NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU

POST #043
MORNING COFFEE AND NEWSPAPER:
PRINT DESIGN FOR YAK PAK: THE CITYSCAPE

... One of my morning routine is to read WWD over coffee when I get to office. It is usually the only time of the day where I am able to digest information peacefully. Each morning, I am always looking forward to walking into PAX and ordering my coffee with a cup of ice as it is the moment when I fully wake up and start my day with some information to fill my brain before diving into the day to day tasks of work !!! If I am lucky, I might read something that would bring me certain motivations, which, in return, lead my day into a fairly positive and productive direction!

... While glancing through the paper this morning, I came across a brief article, talking about American Eagle going bold in Times Square with a 4-floor, 25,000-square-foot flagship, due to open next Thursday, the 19th. And, the store will be carrying 20% exclusive products. Some of those products will be celebrating the city of New York and showcase some iconic New York images!! This brought me back into thinking about this city, in which I have spent past 9 years, working diligently to cultivate a place for myself so I would feel belonged to. It used to be a dream of mine to live and work in New York. I remembered that, often, I would talk with friends, dreaming the day when I finally packed up and left for New York. I always said to them that the day when I finally moved to New York would be my happiest day!!! And, it was indeed one long happy day because I was driving myself with all my belongings in a U-haul all the way from South Carolina to New York, a 13 hours drive, if I remember correctly! And, you bet that I enjoyed every second of it!!!

I Love New York [ Image #01 ] THE CITYSCAPE: THE PRINT

CREDIT: © 2009 - 2010 UnoCosa @ DS Art Studio. Commissioned by Yak Pak

... Now, 9 years later, after initial excitement, I have been constantly immersing myself with works and, hardly ever, I found time and mood to actually enjoy this city that I had dreamed about for so long. Somehow, reading the article this morning, it brought back those memories all at once!!! Also, I remembered that one of the commissioned prints I designed for Yak Pak, a New York City-based bag company, was inspired by New York, naming The Cityscape. The concept behind was to create an urban-feel unisex print that can be used for both men and women bags while projecting the energy of New York spirit without taking the iconic landscapes too literately. So, what came out of it was a black and white digital-sketch-print that was designed with elements loosely modeled from New York subway, skylines, Brooklyn/Manhattan bridges, lower East Side, the City Hall and highways (I even included yellow cabs and Coney Island Wonder Wheel, but we took them out during the revision). The print really reflected the spirit of a big city like New York that it was also adopted to be used for Yak Pak 2008 fall website home page. Now, thinking back, it was one of those works that I poured a lots of love into it. And in this case, it was my love for New York and a way to give back the love (I am not sure if I thought that way when I was designing the print. But, nevertheless, it make sense now). Since I am feeling the love, I decided to share this print with you. Life might be busy, hectic and overwhelming. But, it should never be so much so that I forget why I come here in the first place: for its energy and openness that keep on inspiring me and millions of others! So, keep on creating and keep on loving!!!

I Love New York [ Image #02 ] THE CITYSCAPE: THE BAG


CREDIT: © 2009 - 2010 UnoCosa @ DS Art Studio. Commissioned by Yak Pak




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