Design: Streams of consciousness.

Latest piece. Click for larger view on DeviantArt.

Been working on it on and off for the past couple of weeks, but we went to Italy and had a crazy project to rush the week before so I’d only just had time to finish it.

Pretty much experimenting with different vector styles now, as you can tell from the varied body of work I’ve been posting.
Still trying to define my own style I guess. Most of my typography in the past couple of years has developed a characteristic style but it’s time to bring my work to a new level..

Of slightly more exciting weeks in Lugano

So generally we don’t do very much in Lugano. But the internet in our hostel died over the weekend so some of us actually ended up going out (WOW!).

Visited the quiet town of Mendriso and didn’t do much, then took the Funicular (the little tram services that take go up the hills/mountains here) up San Salvatore (one of the little mountains in Lugano, only over 1000m above sea level).

Then sometime a couple of days ago I baked my favourite Dorie Greenspan Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Chipsters, yes the one I always bake in Singapore.

And even had time to design a little and play with vectors.

So overall it’s been a fruitful few days.

Pictures below!

Cookie batter.

They ended up spreading out a lot more than usual. Might be because of the baking soda. They sell them in strange little packets here and I didn’t have proper measuring equipment so a lot of it was guesstimation. BUT they still tasted AS awesome even with the cheapest possible Swiss chocolate.

How Lugano is starting to look now that Spring is approaching, everything is greener and bluer now.

Church in Mendriso.

Friends lazing in the sun outside the church.

Easter decorations going up in Mendriso. A lot of them were really kind of morbid.

How you know Spring is coming. Flowers!

Funicular queue for San Salvatore. It was this long because it was the 120th anniversary of the Funicular I think, so it only cost 4CHF to go up (I think it’s normally about 20CHF)! Long queue and the funicular comes every 30 minutes but it was worth every bit of the 4CHF.

As always, cute angmoh kids in abundance.

When they’re really small they’re cute. As they grow a little older they get more surly. When they become teenagers they generally turn into SGN (si gi na).

Funicular up!

View of the surrounding landscape and Lake Lugano from the top of San Salvatore. These are some of the smallest heights in Switzerland, mostly around 1000m. Mount Pilatus that we went up in Luzern is more than 2000m above sea level. And Jungfrau, the highest point in Europe is about 3000m. Will be heading there with Sis when she comes up!

And USIhome 3rd floor southern wing residents! Well, most of us anyway. These are the people I share my kitchen with. And none of them are Swiss. Haha. And yes I am truly the shortest.

Yep, so that’s my fruitful, internet-less weekend for you. Working on designing though as usual many doubts plague my mind. Generally know where I want to go but am not sure how to go about getting there except just practicing now. But it’s not easy without a mentor and having to feel my way about on my own.

Will be going for the European Design Conference in May though! The 3 day conference tickets cost 168 euros (and this is AFTER student price + early bird discount mind you!), which Paypal kindly informed me was SGD$324 (faints). Things look so much cheaper in euros. But I’m writing this off as an investment and a good chance to go to Amsterdam (the conference is in nearby Rotterdam), one of the stronger places in Europe for design.

The designer dream feels so far away right now, but I’ll get there some day…

P.S. For those who have noticed (probably no one), my portfolio is up and clickable on the sidebar… (Yes I finally went and bought lizzaeh.com) My goal? To improve so much till I can replace as many of the existing pieces there by the end of the year.