Mistress of Art: MAI EVANGELISTA

For avid Internet users, everyday would be like an unexpected treasure hunt. In my case, I have this habit of clicking anything worth viewing, mainly on the art section. I check on various images on a lot of websites to start the morning and to inspire me to be creative throughout the day (mostly haha). Good thing Tumblr was invented, because it was the best site to keep track on a lot of creative people on the web, much less to discover pure Filipino artists as well. And there I discovered the first to be featured on this Mistress of Art topic. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the pop-fazed wonderful artworks of Mai Evangelista.

To be honest, I have zero knowledge about the artist. When I landed upon her Tumblr blog, I just let the images do the talking. I was mesmerized, so to speak. I’ve seen quite a few artists from my country with this caliber of talent and creativity, and her works are just as inspiring as it can be. It’s vector art but not just plain vector art. Viewers and visitors can really see the details and effort on each piece. I myself find stories on most of her works. Mai Evangelista sometimes includes vignettes about how she made or what was the inspiration behind a piece. I guess that’s how she captures a lot of audience and inspire them. Simple yet elegant artworks.

So as I said earlier, let the images do the talking. Here are more of her works.

5 Portfolio Websites from the Philippines

Hora! Last time, I featured some wonderful websites and blogs dealing on industrial design from the international scene. I’m still researching on Philippine-based ID firms with wonderful works, so for the meantime, I’m sharing to you these 5 portfolio websites on creative media which you probably didn’t know or haven’t seen yet. Be proud, these Filipino creative media artists really rock!

Happy Garaje
http://happygaraje.com/about-hg/

Happy Garaje is a design and illustration studio from Cebu, Philippines. As how they said about their work, they “like to create things and tell stories.” Indeed, you can see that their works are loosely based on imagination and are out of this world. Click on the Accolades page on their site and you’ll be amazed by how many art awards and recognitions they have received.

Electrolychee
http://electrolychee.com/

The first time I came across the dynamic art duo of Electrolychee was on my 3^rd year in college (some three years ago) when they were invited to talk about their works by our art organization. They seem to be having a lot fun doing what they love from how they share their achievements over the years. Their works consist of different styles ranging from cute colors to minimalism to doodles and many more.

Industrial Design Websites For Your Inspiration

As an industrial designer, it has always been a part of our design process to include research as a partner of every step. There is research done before the project starts, while idealization commences, laying out the mechanism, internal functions and the ergonomics of the initial design, the marketability of the product, and even the right way to deliver the product’s message. The hardest way of dealing with this is the lack of visuals and commentaries about how the ideas will run and be born. So the quickest place to go for a design study besides the library is the Internet, although industrial design is still not that popular of a topic to look for on the web. As to help the students and others of the same profession, I compiled a list of wonderful industrial websites that will give any designers ease on where to get ideas, backgrounds, methods, and of course motivation and inspiration while working on their designs.

CORE77
http://www.core77.com/
http://challenges.core77.com/

Every industrial design student knows about Core77. It’s like the “House of ID”, the one website where every design ideas converge. And that’s exactly how the website presents its contents. Core77 shows the readers what they need to know, in terms of latest designs, commentary columns, news, information, hotlinks, what’s coming, and a lot more. Designers that write about designs, so you can be sure of what you read were experienced firsthand and understood by the writers. Plus, they hold competitions in what they call the Design Arena for amateurs and professionals to participate in (with most cash prizes enough to make you start a business or design firm already). It is truly a haven for us industrial designers.