here is hazel

An ode to the wonderful Debbie Millman and this quote from her recent interview with The Great Discontent. If you’re not tuned into her podcast, you’re missing out.

On a side note, I don’t make enough gifs! Will rectify this ASAP.

Hand-painted type on a bench in Scaborough.

Initially I was going to do one of those “year in review” posts where I highlight all the great films, albums, and books I consumed in 2012, but I realized that a) the only movie I remember watching before the month of December is Moonrise Kingdom and b) I was mostly out of the loop music-wise this year and didn’t bother keeping track of new releases.

Something I did do a lot of, though, was read. I finished more books in the past twelve months than any other year, which I credit largely to the e-reader I got the previous christmas. You could rehash the old argument that “e-books are destroying books” but nothing has pushed me to read more than that magical device (now excuse me while I caress its cold rectangular anti-glare electronic paper display).

Anyway, here are some titles that I enjoyed the past year.

• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer

That last image I uploaded isn’t the real cover for Cinder, but I much preferred Goni Montes’ illustration for the prequel to the actual cover and really, how could you not read the book after seeing his work? It’s a badass cyborg girl in a snowy landscape!!

Some goals I have for 2013 are to read more non-fiction and classics, and to write more of anything. Seriously. I read so much that’s it’s embarassing how little I do any writing. Hopefully this will be the year I change that.

onlineeveryday:

January 1, 2013

A sentiment for the new year. Less anxiety over the things I can’t change, overcoming my fear of failure, and trying harder to be okay with the present.

Cheers!

Some photos from a recent trip to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, which is open all year round.

I couldn’t stay still long enough to have any of the insects land on my finger, but this huge owl butterfly did land of my sister’s handbag.

My two friends Kevin and Jordan recently collaborated to start a fashion blog called Twins in Town. It’s unique in that they bring their own talents to the table; Kevin posts his illustrations and paintings while Jordan uses the blog to document his adventures in the realm of styling.

I got to help them out with their custom blogspot layout as well as other general website stuff like obtaining a domain name and integrating social media profiles into the blog.

So far their posts have been exceptional and I’m so excited to see where it’s headed. Make sure you give them a visit!

Yes, I’ve been terrible at posting things on here, but on the bright side I’ve been doing really well with my little daily screencap project.

You can see process shots of my school assignments and various self-initiated projects under the #process tag. One day I’ll upload the final versions along with detailed explanations, but not now! I still have so many projects to finish before fall semester ends.

Best of luck to everyone doing finals! There is sleep at the end of the tunnel.

A rough, incomplete pattern I worked on for a package design that never happened. Looks a bit chain mail-y.

Going to make an effort to look for cool typography around the city and document them here. This chalk lettering is on a sandwich board outside Noce restaurant along Queen St. W.

I wonder who made it?

October 2nd marked the beginning of my design internship at Whitman Emorson. So far it’s been an absolute blast! Their varied clientele means I never know what kind of work I’m going to do next and this keeps me on my toes.

It has only been a couple of weeks but I’ve already learned so much. A lot of it consist of lessons that I would have never learned in school. I’m immensely grateful.

The first work I did for them was designing this website for The Frocktail Party, an annual fashion event in Toronto that auctions off designer garments to raise money for diabetes research. It’s a fairly simple design but it feels good to see it up and running.