Last week on Thursday, August 26th a mass of curious and creative individuals filled Domy Books and bared the steamy Houston weather in order to sit in on Pecha Kucha v3.

Photos by Sarah Fleming

Tony Medrano, Pecha Kucha Organizer

Here is the list of those that presented:

Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night wondering what design really is? I do, but maybe that’s just me!

“To paraphrase David Burney in this video: Design is a way of life. Designers find solutions to the right problems through the balance of science, analytics, and math + art, spirit and intuition.”

What Is Design? from PermissionToSuck.com on Vimeo.

I subscribe to the idea of design as a process. For me, design is:

- problem-solving
- creating with purpose

Listen to more perspectives in the video above, if you haven’t already. Their “definitions” as presented in the video focus more on the act of designing than the actual designed elements that get produced by this thinking, which aligns with the current thinking about design throughout our industry.

These perspectives are something we should all be talking about. It’s something to embrace in our everyday practice as well as in the conversations with our clients.

So… how do you define design?

Houstonians have a special place in their hearts for what they put on their feet.

As a newcomer to Houston one of the most memorable local brands is the Houston Shoe Hospital. Huge and bold and pretty much everywhere, it is proof of the local dedication to footwear. Numerous other specialty shoe stores and repair shops show that shoes are a central part of Houston’s culture.

For this post I used the help of the Flickr community. Thank you Pedro Vit, Photine and Amy Rosa for letting me feature your photos here!

Photo by Pedro Vit

Photo by Amy Rosa

Photo by Photine

Photo by Photine

Photo by Photine

Photo by Photine

* A note about the name of this post – until now I was calling my posts “Photo Essay: Getting to Know Houston through Graphic Design” but from now on I will be calling them “Face of the City”. Just letting you know.

Name: Tommy Leo
Place of Employment: National Oilwell Varco
Job Title: Design Manager

How long have you been an AIGA member and what do you get out of being a member?
I started with AIGA back in 2002 after the dot-com bust to gain a perspective on what was happening with the local design community and how other member organizations were dealing with the downturn. Today, the rewards of membership are a bit less clear as new priorities have reduced my opportunities to engage AIGA members.

What is your take on the creative industry in Houston? How do you think we can make it different?
There has always been a vast pool of great talent within Houston, but it seems the market perception and demand is elsewhere. During conversations with clients and potential leads as an independent consultant, a few are swayed and satisfied with locally-produced work, but a great many more would rather put their visual communication strategy in the hands of shops in Austin and beyond. Perhaps it’s our ”Southern hospitality” that is our undoing, as some confuse it with holding to steadfast conservative ideals which put unwarranted restriction on the ebb and flow of creativity. If Houston is ever to gain decent foothold on the national design stage, I think we’ll first have to shed the “red.”

What inspired you to become a designer?
I went to a circus when I was just about five-years old and the first thing I did when I entered first-grade was to re-create the entire three-ringed colorful spectacle with construction paper. I constructed 3D paper models of entire animals, flying trapezes and all sorts of other elements in the circus. I believe it was at that moment, I became a designer.

What other creative/art events do you attend?
I’ve attended the HOW Design and Adobe MAX conferences, which are both excellent opportunities to capture new perspectives and re-energize my design.

When you aren’t working, what are you doing?
Much of my time is spent keeping my family with happy with food, fun and friends.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date as a design professional?
Receiving the American Graphic Design Award three times over and taking top honors in a Xerox color contest.
Who are your design heroes or mentors?
Salvador Dali and Mad Men’s Don Draper.

Where can we find you?
Online playing Halo.

Name: Monica Yael Garcia
Place of Employment: City 17 / Thinking Through Making
Job Title: Jr. Interactive Designer / Designer & Illustrator

What inspired you to become a motion and graphic designer?
As a child I was drawn to art and captivated by moving pictures. Illustrating and creating a language of forms that expressed a spectrum of emotions and could  imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature just blew my mind. But it wasn’t until my freshman year in college that I was able to verbalize these feelings and fully understand what I wanted to pursue. I was subjected to different perspectives, interacted with passionate people and exposed to materials I had never laid eyes on (like an x-acto knife or a Mac computer). I know the latter part of that statement sounds a little lame, but what can I say,  I grew up in a small town with a lacking school district. However, I am  truly grateful for all these experiences because they are what inspired me to become who I am as a designer and, more importantly, a person.

When you aren’t working, what are you doing?
I love walking around and exploring my surroundings. Being a pedestrian in Houston can get pretty intense, but I feel compelled to move. You could say I’m obsessed with creating my own little adventures. I consider these moments sacred because they allow me to use all of my senses. Vision, audition, gustation, olfaction, and tactition are capabilities within all of us that provide a real understanding of objects and the people that use them.

What is your favorite graphic design book?
Well, I enjoy the process within It Is Beautiful … Then Gone, by Martin Venezky, but I really don’t read many graphic design books. My shelves are filled with books that explore the human mind, question our perspectives, motivate the use of our senses and encourage imagination. These topics, whether found in architectural books or scientific manuscripts, lead me closer to grasping Josef Albers 1+1=3 concept  and help me develop my own unexpected connections.

What do you get out of being an AIGA volunteer and member?
Conversations.  I appreciate being part of a community where it’s individuals are passionate about design. I know that may sound odd, but it truly is difficult to find others that share the same interests. It’s just refreshing to discuss your ideas and know that they won’t be dismissed or overlooked because they are too “strange” or have no immediate profit. Organizations that promote creative relationships like AIGA are valuable because they not only benefit designers but the community.

What advice would you give to an aspiring designer?
Learn, explore and make. Taking things for granted only perpetuates a lack of growth and therefore defies what a designer is all about–adaptability. The more you immerse  yourself in different mediums the easier it is  to find your passion and realize your potential.

What’s your favorite place to escape to that inspires you?
Anywhere away from my computer. I mean, I love my computer but sometimes we need time apart or else we’ll become frustrated with one another.  It’s important to understand how you and others physically interact with space. Observations through personal experience are key factors towards my inspiration.

What is one place in Houston that when you’re there, you don’t feel like you’re in Houston?
I don’t feel like I’m in Houston when I ride the bus during the evenings. As I sit in the cold metal carriage surrounded with large windows that reflect what’s inside I forget where I am. There is no obligation to focus on the road so my eyes wonder within the space and blur the outside habitat. I inspect the aluminum railing to the plastic seats, and finally come across the people. I find the way they interact with each other different every time, but what remains constant is the mannerisms they develop with the bus’s surrounding objects. Seat comforting relief, wary tugging, and self-conscious rail holding are just a couple of things I notice, and wonder if we all experience our space in the same  fashion. My mind continuous to dive further into these questions and it’s only until I here my stop echo against the walls that I realize I’ve reached my destination.

Where can we find you?
You can usually find me exploring Houston or at the 24 Hour Fitness in the Westchase District, but if you have no luck feel free to look me up here:
my website
blog
linkedin
twitter
vimeo
flickr
behance

Name: Leah Macey
School: University of Houston
Degree Plan & Graduating Year: BFA in Graphic Communications 2010

What made you want to study design?
Ever since I was a kid, I was constantly drawing and painting, so I’ve always had an affinity for art. As I grew older, I started noticing all the things around me that appealed to me visually that were not only on canvases in galleries, such as advertisements, logos, and packaging. I don’t think I even understood all the things that graphic designers really did until I was a freshman in college, but I’ve been obsessed ever since I figured it out!

When you aren’t at school, what are you doing?
When I’m not at school, I’m usually at work! When I’m not at work, I’m usually on my computer, surfing the Internet, hanging out with my friends, going to music shows, playing ultimate frisbee, watching netflix, or playing video games.

How long have you been an AIGA member and what do you get out of being a member?
This is my second year as an AIGA member, and I really enjoy being a part of a community where other people love design as much as I do. I appreciate all of the events that they put together for us, and it’s nice getting to socialize and meet with other designers and learn new things at the same time. I also went to the Make/Think conference in Memphis last year with my class, and that was mind-blowingly awesome, full of great information, and I walked away wins tons of “free” loot.

What are your top 5 design websites you like to visit?
www.typographyserved.com
www.designyoutrust.com
www.notcot.org
www.thedieline.com
www.grainedit.com
I am also a fan of stumbling onto random design related web pages.

How would you sum yourself up as a designer in 5 words?
I am observative, detailed, malleable, thoughtful, and careful.

What is your dream job?
I love music, so I think my dream job would be designing posters, cds, and t-shirts for bands that I like. I have a couple of friends that do that sort of thing, so I’m pretty jealous. However, I think the job that I have now is pretty sweet too. I am the new graphic designer at a small firm called Good Project. I love it there, because we have such a diverse clientele, and design for all kinds of businesses from restaurants to real estate companies to schools to law firms and everything in between.

What did you do this past summer?
In July, I went to Hawaii for 12 days to visit my best friend who goes to college there. I have to say, it was the best vacation I’ve ever had! I went hiking in the mountains, hung out on many beautiful beaches, went snorkeling, went camping, and saw lots of waterfalls and rainbows. It was pretty magical.

Where can we find you?
My website is www.anicehello.com
You can also find me on Facebook. I’m on that thing all the time.

This structural feat combines symbols and a clear knowledge of patterns and spatial relationships. What appears to be chaos is actually a very intricate pattern. It’s impressive and mind-boggling to even think about the layout behind this.

I suppose the 3-D printing makes this possible, but I wonder if this could even be attempted by hand?

From the FastCoDesign Blog

“An Impossible Object That Would Make M.C. Escher Drool”

“Shadow Cloud” was fabricated using 3-D printing, and it hides a bit of clever magic: Those little panels in the grid seem random, but they actually align at certain angles, thus creating distinct 2-D patterns. Three separate patterns, in fact.

Which means that when you shine a line through the thing, it creates three separate shadows. Prepare to be amazed:

For obvious reasons, that particular piece is called “Thru Religion,” and it was created by Drzach & Suchy–it makes perfect sense that the duo has a grad-level background in architecture (that’s Drzach) and crytopgraphy (Suchy).

Houston Locals: Downtown from Monica Yael Garcia on Vimeo.

Towering skyscraper, busy streets, convention centers, stadiums, and a top-notch theatre district has definitely made this neighborhood the heart of Houston.

Downtown Houston sits between three major freeways (US-59,I-45 & I-10). Over time the area has grown and divided into 11 districts, all of which speak about Houston culture.

With theses attractions plus having a workforce of 140,000 and 11 of Houston’s 26 Fortune 500 companies it’s no surprise downtown has created a thriving professional community. This is a great environment for those who are looking to experience  fun and excitement at every corner.

Name: Zach Kimmel
School: University of Houston
Year: 2010

What made you want to study design?
I’ve always been sort of a doodler. And a word guy. I love language; hitting upon that perfect word or phrase has always been a source of comfort and satisfaction for me.

I should mention I also really like helping people, and for me, design is one of the most unique and important ways of helping people that I’ve been able to think of, and, lucky me, I get to doodle and think about words when I do it.

What was the best and worst {I just want to forget that happened} experience of being in school?
My favorite awful experience: Toward the end of last semester, I’d been up working on projects for thirty-something hours, the last eighteen hours of which without eating anything at all. Sometime after I’d realized I’d gone so long without food, I got it in my head that breakfast would be beyond awesome—that an egg-based breakfast would be like a reward for a long day and night of solid work. But the only thing within striking distance was a McDonald’s. (Maybe you can see where this is going.) I told myself it would be fine, eggs are eggs, after all. However, it was not fine. What transpires on McDonald’s breakfast menu is a travesty, a crime against breakfast. I don’t know, maybe it was just that one location or something, but the point is, after looking forward to it for so long, after enduring the hunger pangs, that awful breakfast just… it made a bad day so, so much worse.

My favorite awesome experience not nearly as dramatic: there was one particular project—an informational poster—that just came together really well after a lot of difficult and often tedious work. Math was involved, if you can believe that—but it turned out to be a pretty nice piece in the end. I don’t think I could ask for a whole lot more than that, really, as a student or as a professional.

When you aren’t at school, what are you doing?
I’m either reading or doing music stuff—I’ve taken to re-composing movie themes in Garage Band. My latest is the Terminator theme song. I still design little things here and there for myself and, when I have time, I like to berate myself for not doing more of this.

How long have you been an AIGA Houston member & what do you get out of being an AIGA member?
I’ve been an AIGA member since 2008. It’s allowed me to meet people and go places that I wouldn’t have had a clue about otherwise. Aside from the Make/Think Conference last October, which was amazing, the greatest thing that the Houston chapter has done for me and students like me is to organize the Studio Tour series the last two Spring semesters. It has really helped to put things into context and it has been so great to meet and speak with the professionals that volunteered their time for us. And, I should say, it makes a big difference, going into a portfolio review or interview, if you’ve met the person you’ll be speaking to even just once.

What are you top 5 design website visited?

http://www.siscottstudio.com/
http://www.djeco.com/
www.iamalwayshungry.com
http://www.tiltdesignstudio.com/
http://www.silverpistol.com/

How would you sum yourself up as a designer in 5 words?
excitable, inquisitive, harmonious, distinct, (highly) employable.

What is your dream job?
I dream of designing lots of different things for lots of different people; in my dream, I have lots of time to explore all kinds of options, and clients and coworkers alike love discussing my ideas, even if they don’t altogether agree with them, and by the end of the dream everyone is happy and proud to be associated with the work, and the client and design firm both make lots and lots of money. Also, I can fly.

Where can we find you?
my work is up at www.zkimmel.com
and I blog, very occasionally, at
eventarrowreflection.blogspot.com

Name: Rowan Gearon
Place of Employment: Adcetera
Job Title: Creative Director

How long have you been an AIGA member and what do you get out of being a member?
I’m definitely one of the new kids on the block when it comes to membership … its been just about a whole month now! I’ve been attending AIGA events (design lectures and the occasional mixer) on and off since moving to Houston 7 years ago. As someone who believes in contributing to the growth and understanding of our industry, I figured I was overdue to actually sign up and offer my support!

The networking at events is probably the biggest drawcard for me. It is interesting to share war stories and be aware of what’s going on in our industry. Though i did just save a bunch of money on a new Macbook Pro

What is your take on the creative industry in Houston? How do you think we can make it different?
Houston is a city filled with talented people—designers, illustrators, graffiti artists … you name it. As the 4th largest city in the US there is no question that talent is all around us. There are so many excellent groups doing amazing things in this city, from the Orange Show’s Art Car Parade to the events of Rice Design Alliance, from the highbrow sculptures of David Addicks to the street level work of groups like Knitta and Aerosol Warfare. Not to forget the AIGA of course.

Even with all this talent, the sad truth is that considering our size, there really is not enough visible artistic presence! Too few events, too many lego styled strip-malls with artistically shackled signage rules. Too many talented individuals that hide back in their homes or offices and forget that there is an audience out there, that Houston is home to so many untapped resources and possibilities for creative exposure and collaboration. The city is bursting with opportunity for giant exposure and what better time to be here!

The most important thing for designers to do is to remember why they became designers in the first place. Don’t turn up to work, go through the motions, collect a paycheck and go home. Strive to master your art through collaboration and self discipline—learning doesn’t end at school. Find a way to make art or design you can believe in, learn to recognize opportunities in disguise and always push yourself to do your best work.

Lastly support those around you. Learn to be a teacher as much as a student and support your creative community.

… Hey where’s my soapbox?

What inspired you to become a designer?
As a kid growing up on a farm in rural Australia, I was drawing from a young age and designing my own mix tape covers from about the age of 10. I remember when I was 12 reading a job description of a graphic designer and thinking it sounded like the coolest job on earth. I remember it seeming an impossible dream at the time … like wanting to grow up to be a transformer.

What other creative/art events do you attend?
Asides from design and advertising related speaker tours, I especially enjoy urban or street inspired art shows. I often attend student graduate design exhibitions here in town also, partly to scout for talent and partly seeing what the younger designers are up to these days.

The last design conference I attended was the OFFF conference in NYC 2 years ago (which was well worth it!).

I also watch and listen to a healthy dose of design, branding and new media podcasts and videos online, which help to keep the designer blood flowing!

When you aren’t working, what are you doing?
Travel is a big life priority for me—surf or snowboard trips with my wife or home to Australia whenever I can (not often enough).

My wife Shirley also runs a tennis clothing brand and coaching business so I help out with the design aspects—you don’t wanna see me with a racquet! http://www.kclawsport.com/

The other great love of my life is music. I used to sing and play in bands in Australia and these days I’m working on a set of 2-piece songs for bass guitar, vocals and drums.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date as a design professional?
Back in 2000 after being lead designer and art director for billabong.com, it was announced Best Website at the NEA World Extreme Sport Awards in Munich Germany. This was a serious high roller red carpet event with the who’s who of extreme sport and competition from some of the most dynamic websites on the planet. This was back in the days when Flash websites were king. We then went on to win again it the next year following a complete redesign. I continued working on their sites until I moved from Australia, and based on this experience landed work as an Art Director at O’Neill Europe (based in Holland) while traveling.

Who are your design heroes or mentors?
I’m the kind of guy who enjoys what’s new and exciting as well as old and established. My short attention span changes design heroes as often as underwear when it comes to modern influence, but I have traditional influences that I always come back to. Many of them are illustrators but the list also includes web developers, marketing gurus, and design historians.

Here’s a random smattering that come to mind in an equally random order:

M.C.Escher
Alex Trochut
Saul Bass
Mark Coleran
Folkert Gorter:
House Industries
Serial Cut
Big Spaceship
Jay Ryan
Kevin Dart
Frank Kozik
Jim Phillips
Rick Griffin
Zedz
Banksy
Daim
Alex Varanese
Jhonen Vasquez
Erik Natzke
Seth Godin
Jeffrey Smart
Lichtenstein
Kozyndan
Scott Hansen
Albrecht Dürer

But ask again tomorrow and the list will be completely different.

Where can we find you?
linked in: Rowan Gearon
twitter: gearon