, never had I considered myself as an illustrator. Doodle's fun and all, but my main focus has always been graphic design - working around typography, composition, geometric shapes, and image editing. Until recently. The more shirt designs I produce, the more I'm stepping towards character development and illustration. Although I try to keep a range of various styles for my t-shirts, I can't help but to focus around hand drawn sketches nowadays.

Then one day, I decided to pull the trigger:

↑ almost a month ago, I asked you guys about recommendations on pen tablets. Wacom seems to be the way to go.

BAM - the Wacom Intuos4 Wireless Medium (the only size they offer with wireless) Tablet.

↑ Got this via Amazon. No tax and with the prime account (oooh yes), it was free 2 day shipping.

It was about $60 difference between the wired and wireless. I could've bought myself a really good shirt, decent jacket, or about 50 cheese burgers with the difference.

Yet, I chose the bluetooth version because..

Look at this shit.

I've had enough wire as it is. ALSO, I've tasted the sweetness of wireless products. 1.) the wireless keyboard Michelle got me over about 2 years ago has served me well. 2.) wireless mouse is awesome (too bad that one I have still needed an USB)

-I heard, with average use, the battery power can last up to about a week without charging.
-It also goes to sleep if left unused for 30 seconds to preserve battery life.

First look:

clean packaging. With the $300+ price tag, I expected nothing less.

McDonald's "I'm lovin' it" campaign, anyone?

a basic wrapper around the most essential piece of this package. Too bad it doesn't come with a padded sleeve/or pouch for the product. (like ones they provide for beats headphones)

Main content:

Personalize your pen with 4 different color rings (red, gray, white, and black)

tada!

Pen base:

Nibs. As oppose to an uniformed plastic tip like a stylus, wacom provides different tips(nibs) that allow users to draw with different texture. The stroke nib (white) provides a soft, brush-life feeling for the pen. The flex nib (white and black) has a soft, pencil like feel. The hard felt (gray) have a higher friction than the standard nib.

↑Reason they come in several is due to the fact that they do wear over time. Depending on usage.

The pens' got 2048 pressure points fro best drawing simulation.

Two back slot things.

and lots of info:

Quick size reference:

↑ Contradicting with the measurement I have above, the working area is actually 8 x 5 inches versus the 8.8 x 5.5 inches of the cable-bound model.

Power switch, USB cable, and bluetooth on the side:

The tablet's made out of 3 main textures: Glossy on the control panel.

↑..that's prone to attract lots of dusts and fingerprints..

Then, there's the matte for the rest and a special paper like texture for the main working area.

One of the best features for the intuos line:

↑The fully customizable quick keys, or "expresskeys" as they call it. They can be switched between different applications as well. So far, I have mine set up with "undo," "save," "option," and "command" for photoshop.

The scroll wheel (touch sensitive like ones on iPods) also come in very handy as it helps zoom in/out, rotate canvas, change layers, and brush sizing.

The set up:

Gotta charge for first time use.

Orange as charging and green as fully charged.

Mind blower: You can use the back of the pen as an eraser for editing!

Now with every set up and ready to roll, I gave it a try and here's the result: (everything was illustrated directly with the tabler.)

'til next gadget,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Friends from the other side

2012-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

All the way from the Buffalo, NY and NYC, a couple of friends decided to pay California a visit this past week. California's home for a couple of them, but for the rest, it's a place with great food, spectacular scenery, and no snow for the winter. Why would anyone want to spend their time elsewhere? (shameless pride; I'm not even a Cali native.)

Anyway, got a call about their trip to the Bay and I was asked to be a tour guide. With me just chilling at home and working six, if not seven, days a week, it's difficult to imagine myself being a tour guide...outside of my house. Now that I was crowned the title, I really gotta do my homework on some "urban cool spots" to show them around. Plus, it's been quite awhile since I last seem these folks, so the pressure's on:

↑ If you followed my blog avidly (yea, you), then you might remember Mic. We've endured a night long camp out for Fry's black friday sale three years ago (2009.) This time he's brought his crew. No camp outs, just day long stroll across the city.

Kailin and Kevin's back, too. They showed me a good time in NYC, now to return the favor.

First stop: the Lomography Gallery Store.

↑For those who aren't familiar with Lomography, here's the wikipedia page. In a nutshell, they're using simple and modern analogue cameras to produce organic and spontaneous photos.

Similar layout with their other existing store.

↑I've been to the one in Taipei, Taiwan, and it was pretty awesome. It's only been a few months since their SF store opening.

Their iconic two-story tall wall paper:

Gold chains is what Kailin's into.

Very cool.

Lomography's all about fun and excitement, you can tell by the way they designed the cameras.

↑ Does neon green shout subtlety? I don't think so.

There's also a conference room on the second floor. Place for presentation, guest speakers, and projects? I'd like something similar for my future store. If I ever opened a store.

Moving on.

Cody swung by to join the crowd:

The second destination: Cartoon Art Museum.

↑$7 for adults and $5 for students. Located diagonally across from the downtown Academy of Art University.

Pardon the quality of the photos below.

Although, I've never heard of some of the comic artists in the gallery, I was still fascinated by the detail crafted art work and the process all the them have gone through before being printed in the papers or published in books.

Wish I have one of these in my room:

↑Steven Spielberg caricature (during his Jurassic Park phase) by Zach Trenholm

The color coordination stage:

↑It's no child play.

Tom and Jerry - I watch this growing up. (even back in Taiwan)

↑Mel Blanc, the voice of Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble, Daffy Duck and countless other animated vertebrates.

Dinner at Ike's: Kev and Kailin's been craving for it. There's just nothing similar on the East Coast.

↑Ike's a delectable sandwich joint. It was first introduced to me by Michelle a year back.

Bi-Rite ice cream just happen to be a few blocks away from Ike's new location.

They're known for creating unique and delicious flavors with local, handmade and organic ingredients in a responsible and sustainable way. Great dessert, except most of us were too full for any of it (yup, even our second stomach stuffed with the sandwich.)

↑R35 on the street. no bigs.

After we've satisfied our hunger, it's time to pleasure our sights. Our next stop: Twin Peaks.

Over exposed.. in a cool way.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

With little light source to distract from the exposure, we tried using the flash on the back of our phones for a few quick light graffiti:

..then, we took it a step further:

Like watermarks, we light ourselves to be imprinted onto the photos - all under a single exposure.

And yet, an even better idea. With the second camera blasting off its flash onto us while keeping the first camera's shutter open:

Two flashes from the camera:

Andrew nailed it - 5 separate flashes created this:

To make the most out of the night, we drove down to the the pier to capture the glory of the Bay Bridge. But an unprecedented incident occurred on the way there:

↑ It says "Devil in car."

The driver backed up into my front bumper. Seriously?!

On the bright side, good thing the air bags didn't pop open.

Made it to Pier 14 eventually - no accident's going the ruin the mood for something as spectacular as this:

Our attempts to recreate the multi-exposure effect didn't work out too well here. Guessing it was a bit too bright:

Though, we still had some pretty delighting shots:

That's all. Thanks again, San Francisco, for the eventful trip.

'till the next hangout,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Berkeley Marina + Skates on the Bay

2011-12-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

Lunch that was way past due. The plushtography team and I planned to celebrate the "selling-out-our very-first-batch-of-pillows" by having lunch together. 3 months ago. With our workload finally cooling off, we took a trip down to Berkeley Marina to enjoy one of the greatest seafood restaurants out there.

It was also a hang out that was way past due. We've been building Plushtography from ground up for quite a few months now, but we rarely all show up at the same place at the same time. Due the limitation of our schedules, we'd communicate through facebook and finish our tasks at our own time. It was nice to finally able to catch up with my own partners. Funny how that works, eh.

Perry, who's been a tremendous help since we took the pillows to the market, recommended Skates on the Bay. I've passed by this place quite a few times, but never tried. Was pretty excited.

It's called "Skates on the bay" for a reason:

Quite literally.

One thing about start-ups is never able to escape topics regarding the business. There'll always be too many things to plan and too many tasks to accomplish. I suppose that's also the fun of running a start-up - you'll continue to feel accelerated. Even around a dining table.

The menu.

↑The print's clearly too small to read at this resolution, but at least you'd get an idea on what they offer. sorda.

Christine and perry shared:

..and:

While I stuffed my face in with these bad boys:

↑The bread way rather buttery. AMAZING for a first couple of bites, but it gets too heavy. Still a great dish.

Kevin had the Lobster bisque and salad.

Food was terrific. Although we I really just wanted to pass out after intaking any sort of food, we decided to take a stroll down the dock right next to the restaurant.

It was pretty foggy.

The dock seemed endless:

Half way through the dock (I'm guessing), Kevin noticed a few dust particles in his view-finder. He was frustrated.

..continued to be frustrated:

Sidenote// I began to see dust on my VF as well after a few shots as well. Had no freakin' clue how they got in there.

On the other hand, fog was clearing out

..and we've finally reached the end:

That also wraps up this post. Plenty of ideas we plan to execute for 2012. Stay tune.

'til next outing,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Proudest Accomplishments Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Must I say that I was continued to be inspired as I read through the entries you guys submitted.
2011's almost finished, very glad to see so many of you lived it up and made it count.

There were many amazing accomplishments, here's a few at a glance:

Each accomplishment holds a different value between individuals, so it's only fair for me to choose winners randomly. Here are the winners:

I'll be emailing the winners individually soon.

-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Merry Xmas

2011-12-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, I'm sure some of you are still resting from the holiday drinking last night, but nonetheless, hope you're all having a wonderful X'mas. As you can tell, I'm having a blast on X'mas sitting in front of my laptop scripting up this entry.. while recovering from shamelessly shoving down massive amount of meat last night.

The cover image was the house across, following was where the dinner took place:

↑My sister's place. Certainly not as glamours. Although seemingly dull, the place actually hides plenty of holiday decor within.

Margaret likes to pay attention to the details.

Both my parents are back in Taiwan, so we kept the party small and intimate:

Each of us had to contribute a dish for the festivity.

Allen kept us healthy:

↑ ..which also happened to be the only vegetable we had for the night.

Lu offered us:

..and with the help of the Foreman Grill

We got this:

Here's my part of the party:

Finally, the time we've all been waiting for.

What's more exciting than receiving the gifts is opening them.

In display:

Wrapping the day up with a classic - The Sound of Music

As good as a classic can possibly be, it's no way to fend the coma.

May you have the merriest X'mas yet.

Cheers,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

'TIZ the season - for a giveaway

2011-12-22T02:51:00.000-08:00

Happy commenting,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Goodies - Pretty Awesome Stuff

2011-12-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Cooler and more innovative products surface daily and it's getting harder to resist from pulling my credit card out of my wallet. Although I brag about having self-control over impulsive shopping sprees, I hate to say that I still give in occasionally (especially when sites like werd and uncrate continuously broadcasting each product's awesomeness.) What's done, is done. I'm here to share with ya some of the stuff that put a hole in my wallet.

Kickstarter's a place I've been visiting frequently. Not only do you get exposed to amazing projects (range from films to gadgets,) you can partake in them too (by backing the project financially.) In return, you'd be the first ones to receive never-before-seen stuff with discounted prices. One catch, though, you prolly won't receive the stuff from the project you backed for a really long time.

In fact, I didn't receive these bad boys SEVEN months after I backed the project.

The baller looking, stainless steal shelled coffee beans are the invention of Dave and Dave from Coffee Joulies. Was $40 when I backed the project, currently at $50 via their site.

↑The material within the shell's edible.

Here's how it works:

Before, it's difficult for the beverage to stay at its optimal temperature. Either too hot or too cold, you only get like a 5 minute window to consume the beverage at its best temperature.

With Coffee Joulies, they absorb heat when it is too hot and release it back into your coffee to keep it at the perfect temperature.

Ingenious stuff.

Next up, the Fellup Bracelets.

These were gifted by Phillip Gepty, the man behind the Fellup brand.

The beaded bracelets seem to be all the fuzz at the moment.

Everything's handmade. So for all the generic bracelets out there, please get back to your corners. Can't steal the show away from these guys.

"Zebra" for 25% off. Show Phil some love at Fellup.

Here we have another project I backed from Kickstarter.

↑ By Matt Stevens, this is a book with a collection of 100 different illustrative interpretation of the Air Max ( or as he called it in the book - the greatest sneaker of all time.)

Unfortunately, I don't own a pair of Air Max. Yet I still pulled the trigger for its creativity. Each illustration's an inspiration. Proud to be one of the 1000 across the globe that own one of these.

Some of my favorites:

I think that friend of yours that's really into Air Max's might've already gotten a copy. As for the rest, here it is for $50.

Last but not least, a gift from Eric Kim - the Buddha Board.

Paint with water. As simple as that.

Had a ton of fun with these, too bad all the pieces are short-lived. Great for practices (simple sketches)

'til the next cool things,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

New Media Rockstars - Logo Design Process

2011-12-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

A recent project with New Media Rockstars - An online publication which aims to showcase current and rising creative minds in new media as well as to connect New Media to Mainstream Entertainment. They've worked with Mystery Guitar Man (YouTube Personality), KassemG (Comedian), David Choi (Musician, YouTube), Tay Zonday (YouTube Personality), David So (Comedian), Sean Rad (Founder of Ad.ly) and a shat load of incredible individuals.

I was approached by Melly and Benny, the founders of NMR, to come up with a logo from scratch. (I could never figure which one's more difficult - invent or rebrand. ) Anyway, here's the first step for all of my identity designs:

A.) Understand the company then C.) encompass the philosophy into a mark. I'm here to elaborate part B.

For New Media Rockstars, my approach was straightforward. The "rockstart" part of the the company's title allows users/readers to create a visual reference. "New Media" may be slightly more abstract, which became the main challenge.

I researched a series of images that reflects the company for inspiration. Some of key words includes "future," "digital," "platform," "tech," "media," "news," "rockstars," "music"..etc.

The most interesting step:

Time to put whatever I had in mind on paper. Often time, what appears good on paper ain't that cool looking when digitized. So I made sure I had enough options to play with before digitization.

Grids and pixels was chosen to express the digital media aspect of the company. Implementing with the font type without disturbing the balance can be tricky.

Ridding the bar from "A's" creates a more futuristic look for the logo.

Inspired by the equalizers we see display on stereo dashboards, I merge it with the rock star hand gesture as the graphic icon for the company.

Final Design:

Providing the possibilities for the logo can be pretty entertaining.

They've recently launched the site. Click here to check out Mystery Guitar Man's insight on new media.

'til the next logo,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Plushtography Photoshoot

2011-12-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

Pardon the major MIA. Plenty of blog posts are in the works, will get to them soon enough.

Just had yet another photoshoot a few days back (I've been doing more than participating in shoots. I promise) with my partners from Plushtography. Had a good time DIYing the rack for backdrop and trying Speedlite 430EX for the first time. Both pretty awesome.

↑ Been looking around for an affordable backdrop. Finally pulled the trigger for the muslin one off Amazon. It was enormous and it took a very long time to iron it down.

To prep the set, I grabbed a few bulbs (100 watt daylight) from Home Depot and reused the rack I designed for tabling events.

↑ Stuff includes pin or tape that can stretch the backdrop to eliminate extra wrinkles.

What we ended up with:

But even with the items mentioned above, it's hard to capture a professional looking white background photo without the following gadgets:

↑ By gadgets, I meant SPEEDLITE. The additional external flash that bounces light off of walls creates a more naturally bright photo. It was my first time operating one, so I was completely blown away by its amazingness. When compare to the built in flash, it's like a bare nuckle fight between kimbo slice and some 8 year old down the block.

↑Shooting with my 17-55 for blog post photos.

People that came out:

↑The one posing's Christine.

The stars of the shoot:

Perry's a natural stylist.

Christine's a natural model.

BAM - the magic of white backdrop, speedlite, L lens, and perry's photogenic hands.

Last but not least.

Edit 12/09/11: How could I forget about these.

Pillows are now available at Plushtography.

til the next shoot,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

Summer with Melly - Underwater Photoshoot

2011-11-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

Just this past summer while I was down in LA, I was lucky enough to steal Melly away from her ever-so-busy schedule for an underwater party. Melly might sound familiar to you because not only is she the art director of theOtherAsians and cofounder of the ready-to-launch NewMediaRockstars, she's also the photographer behind David Choi's latest album and the profile pictures of some of the YouTube hot shots. That's right.

This is how it went down:

↑Prior to the party, I was asked to bring props to make things more entertaining. Of all the interesting places that I could've gone to, I chose Vons. (or Safeway for us NorCal peeps.)

David Choi had his underwater photoshoot with guitars, which I couldn't afford, so I had mine with $9-a-pop disposable underwater cams. I got two of those. That makes a total of THREE photoshoots in one setting. In yo face, David.

Big thanks to Sam from Akufuncture for letting us use the pool.

Prop, check. Pool, check. Wardrobe, check.

↑An upside about starting a t-shirt business is never needing to buy another t-shirt again. ever.

Just the day of the shoot, I was able to ~~invite~~ convince two of my friends to jump into the pool fully clothed with me. Good times.

This magical gadget's capable of submerging a dSLR while maintaining its image quality.

In this case, Melly brought her Canon 5D markII. oooh yeah.

Testing:

Temperature was just right.

Now that everything was prepped - Here we go, through the eyes of Melly Lee.

check out the rest of the photos via our lookbook.

I mentioned that THREE photoshoots were happening simultaneously:

..except the success rate of a good photo weren't too high.

..and two of which were taken on land.

↑What a boss.

Melly, you're awesome.

All photos are now up on our lookbook.

'til next party,
-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||

For 24 hours only.

2011-11-24T13:22:00.001-08:00

↑Black Friday Celebration.

-Benson|| Twitter || Facebook || 365. || Shop of Imagination ||