Graduation Season

The following months unfolding ahead of us will marks one of the biggest achievements academically for a large number of graduates. Whether high school or college – I’d like to congratulate everyone walking that aisle. I remember clearly the excitement, fear, anxiousness and all the unknowns going through my head. All the uncertainty at the time have now become a fear of the past, thanks to the commencement speech given by Steve Jobs at Stanford’s class of 2005 graduation. Although given years ago I find thing he says here are very relevant today. Moving forward after graduation I’d like you all to continue to think about these words given by Jobs:

“It was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very- very clear looking back 10 years later. Again you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future, you have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma whatever. Cause believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even if it leads you off the well worn path and that will make all the difference.

Congratulation AGAIN. Be optimistic and excited for the future.

legends are made, not born

I ran by this pretty epic NBA commercial and found it extremely relevant to all things passion related. It’s nothing short of eye candy for hardcore ballers, a mash-up video throwing all NBA elites into one era, on the same court. Interesting watch, but maybe it holds a deeper meaning?

A very interesting concept became apparent while watching the many generations of superstars ball out; stardom is not permanent nor is it guaranteed. Stars rise and they fall; doors open and they close; designers come and they go. Every time a person dies a baby is born, a new opportunity awaits, and a legend is yet to be told. Too often our journey is clouded by doubt and derailed by the thought of impossibility, or the fear of not being chosen. We must remember that Jordan made the impossible possible, and that some of the greatest were not chosen so they chose themselves. They worked later, longer, harder, smarter, hungrier, etc.

In order to succeed we must remember to keep on pushing on. With every generation a few slots of opportunity open up for those who are ready to dream big! Are you ready to live your legend?

Random things that make your day

We’re extremely grateful for all the love the Audi team has showed us in the past month! It’s funny how things come together. Who would have thought the random post-it note doodles that I scratch out on pass time would end up on their Instagram!

It’s an honor and a blessing! Thanks for showing the little guys love!

standing on the shoulders of giants

In this day and age, even a ten year old can find a nice comfortable place on the shoulders of the worlds most influential people. I’m sure you’ve heard quotes like this before, it’s been swished around and regurgitated in many forms, but retains one simple meaning; you’re defined by the company you keep.

For students, it wasn’t long ago when your growth and progression was defined by the level of competition and commitment within your classroom. Because of the internet, this no longer holds true. The players have been multiplied by trillions, and in order to be great we must realize that the battle extends beyond the walls of our universities. You’re no longer competing with lazy John who never turns in his assignments, but with BMW designers and other extremely established individuals. Social media outlets allow us to follow and expose ourselves to some of the greatest talents on earth, DO NOT take this for granted!

As a person who’s extremely passionate about sketching, I’ve been approached by many who are looking to fine tune their drawing skills. Unfortunately, I wasn’t born with a Prismacolor in hand so I went the 10,000 hour route. The only sneaky thing I did was have a few browsers open with Brook Banham, Chris Harsacky and Aaron Hughes (some of my earliest influences) sketches while I practiced. Remember, the world is your oyster. Run with giants and FUCK the boundaries!

stripes PRINT SAMPLE

A quick update on the “Earn Your Stripes” prints! The design is finalized and we’re in the processing of getting screens made. Pretty 100lb French Paper is on it’s way (it won’t be boring black on white). The wait is almost over!
 

Good Listening: Memories Back Then Ti, B.O.B, Kendrick Lamar

Projecto a Kickstarter Project

I didn’t get a chance to fund this project but plan on buying a few of these bad boys to gift to family and friends. My co-worker Monica Mecchella received her tiny projecto today so I took some photos of her un-packaging the little guy.

If you’re not familiar with the product here is a short video about the “Projecto”

Steal Like An Artist

This little booklet by Austin Kleon highlights why ALL of our ideas are never original. Our ideas are essentially more like collections of things we’ve seen and love, translated. For those of you who do not have time to read this thin booklet. Here is a video he did for TEDtalks.

Good Listening: A1 “SUMMERTIME SADNESS”

Another hot track from our good friend Adam aka A1

Discovery in Experimentation

Recently we were approached with a potentially lucrative project & business opportunity. Lets just say its something as demanding as cake sales on birthday anniversaries. Always guaranteed right? Our initial thought was to design everything in house and outsource what we aren’t able to– to an expert.  Typical Creative Session thought process, right?

What started as a night of prototyping, spontaneously turned into a bunch of grown ass men geeking out over materials. Instead of properly prototyping what we needed, we designed products that the materials could potentially become. Wallets, Key Chains, Sweaters, Aprons, Hats ect. Spontaneity is what drives Creative Session and we love it. You’re never restricted by deadlines or boundaries, and are able to design freely. (Best mindset to be creative in.)

The best part of the night was that we generated many more ideas than we had anticipated just by taking the initiative in prototyping one single idea; therein lies the beauty of discovering new ideas through experimenting.

Good Listening: Dizzy Wright “Fly High”

Happy humpday everyone here’s a good laid back record with a super fly hook!!!!!

“I know I might sound crazy, but I love what life done gave me….”

Audi is listening

As artists and designers we’re fueled by passion and run on love. We have a strong desire to create meaningful things that make life worth living. But it’s also human nature to tread carefully, and wonder if our work is worth doing, is anyone listening, does anyone care?

Today something major happened, we received Audi’s nod of approval. It’s humbling and a great confirmation to keep pushing on!

NixonMAG

Spent sometime after work knocking out a pair of Nixon headphones. These quick exercises are doctor recommended in keeping your skills fresh and relevant.

I know most of us designers spend all damn day in front of our computers whipping up awesome designs. The last thing we want to do is come home and sit back in front of another monitor and re-up. I’ve had this idea for a pair of headphones with all its connecting mechanics removed between the cans and the band. Only connected through a magnetic plate and a simple customizable metal band, allowing the user to adjust through friction and band tension. The concept is to consider the manufacturing process, by deleting the connecting mechanics and replacing it with a magnetic bridge we’re saving $$$ and engineering cost.

Here is a quick rendering I did- Stay tuned for full TUTORIAL on how I rendered this in Keyshot then post editing in Photoshop.

Good Listening: Daft Punk Pharrell “GET LUCKY”

All I want to do is dance all night to this song. Who gives a %$#@ if I get LUCKY. Happy Friday Ya’ll

Keep your eyes, mind and heart open

This quote has many meanings but to me it’s about life experiences. I must admit I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to judging things before truly experiencing them. Here’s a reminder for us all to keep our eyes, mind and heart open to the world we’ve yet to experience. Don’t let great people and opportunities pass by because we weren’t ready to open up and learn.

Live, learn and experience more, it’ll make our designs that much better!

four two zero @dolores

A quick break from the studio in celebration of four-twenty. No worries we kept it real legal, here at CS we drug test the crew on the daily.

Random doodles – Practice makes perfect

Good Listening: Toussaint Morrison Baby, I’m Bad Weather

The Shoemaker

I love the way this video is shot, I’ve been a student of film for the last few years. There is this beauty in capturing everything in motion but the best part is editing the footage capture. I find it so therapeutic sitting in front of a computer screen chopping and cutting videos together.

My friend use to come call me to go to the beach, my father would say “go on he’s gotta work…..”

The Shoemaker from Dustin Cohen on Vimeo.

10-min doodles – Time pieces and things

A few pages to start the day! Enjoy

A little nature time

With a daytime and a night time gig we seriously work 25/7! After an extra long week, a little nature time with the pups was definitely necessary! A few quick shots from this weekend.

Good Listening: “Majestic” Mr Carmack Crash

Ingo Schuppler : Schwarzes Gold

From sketch to vinyl

A little graphic piece I knocked out a little while back, finally getting around to finishing it up. We’re thinking of getting vinyl stickers and prints done! Stay tuned.

Good Listening: Ben L’Oncle Soul “Soulman”

I really like the way this video is shot. Excuse the French.