COLDER THAN MARS

Earlier last week, my social media feed was flooded with stories about how the climate in all of Canada was colder than that of the planet Mars. Of course, this phenomenon was ripe for a design/branding idea.

DesignDANKOJanuary 12, 2015DANKOcanada, cold, colder than Mars, Mars, freezing, weather, ice, snow, climate, winter, North, brand, designComment

ROBOBRO

This holiday season, one of my gifts was a very personal and original illustration.

DesignDANKODecember 27, 2014robot, robo, robobro, illustration, ink, red, black, white, incredible, sean, EKG, electrocardiograph, heart, blood, dilated cardiomyopathy, cardioComment

Lycanthrope & Jackalope Costumes

This year, after considering various concepts and ideas, Cor and I decided to go as Mythological Taxidermy: Cor as the beloved Jackalope (a jack rabbit with antlers), and me as a Lycanthrope (a shapeshifter; in this case, a sort of werewolf-troll-ogre-man-thing).

MAKE

In September, Cor came up with the idea of creating a sort of vision wall focused on the concept of stuff to make. During the development of the concept, the idea to create large 3D letters arose, and using math, cardboard, tape, glue, scissors and my favourite typefaces, I ran with it.

DIY, Art, Design, Sculpture, TypographyDANKOOctober 16, 2014Das Baumhaustypography, cardboard, letter, paint, font, museo, akzidenz grotesque, make, diyComment

SPECKIE

When Cor and I moved to Berlin, we spent our first two weeks staying with two of our closest friends. As a thank you, I asked what their favourite animal is, and offered to make it into a sculpture; thus, I ended up sculpting Speckie, the golden pig.

DIY, Sculpture, ArtDANKOJuly 1, 2014scultpure, clay, pig, decor, goldComment

WEDDING OFFICIATE

If any couple ever asks you to marry them,

DO IT.

Shed whatever stage fright you might have, ignore the paranoia that you'll somehow ruin the day, find your cadence, have a shot, speak clearly and own that shit. It's worth spending the money, taking the time, traveling half way across the world and realizing, because hey -- how many times does that kind of opportunity arise?

DEUTSCHE

Between finding and furnishing a flat, landing a creative leadership position, navigating the transit system, exploring the city and networking, I will have to make a serious effort to dedicate time to language studies. Though part of the challenge of moving to Berlin, learning German is, in itself, an adventure. I have no idea how long it will take, but I'm gonna guess that it'll be something of an extended effort.

Language, TravelDANKOApril 10, 2014Langauge, German, language barrier, foreign, travel, Deutsche, Berlin, Germany Comment

BERLIN

It is interesting to compare Canada's biggest city to somewhere like, say, Berlin. Though both share a familiar presence of creative culture, Berlin's creative class has emerged and permeated the city as a result of a more liberal European sensibility, inexpensive living costs, an extensive transit infrastructure, and a strange series of societal circumstances. Forced to (literally and figuratively) rebuild three times over the last one hundred years, Berliners are resilient, determined, diverse and resourceful people.

BUST OF CHOW

Chow was good enough to allow me to occupy his loft studio earlier this year in an attempt to sculpt his likeness as a 3/4 size bust. While he finished his latest series of oil paintings, I spent two days teaching myself how to work with clay.