Eric Cahan might be considered a good designer, but he’s definitely considered a phenomenal photographer. He’s a devotee of contemporary art, and is always inspired by color and nature. This is evident yet again in the ongoing Sky Series. These pieces are captured scenes of sunrises or sunsets.

Cahan uses as many as four separate cameras in capturing the amazement housed in these colorful compositions of nature. Employing dozens of graduated filters, his objective is to create a window into a time and a place, and to play with the abstract through color gradients, shifting, and manipulation. Cahan produces chromium prints of each piece numerous times until he has reached a seamless result free of any sort of blemish. Cahan’s drive to mesh the elemental beauty of color with the hidden complexity of nature is admirable. And the results: astounding.

Happycentro is a studio begun in Verona, Italy in 1998. Their work always has something to say, relying heavily on experimentation and research. Their ability to strike beauty in odd materials and forms make Happycentro an entity to draw inspiration from time and again.

Sabadì is a brand that focuses on a typical sicilian method of making chocolate. The materials used come from Slow Food presidia with respect for small indigenous communities, the environment, and biodiversity.

The results are filled with personality and character. Included are six characters, six packages, and a crowner. What’s most attractive is the attention to detail relating to the relationship between the bars and their package. One often addresses the aesthetic of the package, making it achieve a goal of its own, and then addresses the goods within as a project in itself, making sure they too look quite nice. But the visual meshing of product and product packaging is where this piece is golden. The characters breathe, and their packaging comes alive. A fantastic job indeed.

I’m currently working on a project that is to be launched in 2012 and it’s quite meaningful to my career. It’s indeed a website, but there’s so much to it…so much representation that needs to be effectively portrayed. It’s not going to be an easy task, but it should be one of the more fun projects of the year. So where do I start? I’ve come up with concepts, I’ve come up with wireframes, I’m just about ready to begin designing.

Is it odd that I start with designing the Twitter page first? I’ve never done this before. However, I did in fact start with the Twitter page for this project. I’ve spent more time on the concept for this page than I have on full websites in the past. It’s important to represent the ability to communicate with others in the most appealing way. 2012 is sure to be yet another year of social media growth. And though Facebook is already massive, I feel Facebook is for friends you never should have been friends with, and Twitter is for friends you should have been friends with all along. I honestly feel Twitter is potentially more powerful than Facebook.

For an agency, an identity, a service, Twitter could potentially be among the top methods used to draw attraction, work, and money. It only makes sense to then pay extra attention to the detail put into a Twitter page. In 2012, I am going to spend more time on the pages that are quickly becoming over saturated; on the designs and iconography that has become universal; on the methods in which we communicate both digitally and physically. And I’m starting by attempting to make a killer Twitter presence on my first big project of the year.

Here are a few shots of design that have inspired me in the process…the first shot is an element I’ve completed that is to be the foundation for the rest of the Twitter space in my current project. They’re some of the many faces of the Twitter bird.

I’ve come across a recent interface, designed by Dominik Wasienko, that has got me really excited. Not necessarily because I think the design is good, bad, effective, progressive, or otherwise. Rather, I’ve found it fascinating that this design has made me cringe, and also made me jump in joy.

Fenix Music, which seems to be an interactive design interface across various platforms, presents itself as an uber vibrant piece of work. It’s primary elements, such as its navigation, are not hard to understand, but are masked by complexity that is born straight from the visual aesthetic surrounding them. The colors are bright and contrasting. Various elements are jagged in shape, and others perfectly round. The particular detail in areas such as (what seems to be) a calendar are structured in a familiar sense, yet embedded in visual choices that aren’t often associated with a calendar.

Around each corner of this design, I find myself not immediately understanding exactly what is going on. But it doesn’t take long to not only understand it, but completely get it – get what’s going on and how it pertains to the overall whole of the project. This forces me to consistently explore the project, raising the level of intrigue just enough that I keep wanting more without becoming frustrated. I suppose it’s the clash of wanting immediate and complete understanding of purpose, versus the reality that I have to take the time to figure things out before truly realizing its intention, that makes this piece so interesting to me. It’s reminded me that it’s worth taking a moment to really pay attention – pay attention to the power of design.

Zim & Zou is a French graphic design studio based in Nancy (France). Composed of Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann who studied graphic design, they’re now working together to offer their services. The studio proposes a contemporary approach of design thanks to a mix of different fields such as paper sculpture, installation, graphic design, illustration, web design, etc. This typography series is a prime example of the mixture of mediums often found in Zim and Zou’s work. These letterforms are beautifully crafted using woven lines composed in geometric patterns.

Mekkanika is a typeface inspired by old mechanics technical drawings, the steampunk visual world, and modern machinery, mixed and merged all together to form letters completely made by these elements, creating a mechanical look like typeface. Intricate and complex, these pieces are worth exploring for more than just a few moments. Outside of the characters themselves, the surrounding layouts, particularly in the posters, are unique and inspiring with beautiful color choices and elements such as shadows and noise. Combined with the typography, these final pieces are worth admiring in more than one way.

Rosy Gorolova has created a masterful work of art with the Lemniscate series and typeface. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the way in which these letterforms are created is totally unique, but I will say that the meticulous detail in these lines is pretty incredible. The slight wavering of the lines in specific pieces, particularly the numbers, is really fascinating. It helps contrast the beautiful synchronization of the rest of the lines making up the majority. Lemniscate certainly evokes movement, liquidity, and evolution – three of the most fundamental notions in typography itself.

It’s been just about a year since I started talking about redesigning Four Fifths Design. After two design concepts finished and then scratched, I stepped back to reassess the state of this blog. I wondered whether the stress of designing for myself was worth the effort. I definitely continue to draw readers. I definitely continue to find inspiring work to provide insight on. I see no reason not to continue with the idea of redesigning. But I, as a professional, realized I needed to make a face for myself first. I don’t have a portfolio online as of right now – at least one that’s up to date. Nor do I have a hub for people to access in order to contact me or follow me.

The New Blog…Err Site!

With that said I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I began, and have since finished designing a personal website. It’s going to include information on myself, my portfolio, and of course, this blog. I’m integrating Four Fifths Design into the site. It only made sense. But this time around, I haven’t procrastinated. In fact, the design of the site has been done for some time now and is in a development queue. It’s set launch date is January 1, 2012 (approximate).

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

So what’s going to change? Well, the concept remains the same: to provide inspiring work to my readers in order to get their imagination going, as well as introduce them to new names and faces in the design community. There will, however, be additions. Expect to see a lot more written articles. I’ve personally began writing a lot more of my own, marrying my thoughts with my work and keeping track of the processes in written form. I’ve also started writing for Inspired Magazine. Now that I’ve become heavily involved in web design (more so than a year ago), I’d like to share with my readers a more intimate look into my working life in order to hopefully help those following in my path.

Until Then…

For now, I’ll leave you first with a sneak peak at some shots from the new site design, particularly the blog portion of the site. I’ll also add some shots of my current works in progress…Want to see more? Head on over to Dribbble to see what I’ve been involved in recently. Or you can simply click on any of the images.

PIXELGALAXY is a book designed by Sergio Ingravalle that rediscovers the wonder of a childhood gadget that was more than just a toy. Its dedication: the Nintendo Gameboy. The content includes secrets of success, an overview of some of the Gameboy’s top games, and a particularly interesting look into the graphics. For my personal self, this is certainly a book of nostalgia. For others, this might be a much desired trip back to childhood. But for designers, including myself, this is pure inspiration.