A quote from the "About" Section of Miles Chic's website.

When I think about what inspires me to design, I don’t think about blogs, annuals, websites, aesthetics, or typefaces, I think about Elvis.

In the span of the King’s career, he released 78 albums. That, is a lot. Every few months, teens would rush to buy the latest Elvis album, eager to see what new horizon of hormone-driven angst Mr. Presley could push next.

What does this have to do with design you ask? I believe that design shouldn’t be precious. Without forsaking quality for quantity, I believe that there is more room for design and imagery in our lives. Rather than be overly researched, full of forced conceptual ideas, or just plain stale, design should inspire and elevate ideas, brands, products, and objects to something beyond the status quo. This means being bold, taking risks, and not being afraid to follow one’s instincts - much like the King himself.

 

http://mileschic.com/about/

 

 

Poetry Wisdom

A young man in a small town in Patagonia or in Kansas reads an ancient Chinese poet in a book he borrowed from the library and falls in love with a poem, which he reads to himself over and over again as the summer night is falling. With each reading he brings the voice of the dead poet to life. For one unforgettable moment, he steps out of his own cramped self and enters the lives of unknown men and women, seeing the world through their eyes, feeling what they once felt and thinking what they once thought. If poetry is not the most utopian project ever devised by human beings, I don’t know what is.

 

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/jun/07/poetry-and-utopia/

Quotes

Last week Friday, I stopped by the "Designing for Billions" conference happening at Parsons. I was casually introduced to Neville Roy Singham while chit-chatting with some of my lovely professors. He is Vice President and Executive Chairman of ThoughtWorks and an islander himself.

While we didn't talk much, he left me with a really good quote that I have come to appreciate. He told me he was from Jamaica and was an Engineer attending this conference to see a new perspective. The design perspective. He was kinda on a quest it seems...

After identifying myself as an islander raised on Guam he told me, "The smaller the island, the bigger the thinker."

While this quote seems charming, I have mentally been digesting it while washing dishes (and I wash a lot of dishes) and realized there is an undeniable truth there. I'm pretty sure other islanders will realize that too.

"Luckily," I told him, "I'm from a really small island." We laughed.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

Year 2011, (frankly its the end of January) I now share with you a monthly ritual of (trumpets, please!): DESIGN QUOTE OF THE MONTH

For the month of January, brought to you with limited interruptions by Cute Squirrels, I present you this quote:

A camel is a horse designed by a committee. — Sir Alec Issigonis

Sir Alec Issigonis