The KDU: featured members interviews

KDU Interviews

Down at the Keystone Design Union headquarters everyone is always busy with the pile of work that keeps on coming in, however, good ol’ coleague David Harris (A.K.A. SON) has been taking the time to interview a few of our family’s featured members.

So far he’s gotten his chat on with Neil Duerden, Nelson Balaban and more recently Pawel Nolbert.

Pretty cool interviews to get to know and see what different members from around the globe are up to.

Stay sharp for interviews to come down at the KDU global news site.

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Xtrabold updates and turns a year older

Nelson Balaban Jr.

Xtra-talented, xtra-young, xtra-humble, xtra-friendly homie Nelson Balaban Jr. (A.K.A. Xtrabold) has turned 19 years old today and to celebrate he drops in his all new portfolio with killer killer work as always.

Only 19 and already killing it. Amazing. Who knows what he’ll be doing in 5 or 10 years!.

Congrats homie!. Big up!.

Desktopography 2008

4th release of the always breath-taking Desktopography has just dropped in.

Brand new creations by amazing artists from all over the world directly to your desktop.

The work above is by far one of my favorites and comes from the hands of insanely talented mr. David Fuhrer.

Diego Quintana x KDU x Slick Corea

Phil Chang (A.K.A. Slick Corea) is an excelent designer, music producer, apart from being a KDU creative consultant.

A while ago he asked some people to collaborate with his senior thesis project: A full length rap album alongside a graphics book with images related to each one of the songs.

Being a rap and design fan, I couldn’t let this chance slide.

Now Phil just released the album under the title of Children of Idiom along with the book, and they’re both kickass.

Inside the album you’ll find excelent excelent tracks (the beats are insane) alongside top-notch musicians; and in the book you’ll find the incredible works of people like Emeric Trahand, Adhemas Batista, Josh Vanover, Radim Malinic just to name a few.

Also, of course, there’s my modest collaboration to the project (second image above).

An absolute honor to be in such a fun project with exceptional artists, plus working with Phil was a joy by itself. Cool cat indeed.

Thanks a bunch to mr. Chang for making me a part of this kickass project, and much success on works to come.

Of course the invite is open for everyone to download the album, a the book, and the sweet little Extras pack on the website.

Be the king of bluff

Via: DesignYouTrust.

Getting punched in slow motion

This is what happens when you have bored employees who are willing to humiliate themselves, and some time to spare with the high-definition camera you just rented for a shoot.

By the awesome Action Figure studio.

Via: TrendHunter.

Graphic Design: 25 Interviews

Via Design Float I found out that the always interesting Noupe recently made a list of 25 interviews with graphic designers from around the world.

Among the interviewed are big names Chuck Anderson, Cristiano Siqueira, Maciej Hajnrich and Matt W. Moore.

A very good and well rounded list that lets you understand a bit better how these image-making gurus think.

FWA Theater

The FWA Theater

The almighty Favourite Website Awards just couldn’t get enough showcasing the best websites in the world. Now they had to show the greatest videos, reels, VFX and trailers out there.

All hail the FWA Theater.

Muto by Blu

I know I said I’d stop posting stuff that was popping up all over the web. But this one is just a must see.

Blu has always been a genius. But this one really sets the bar even higher.

Diseño Emergente 2.0

Diseño Emergente 2.0

First off I’d like to apologize for the size of the image, but I think in this case it’s worth it.

A little over two years ago, a small group of chilean design students decided to generate an online space that allowed design students from all its branches and schools to share their projects and create contact and collaboration networks that led to improve and enhance the national design scene. That website was Diseño Emergente (Emerging Design).

Now, with an insanely powerful base of monthly visitors and projects, Diseño Emergente is, without a doubt, the space where chilean (and slowly more latinamerican) design students converge and share, debate and display their ideas.

By chance of life, I had the pleasure of being one of the first few members of this community and for a while I was part of their staff, with whom to this day I keep a very close relationship.

This is why seeing progress like the one I’ll refer to is trully a reason for pride and satisfaction, knowing that in Chile there are people who dare to take the plunge, to go against the odds, and do it right, with love for what they do and the seriousness and responsability it deserves.

The reason for this slightly long post is to tell you about the release of Diseño Emergente 2.0,. A total review of the website’s interface and functions was made directly from the input of its own users and not just what the staff thought was right.

Even if you’re not a spanish-speaking person, I encourgae you to take a look at the portfolios section, I’m sure you’ll find a few things that’ll blow your mind.

For someone like me, who’s passionate about design, programming and interaction, this website really is a luxury. A whole bunch of new features that speed up your reading time, enhance relationships between users and also enhance the participation of 3rd party users from chilean student design.

So I’m just leaving the invitation open for you to check out the all new Diseño Emergente, ’cause even with its many haters, it’s impossible to deny its real cultural and design weight in chilean society.

My biggest congratulations, and deepest respect to the staff that daily tries to take chilean design to the next level. People like these are the ones that count.

Diego Quintana + The Pint Series

The Pint Series is a project created by Matthew Barton, consisting of different series of printed postcards made by designers from all over the world.

These series go from 3 to 5 images each, they’re 6″x4″, and the price is US$20 plus shipping.

The nice part about this is that you can send your own series, anf it gets chosen, they send you a printed copy for free, and a set of 100 limited editions get put up for sale. Also you get US$500 plus a donation made on your behalf for US$250 to the As Green As It Gets foundation.

I already sent in my “Sensuality Series”, so if you want to purchase it, just click here.

Plus, I was interviewed by them. You can read the interview here or after the break.

Links: The Pint Series.
The Pint Series @ flickr.
DQ + The Pint Series.

The Interview:

TPS: What does the name of the series mean?
DQ: The series is called “Sensuality Series”. The idea behind it was to portray female sensuality as a variable thing. Women can be sensual in very different states and here I tried to show three of them: Cute, Elegant and Hard.

TPS: What inspired the series?
DQ: Women. I think women are an infinite source of inspiration.

TPS: What are you currently doing in terms of client work?
DQ: I’m doing some t-shirts for a company from Thailand and setting up a few websites for some companies back in my country.

TPS: What do you want to do in the design industry?
DQ: I’d really like to work as an art director someday. But also I’d like to try out as much stuff as I can. I’m really into print these days and I’m trying to sort of leave the digital-only world.
Nothing like seeing your work printed out nicely.

TPS: What other personal project have you got going on?
DQ: I’m doing several collab works with different designers from all over. Setting up a project for chilean designers, but it’s still in early stages, so can’t tell you much about that, but be on the lookout.

TPS: Who are your influences?
DQ: I’m always kinda “on the spot” with this question, ’cause the influence list for me is huge.
Just to name a few, but in no case the only ones: Alberto Seveso, Mike Orduña, Pete Harrison, Nelson Balaban, Radim Malinic, etc, etc.
Still, they’re in no way the only ones. the list is practically infinite. too many hot designers out there.

TPS: What programs did you use to make these?
DQ: I used Photoshop CS2 on practically everything. Except for the fragments detaching from the girls, which I made in Cinema4D.

TPS: Are you available for Freelance inquires?
DQ: I’m currently going to college, so intense freelance work gets pretty tricky. But still, I’m always up for new projects.

Diego Quintana at YayMonday

YayMonday

Today, with great surprise, I found out I just appeared on issue 21 of the great website YayMonday.

The thing about this site is that each monday, 9 new creatives from around the world are displayed.

Quite an honor to be there, plus, they also featured my man Veggie, so it’s a double-pointer for the chilean folks.

Also, big up to Ricardo Villavicencio who was featured on issue 19.

Link: Diego Quintana at YayMonday.

Veggie updates

Though it’s not the freshest news, I couldn’t let it slide.

My dog-homie-buddy Guillermo Alarcón, A.K.A. Veggie just updated his website with new freshhh works.

Cyberoptix – Ties that don’t suck

The good folks at Evasèe are always up to date dropping the new hot stuff on design, art and general trends; but this one is for sure one for the books: Cyberoptix.

Created by Bethany Shorb, this enterprise is dedicated to the always curious, atractive, yet unexplored market of ties, and it does it in a masterful way.

Make in fine silk with hand-made sikscreening processes, each one of these ties is an absolute statement of elegance, vanguard and style.

By far an attractive gift that out does and differs from the traditional market offer.

Get your own for around US$35 – US$40.

Link: Cyberoptix.
Via: Evasèe.

100 best spanish-speaking design blogs

Good ol’ Barbón from the always attractive NiceFuckingGraphics recently dropped a list of the 100 best spanish-speaking design blogs, and to my surprise, my website’s in there.

A huge honour considering that my website is basically just a mix of my personal tastes regarding design, digital art and overall trends; which apparently and fortunately has been well received by the people coming in.

A big shout out to Barbón for the consideration and I invite you guys to pass by his website ’cause it’s really making a buzz around the latinamerican blogosphere.

Link: 100 best spanish-speaking design blogs.

Brand Nu updates again

Super hot, world famous, trend-setting designer Radim Malinic (A.K.A. Brand Nu) just dropped a new version of his website with some on-fire new works.

Gun-made sculptures

Awesome sculptures made by the Peace Art Project Cambodia.

All made only with unused gun parts.

Genius.

Via: TrendHunter.

Sony Foam City


 

Even the simplest things can be beautiful. Randomness is beautiful.
 
Sony does it again.
 
Vía: Fubiz.

Women, take care of your beaver


 

This awesome and highly controversial campaign by femenine care giant Kotex aims directly, without hints or subliminal messages to one thing only: If women have only one vagina, why not take care of it?.
 
Just amazing. It’s these type of campaigns that make me more and more aware of the fact that our small, hard-working countries are still centuries behind when it comes to maturity and a slightly more elevated criteria regarding topics such as the human body and sexuality.
 
Vía: TrendHunter.