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.

This series of work by Chris LaBrooy contains beautifully composed typography. Letterforms become architecture, while the architecture shapes the letterforms. With apparent inspiration rooted in found objects and imaginative material, and a keen sense of color, balance, and composition, we’re provided concepts for spaces that speak to us through our language while retaining their necessary function, that being shelter and various types of open and closed space.

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.

“Somewhere” attempts to visualize the idea of downloadable architecture. In this mindscape, the local becomes global, and global becomes local. The technology may come in the future when anything and everything, even the tremendous structures around us, has the capability to move in and out of information, data, spaces, and places that were never before possible.

So what’s this new beautiful vehicle? It’s called the Ecco. It’s an all-electric vehicle, with no emissions of its own, and can be quickly charged at a standard 240V station. This vehicle is also used for extended living purposes – its built-in photovotaic panels and solar sail roof means it can charge completely from the sun. That’s pretty awesome.

I bring to you some concept art today from Julien Famchon. I haven’t featured any vehicular design in a while, so this ought to fill the need. This concept is both decently realistic in terms of potentially existing in our everyday world, as well as visually appealing as a piece of art. The colors are beautiful and the idea behind the deck monitor is really awesome – the ‘shards’ of material creating the deck form.

This project isn’t necessarily new, but it’s certainly cool to check out if you haven’t yet. Ryan Atkinson’s Love 22 product is a concept for a fashion brand. From brand to advertisement, these pieces encompass the idea of a fresh, clean look. Certainly a brand I’d look into. I happened to stumble upon this project when looking for inspiration dealing with modern geometric design elements. I suppose you might be able to see why this was a result.

Maybe it’s Tron inspired, or maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s possible, or maybe it’s not. Aside from the immediate speculation that comes with this concept, TriMove is presented as a concept of the future, representing an achievement mechanically and visually. We’ve seen three wheel vehicles but they all tend to be a conglomerate of the newest car and the newest bike, noticeably showcasing a lack for meshing elements of each portion seamlessly (at least in the visual sense). But not anymore. The three wheeled TriMove has the agility and aerodynamic styling you’d expect from a motorbike alone. It’s three wheels provide balance both when standing still and when on the move. Also, its three disc braking system means it would require less braking space, potentially resulting in higher standard safety without sacrificing the ‘cool’ factor associated with today’s sporty motorbikes. I suppose the only remaining important question would be, how comfortable is this thing?

For those unfamiliar, JaHallo is a small, seven person, creative studio possessing a wealth of knowledge and skill in design. The majority of their work deals with creating unique, and often corporate, identities on and off the internet. In this case, they’ve created a new look for JP Huse. This identity was created completely based on a geometric concept inspired by the houses JP Huse builds themselves. A modern website complete with all related print collateral was also provided. The work, including the website, is very clean, using only minimal color and organized in an understandable fashion.