I have decided to embrace the benefits of having a mobile office which I can set up and pack up in virtually 5 to 10 minutes anywhere. As a Designer, I find it very convenient to be able to bring my work anywhere that is most conducive for creative work. I like to think that in order to keep myself inspired and full of good design mojo, and if I feel like a project will best be created in a coffee shop or any particular location then I should be able to do it right? Right. But first, let's see what a Designer's mobile office requires:

1. Laptop
2. Mobile phone
3. Mobile internet
4. Camera

Laptop

Ok first one. Laptop, check. I've had my beat-up but loyal Macbook Pro, José, for a number of years now and boy he rocks! He may be old and he has a lot of battle scars and scratches but he has been with me through the best and the worst clients and projects. The most prominent scar is a huge scrape on the bottom right corner of his screen due to my overzealous aged dog Bravo. Bravo is getting older (isa Bravo) and when I was in the Philippines last year his knees were giving him trouble, so one day due to his failing knees, he managed to drag José on a marble floor! Woilei you should have seen my face! I was depressed. So anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. After calling a Mac shop to find out how much it was going to cost me to change José's screen and nearly falling off my seat after hearing the price, I accepted the fact that I just have to live with the scar until José is ready to go. After that, José's 'w' gave up. So yeah, the Keyboard viewer is my friend! Hehehe.

I can still rely on José despite all his issues - but sometimes lugging a 2.5 kilo laptop everywhere can be a bit tiring. I am saving up for a smaller brother for José - a 13 inch babe only 2 kilos. Maybe I should seriously think about a Macbook air that is just 1 kilo to carry around? What do you guys think? Aren't they just beautiful??? <starry-eyed. I love you Apple!>

Mobile phone

Now, the mobile phone. Easy. Everyone's got a mobile phone these days and luckily we can choose from cheaper varieties. I would love to own an iPhone (And an iPad too. Santa Claus please I've been a good girl! One day Mafatu!) but unfortunately I'll have to wait patiently until I get lucky :-). For now, any mobile phone will do so my clients can reach me. I have a prepay Vodafone. After paying so much on calling landlines and Digicel numbers, I got smart and saved up for one of those Handi Dual mode phones. Now I have a TFL line as well as a Digicel line too. It's FJ$199 a pop for the unit but I am happy to say that it's saved me a lot - I've just been using the free credit on TFL, Digicel and Vodafone so far!

Mobile Internet

Third, the mobile internet. I've been using a Vodafone postpay flashnet for awhile now and have been happy with it so far. Initially, I just opted for the cheapest plan but eventually realised I saved up more by paying for the highest option, the Broadband Mega. The 10GB (FJ$71.50 a month) is great as I need to be online a lot, and after investing in one of those wi-fi network expanders (about FJ$100) everyone at home can be connected too when I am working from there.

Camera

Lastly, a camera. Sometimes I need to take some shots for clients so having a semi-professional digital SLR camera is handy. Thank God for Zoë! Zoë's a second- hand Canon I bought from my friend Rette and she takes gorgeous pics. If I feel I don't need her for the day, I just take a small regular point and shoot Canon that my Tatay left me for those occasions that I need to take quick photos.

Whew! I'm glad I have this option these days. It's allowed me do my work at Gloria Jeans, or at a bure at USP or even at a board room of one client! There is one more thing I just realised I need in order to have a true mobile office. A solar laptop and mobile charger. I've done a bit of research and there are a few to choose from in the market. They're quite pricey though. Aarrgghh! But imagine working by one of those benches at the seawall. Or at the beach maybe. Or on some remote place where power is not readily available. Like today, I am helping man or 'woman' the stall for the Fiji Association of Women Graduates at the USP Market Day. And I bought my mobile office with me so I can do my work. But after just more than an hour José ran out of juice! Now I have to go back and forth to a friend's office to keep charging him so I can keep working at the stall. I NEED a solar charger. There's one I've got my eyes on but it costs about 140 euros! Ouch. It's the Solar Gorilla. It's got quite good reviews, and on a sunshiny day it can charge a macbook in just a few hours! It's also water resistant and only weighs 820 grams. Anyway, I'll put this in my list and hopefully one day it can power my mobile office gear.

Have a good day to all of you, have to get back to work now so I can save up for a Solar Gorilla (and a Macbook Air and an iPhone. Waaaahh!). Ooooh just had an epiphany! When I get a Solar Gorilla I'm going to name it 'Caesar'. After that awesome chimp in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes :-) Moce!

Borrowed from Sclick.net. How about this mobile office in the back of a Mercedes? Isn't that an iPad? I could be like the 'Lincoln Lawyer' and work in the back of a car. Hmm, but first I need to get myself a car. Hehee. One day eh?

I am thinking of buying my Mr Sexyguchi some 'man scarves' in this cold Fiji winter (as we're both getting colds, sore throats and such!). So does anyone know where I can get some of these designy, stylish sexy scarves that my ex, Brad Pitt, made trendy (hehe)? Perhaps a checkered, plaid or even plain-coloured ones but in subtle, understated colours.

(download)

Click here to download:

man-scarf-sexy-rFtFekrsipIvJDvFtAsB.zip (842 KB)

Yadra people! Just thought I'd share an easy hot mocha recipe you can quickly do at home (or at the office if you have the ingredients) to warm this cold, dreary and rainy Monday morning here in Suva. Hopefully it'll raise your spirits to trudge on this manic (or sluggish) Monday! This plus some Miles Davis, Dusty Springfield and Nina Simone surely get my creative juices flowing so I can focus on my design work.

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 tsp coffee (the instant kind since this is an easy recipe)
2 tbsp Cocoa powder (or just use Milo or Ovaltine if that's all you have hehe like I do if I'm desperate!)
1 and 1/2 cups of Milk (can substitute with Rewa skim milk if you're health-conscious. R.B. Patel has a lot of stock)

1 tbsp Honey (Richard and I only use Viti Honey to support our local honey producers - we buy our bottles of honey at the ROC market)

Optional but nice if you add these -
You can buy these ingredients at MH's or Cost-u-Less. For smaller packs of spices like Cinnamon and Cayenne powder, you can get them for a good price at Lazy Chef's at Flagstaff:
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
A few pieces of Marshmallows
Some whipping cream

For a bit of a kick you can also add:
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp salt

Let's get started shall we?:

1. Heat the milk in a pan, slowly.
2. If you have the cream, whip it and put it in the fridge while the milk is heating.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together separately - cocoa powder (or milo or ovaltine) with the coffee, cinnamon and salt.
4. Now when the milk is warm, put the honey and vanilla extract in.
5. Pour in the dry ingredients and stir so that it is evenly mixed.
6. Your cup of hot mocha is nearly ready! Pout the mix in your cup, add a spoonful or two of the cream and some marshmallows on top if you have them, if not just sprinkle some cocoa powder. And that's it, you have an easy delicious hot mocha capable of banishing the coldness of this day.

I hope you like the recipe (if you do let me know!) Keep yourself warm beautifuls. Have a fantastic and blessed week :-D.

How is your Monday (public holiday Queen's birthday in Fiji) going everyone? Today I am inspired to slowly transform my little home office (more like a 'corner') into something like the photos below. Check out the separate garden sheds in the last image gallery attached. They are prefabricated garden sheds transformed into home offices by a company in the UK. Oh man I love love love!

One day Mafatu!

(download)

Click here to download:

design-studio-home-office-inspiration-xEwlGlJAzGiBGwdigChj.zip (553 KB)

(Via Chictip1, Chictip2 and Chictip3)

(download)

Click here to download:

design-studio-home-office-inspiration-JEmIkHvAlpzCgItdDuzF.zip (119 KB)

Found The Setup today. Basically, it's a bunch of interviews asking people from all walks of life about the software and hardware they use. Pretty interesting and you can keep yourself up to date on what other Designers, Developers, Illustrators, Photographers and others are currently using. You might learn a thing or two :-)

http://usesthis.com/

Here's a list of interviews of Designers and Visionaries whose work and wisdom I follow and get inspiration from:

Khoi Vinh   http://khoi.vinh.usesthis.com/
Designer director (NYTimes.com)

Jason Fried   http://jason.fried.usesthis.com/
Co-founder of 37 Signals

Jessica Hische   http://jessica.hische.usesthis.com/
Letterer, graphic designer

Dave Shea   http://dave.shea.usesthis.com/
Designer, illustrator

Frank Chimero   http://frank.chimero.usesthis.com/
Designer, illustrator, writer

Liz Danzico   http://liz.danzico.usesthis.com/
Designer, educator, editor

Shaun Inman   http://shaun.inman.usesthis.com/
Designer, developer, composer

Jeffrey Zeldman   http://jeffrey.zeldman.usesthis.com/
Web designer, fan of Web Standards

Loving this print by Valentina Ramos today. Happy Monday everyone!

The title is just one line from Oblique Strategies, a set of published cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt first published in 1975. Chanced upon it while reading one of 99% / Behance's articles, Developing Your Creative Practice: Tips from Brian Eno. Simply put, these one-liners are quick prompts to help you if you are stuck in a creative block. Being in the type of work that I do, I continuously push myself to get inspiration from everyday things to keep my work fresh and moving. And when I get so busy and don't have time to rebalance creatively, I find that my creative muse goes on a holiday. Don't you just hate it when that happens? You have a deadline and you need to come up with something not just good, but something awesome. And there you are, suspended in some kind of abysmal space where ideas go to die. Hehehe quite a thought I know. So what do you do when that happens and you don't have all day to get back to your creative centre? You go to this website or download this free widget for a short-term creative push! Oblique Strategies is like lateral thinking served quick and snappy.

Jog those little brain cells into thinking in non-obvious and untraditional approach. Some one-liners include:

What wouldn't you do?

Do the last thing first

Go slowly all the way round the outside

And this one is my favourite:

What are the sections sections of? Imagine a caterpillar moving.

So how about you, what do you do when you're stumped? How do you go around that block?

Image from Toonpool

Here's part 2 of my blog entry. If you have not read part 1 yet, here's the link to that.

Fire in your belly is good for your tummy!
When you meet my mother, you might not immediately see it, but this 5-feet-2-inches-high woman has gumption. Nanay has a quiet strength and wisdom that you won't be able to tell upon first meeting her. But once you get to know her, it becomes clearer how much spunk she has. I have seen her at the most testing times and admired how she had dealt with them. Some examples include her sheer resolve to get my brother and I through college, and her fortitude during and after the passing of my father. During my university years, Tatay resigned from his stable job due to some politics at work. My mother had left teaching as a profession when I was born but she kept many types of her small businesses running to contribute to our family income together with Tatay's salary. She earned her own money and she took pride in that. However, when Tatay resigned at that time, it was during one of those expensive phases of our lives. College education in the Philippines was expensive. Especially more so for us because my parents insisted we take up the offers from well-known but pricey schools to ensure we had a good education. She kept those businesses running, started some more, and she crawled financially just to get us through. It was tough, at times she didn't know where she was going to get our tuition that was due. But with her leadership and the support of my Tatay with her businesses, we pulled through. That woman may look small and fragile, but boy she has a formidable spirit.

Needless to say, Designers must have confidence and resilience. Artists tend to be their own worst critics. So if it is not clients, other Designers and people who will criticize you, you will criticize yourself. Sometimes these criticisms are constructive, we must open our minds to them because they will help us grow and become better Designers. But oftentimes they are full of negativity that are simply meant to bring you down. You will question your own abilities and talent, as well as get bogged down by others undermining your design sensibility. But don't let all these stop you, believe in yourself and keep learning. In High School or Secondary School, I was going to be an emcee for a big event at school for the first time and I was terrified. I always remembered my mother's advice. She told me that when I go up there, I should pretend that I was confident and fearless. If I do it long enough and believe it, in time I would stop pretending and truly be confident and fearless. The point is, keep that fire in your belly going. You'll need it. Live and Design courageously.

Be a lover but don't be a pushover.
My Nanay is very good-natured. She's a nice person. And she's a lover, not a hater - diplomatic, peaceful, amicable. However she also taught me that being nice does not mean you should allow yourself to get pushed around. As much as possible she is agreeable, however if someone steps over the line, she fights back.

Designers have a duty to lead their clients to the right design direction for their projects and strategies. But everyone thinks they are Designers, and many clients step over the line of the Design-Client partnership. Are we supposed to say Yes to everything our clients ask for? It is our responsibility to show and explain to them in layman's terms why we are taking them to a certain design path. They hired us for our expertise and skills, not to say yes to everything they ask for. If their demands are unreasonable and absurd, then it is our obligation to let them know diplomatically why that is so. Learn to say No when you need to. You have to stand up for yourself. Otherwise, who else would?

Take some breaks, else you might break.
Being a businesswoman, mother and wife, my mother fulfilled many responsibilities. She was and is still one busy woman. But despite all the tasks she has to perform, without fail she always takes a nap or a siesta every afternoon. In the evenings, she would put her feet up and indulge her addiction to soap operas or Filipino movies. She delegated her work so she could finish earlier and attend to her other tasks as well as afford to take breaks now and then.

Perhaps this last teaching is one of the hardest things I have to learn. I am a perfectionist. And having lived a not so privileged life, I am used to working hard in order to receive the things I needed or wanted. Laurels were not given to me on a silver platter. I work hard and I reap the rewards. I know this is a good thing, but on the downside I end up working too much to the point where I don't allow myself to take care of myself. My mother is here in Fiji for a few months because of my recent wedding and in the past few weeks she has seen me work until morning almost every day to complete certain projects. I got so busy that I couldn't even stop to eat lunch because of the demands of my client. She has expressed her deep dissatisfaction to this situation and has urged for me to remember that taking a restful or a creative break every now and then is essential to our health, sanity and creativity. If I get too stressed and get sick, will my clients or my work take care of me? It is up to us to decide how to attain balance in our lives. It is up to us to take good care of our selves.

That wraps up the five essential things I learned from my mother that has helped me as a Designer. These days we understand each other better. We miss the man who told us how so alike and stubborn we are in many different ways, and I wish my Tatay was still alive so I could tell him that he was right. Also, these days I appreciate my mother so much more for how she is and how much love and positivity she gives to others. She inspires me. My brother and I are so fortunate to have her as our Nanay.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! Vinaka.

I think it is obvious that this entry is a tribute to the amazing person that is my mother. Mother's Day is just around the corner and many daughters will be writing about their own mothers, but really this piece has been on my mind for ages and it is only now that its time has come for it to be shared. I can write about my mother, or as I call her 'Nanay' , in many different angles. Perhaps our relationship, her compassion, her eccentricities or her strength. But because this blog is more professional than personal, I have decided to stick to my guns and reveal her greatness and impact in my life as a Designer.

As an only daughter it seems I followed the same path of many only daughters, I grew up as a Daddy's girl. My Dad or as I call him, 'Tatay', and I got along like a house on fire and we understood each other without having to explain much. I always thought that my big brother was a Mama's boy so I stuck to being a Daddy's girl. Growing up, Nanay and I argued a lot and never saw eye to eye most of the time. Usually Tatay mediated between us both to keep the peace. I always thought she and I were just too different in everything. But my father thought otherwise. He always said that the reason we had so much friction was because we had so much in common. It is only now, after thirty years of existence, and after the first man my Nanay and I both love so much has passed, that we realize he was always right. I am my mother's daughter. And everything I learned about being a good Designer, I learned from my mother.

There are five things she taught me that I believe enables me to be a good Designer today. Tonight I will enumerate two of these five things so as to keep the entry reader-friendly. Not too long it should be, I know! :-) Tomorrow I shall share the rest. So first up...

Limitations make you damn creative.
My parents come from families that were wealthy in love but lacking in material richness. So they had to plow hard through life in order to ensure a good future for their own family. It is because of the many challenges and obstacles she faced that Nanay learned to be resourceful. As a kid, I remember her making everything convertible to serve whatever purpose she needed. A glass in the kitchen is not just a glass, it can be a vase or a piece of decor or a lamp. If she needed something at home or at work and it wasn't available, she somehow found something that was available to use. Limitations make you creative.

As a Designer, I have to design within boundaries or limits. For example, the design has to be contained on an A4-size paper, or within a 1280 x 800 pixel screen. The artwork exists within a strict grid I must conform to, and somehow I have to come up with something that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also perceptive, meaningful and intelligent. Nanay taught me that these limitations should be welcomed. Being resourceful means you can think out of the box, that you can find interesting and alternative solutions to design challenges. These restrictions form a space where creativity not only evolves but most definitely thrives.

Learn the rules, then break some.
Nanay is the type of person that would abide by the rules. She is honest to an unhealthy degree and she is pretty much a goody-two-shoes. But when she sees an opportunity to break some rules and she feels it is right to break them, she does not hesitate. My mother taught me about listening and trusting your own instincts and intuition. And if her intuition says an act needs to be done, there is no question it will be done.

When I was about 10 years old, Tatay got a job in the Central Pacific, in Nauru Island. Before the whole family moved over to the tiny republic, Nanay heard that there were many things and comforts that might not be available. So before we flew to Nauru, my mother got some experts to teach her how to sew clothes and uniforms, cut, curl and trim hair, bake all kinds of bread and cakes etc. She wanted to ensure she'd be able to provide us everything that we needed in case the services were not readily available. She learned the basics and the rules of all these new skills and when we got to Nauru she allowed herself to experiment. She made each cut, each dress and each recipe, her own. She changed the instructions as she saw fit. She learned the rules and made sure she broke them.

Throughout university I was exposed to theories of Communication, introduced to the art of basic Photography and Videography, committed the names and styles of Graphic Design and Designers to memory amongst a multitude of others. I was forced to abide by the rules. To work within a grid, to imitate certain styles, and to appreciate the work of the masters in our field. But after all that, I allowed myself to push boundaries whenever I can. To keep my work fresh and effective, I have to let myself jump the fence sometimes. Experiment. Go where my imagination takes me. Keep that damn creative kid in me alive.

Alright, I'm keeping this entry readable in sizeable chunks so I will continue writing the rest tomorrow. Being a good Designer means I have to think of the user or audience all the time after all :-). I leave you with a thirty-year-old photo of my Nanay and I. Check out my matching red and white ensemble right up to the red socks and white booties! You can really tell I got my great sense of color from my mother :-P. Vinaka and Good night (or Good morning. It's 1:18AM Fiji time)!

After Cebu Pacific's video of dancing Flight Attendants during a flight's security and safety briefing went viral last week, its jubilant, massive media exposure was dampened by vitriolic criticisms of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines. The Association believes requiring Air Hostesses to dance in front of passengers is 'demeaning and undignified.' Women's rights group Gabriela also stated that 'portraying women in a sexy manner to make business brisk is not only a cheap promotional gimmick but also makes corporations such as Cebu Pacific a purveyor of sexism and machismo that reverses the hard-won recognition that Filipino women have achieved.'

As a frequent passenger of Cebu Pacific, I am very familiar with their upbeat, energetic and fun brand somewhat akin to Virgin Blue. Having chosen to fly with them mainly because of their incomparable promo fares, I receive regular email updates about their current offerings. I have always taken note on how their copywriting is regularly witty, refreshing and intelligent. They come up with lines like:

Low fares have THAILANDED!

You're GONG to China! Enjoy our seat sale to China and other destinations.

We make you HALFy with our 50% OFF Seat Sale!

Upon noticing their marketing campaigns and strategies, I often muse to my friends how Cebu Pacific's marketing genius has captured my attention. As indicated by the Philippine Civil Aviation Board's official report, Cebu Pacific has surpassed our national flag carrier Philippine Airlines and it is now the top airline in the Philippines. Data shows Cebu Pacific flew 5.09 million passengers for both domestic and international routes just for the first half of this year while Philippine Airlines only carried 4.9 million. Obviously the airline's steady growth is due to its unrelenting business smarts, but definitely I would like to credit the brains behind their marketing department for developing an engaging and successful brand. According to Wikipedia, in August 2009 Cebu Pacific became the first airline in the Philippines to use social media as a marketing vehicle. Sure their customer service is not perfect, their ticket centers are usually so full that you wait for hours to get served, and you cannot cancel your flight and get your money back as your canceled ticket becomes part of your 'travel fund' that you have to use within a certain time frame - yet I believe their marketing skills are relentless and remarkable. Couple that with very competitive fares, and you get swarms of customers clamoring to buy tickets over and over again.

Their latest publicity stunt in which the video immediately went viral is I believe a brilliant move. I consider myself a women's rights enthusiast. Hell I strive to uphold our rights, detest sexism and question double standards all the time. But when I watched the Flight Attendants dancing to Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' while showing safety procedures, as a woman I neither felt demeaned nor disrespected. It was an unusual and fun way to demonstrate procedures and people paid attention. Ordinarily passengers only half listen as they have become numbed to the usual robotic demo. The stunt is consistent to Cebu Pacific's brand and runs in the same tradition as the games and singing contests they host during their flight. The moves were sexy? So? Is there anything wrong with that? Our sexuality is very much part of our being. The actions were not lewd and not even close to racy! They were wearing their usual casual uniform and not some cleavage-showing top or mini number! Would we have reacted negatively if the performing attendants were all male or a mix of both genders? Is this another case of double standards?

Apparently within 8 days the video has had 7 million views! As my former boss Jonathan Segal once said, any publicity whether good or bad is still publicity (or something like that). People are talking about Cebu Pacific and I am sure this is exactly what they were aiming for. Stupid or Brilliant?