College Work
When I came to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa I didn’t even know what graphic design was. I left the program with a B.F.A., an awe-inspiring new perspective, and a passionate love for my craft. From the largest signage down to the spaces between letters, the world is filled with design.
Cindi
Sah Knives
Renner
Ka Pua O Niʻihau
Cindi
Prompt: Create collateral for a hypothetical museum exhibition for an artist. Collateral must include a save-the-date, invitation, and exhibition materials
I chose to feature ten time Grammy nominee, Janelle Monáe, specifically her “alter-ego,” Cindi Mayweather, whose story of oppression and liberation spans the music of Monáe’s two albums The ArchAndroid and The Electric Lady. The exhibition, named after this character, highlight how Monáe uses this story as a mirror to shine a light on the real world struggles faced by minority groups in our current society.
Award: 2018 Pele Awards, Collegiate Gold for the Hawaiʻi/District 13 chapter of the American Advertising Federation
Collateral includes (clockwise from the bottom left in the above photo) a save-the-date and custom envelope, an invitation with removable RSVP mail-back and custom envelope, three name tags/badges, and a map with a poster on the back which folds and fits into a pocket behind the name tag.
I began by creating a visual style that resonates with the futuristic “android alien” character of Cindi Mayweather. Space and urban spaces pair with a custom circuitry typeface and elements, while the collateral incorporate stylized imagery of real world oppression and resistance. Limiting the color palette to blacks, blues, and purples helps to retain the dark nature of the exhibition’s content while incorporating a feeling of fantasy that permeates through Monáe’s music.
Sah Knives
Prompt: Create and craft a series of packaging for a hypothetical company
My grandfather, Buck Yuen Sah, was a major figure in my life and as a retired chef, he was often found in the kitchen preparing food for the entire family. To pay homage to his culinary skills and how he has influenced my love of food and cooking, my hypothetical company was Sah Knives, a maker of high quality Chinese cleavers. The current high-end market for knives is almost exclusively French and Japanese styles so I aimed to create branding that celebrated Chinese culture.
I started with three different styles of Chinese cleavers: a general purpose cleaver, a light, thin vegetable cleaver, and a heavy bone cleaver. By taking patterns from traditional Chinese sculpture and architecture, I created a series of patters whose shape and density fit the weight of the knife. I then crafted wooden boxes and cloth-lined inlays to fit each knife, followed by burning the appropriate characters into the wood. Each box has a color-coded sleeve and is ink stamped with a logo I created using my grandfather’s surname. Lastly, inside of each box contains a translucent velum insert which has cultural information printed on it.
RENNER
Prompt: Create business collateral for an assigned type designer using their signature typeface. Collateral must include a logo, business card, envelope, letterhead, invoice, information sheet and folder.
My assigned type designer was Paul Renner alongside his typeface, Futura. Paul Renner released Futura in 1927, a geometric sans-serif distinguished by clean lines and letters formed by basic shapes, especially the circle. I decided to use this “clean line” philosophy in my branding, allowing the large, unbroken spaces to focus attention on simplified, intuitive elements. This is exemplified in the logo which is composed only of Futura’s “P” within an “R,” showcasing how similar these two letters are. Lastly, I utilized what some affectionately call “designer orange.” It is bold without being loud and feels at once modern yet from an older time and place, a product of the Bauhaus era of design.
Award: 2017 AIGA Hawaiʻi 5-O Award, Student Category
Limiting design to typographic elements initially presented a large challenge in making this project interesting to both viewers and myself as I couldn’t rely on strong images to carry the project. This changed, however, as I began to hone in on the themes and ideas behind the typeface. It gave me a true appreciation for how small, subtle elements can lead the eye and instruct the user intuitively without the need for bulky boxes and slabs of color.
Less is more,
soft is loud,
and what’s old can still feel very modern
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Ka Pua O Niʻihau
Prompt: Interview a person and create a book based on their story
I chose Lolena Nicholas, an educator and pillar of the Native Hawaiian community, and interviewed her in Hawaiian. Her story revolved around three eras of her life: her childhood growing up on the exclusive island of Niʻihau where English is the second language, her key role in starting the first Hawaiian immersion school in the islands, and her later position as a beloved kumu on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus. I decided to symbolize this progression by literally weaving the covers of three books together in the style of a lau hala weave.
All text is presented in both Hawaiian (ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi) and English, representing her dedication to the perpetuation of her mother tongue. The focus on typography is also symbolic of how much language as an art form plays a pivotal role in her life. The three colors of the woven covers are taken from the natural colors of kapa (bark cloth) prominent in ancient Hawaiʻi.
