where lily damota is at

well.. goals here. i feel like i really got 'behind the 8-ball' this quarter by investing so much time into my portfolio... several weeks into the quarter even.. STORY OF MY LIFE. but a job was achieved. First-years. Boston. Stoked.

i've been doing a decent amount of illustration work in illustrator, too. which is somewhat unrelated to developing ID skills directly, but fulfilling and a skill i am happy to improve on none-the-less.... seems important to continue to build the professional relationship with the woman who has been giving me the work, even if causes some slack in school now and then.

Still getting things done, anyhow. other goals included improving sketching and rendering... pretty happy with the new techniques learned in roller's class and can definitely see myself using them in the future.. as for the sketching i am now trying to work in pen and marker which has been kind of a difficult adjustment since ive always just worked in pencil... i see progress, however.

Always wish i was investing more time into all my work, I might be getting a little better at this.

New Goals:

• Win housewares contest
• Change world with innovative beehive
• in spare time redo info graphic and then a new concept for your lame pen.

what makes design not terrible, why i am not terrible, etc.

Good design can be an aesthetic piece, or be a tool that really enhances a persons' quality of life. Engaging a user with an exciting and fulfilling experience is of particular importance to me..... Also of equal validity is how materials and labor are sourced... as well as the environmental externalities that that are caused as a result of production, use and disposal of a product.

What makes Lily daMota good as a designer.. in particular? Well. I think I possess many qualities that typically aren't congruous in one person.....  I can make cartoons,  illustrate and create fun graphics and patterns... and i can learn just about anything  (urban ecology, japanese, beekeeping... whatever....) I love exploring and trying new things. Roll all this together and combine it with the fact that I am capable of making a broad spectrum of design products that are completely aesthetic and rockin'?? I am literally unstoppable. Mostly because of the learning stuff, too many people are afraid of failure and don't take risks, i am the opposite... and become bored very easily. i am always looking to 'greener pastures' in just about every aspect of my life, this means i am never satisfied, which from a design stand-point can be pretttty good.

Also it is a literal fact that i am exciting, fun.... and.... people, people just tend to really like me.

The thing i value most in my product designs has definitely come to be integrity.. integrity in purpose and in material specifications and longevity... bam.


Thanks now, more later!

earrings

i did some sketch-renderings of earring concepts, i was happier with how these came out then the more 'finalized' versions. anyway...always more work!

mixed media

I've always very much enjoyed collages and am excited to take a stab at mixed media with this next project.... here is some cool stuff i have grabbed up off of print and pattern, etc.... here and there over time! all cool stuff.

Infrographics

Infographics are neat, I feel like a fool for not using them up until this point... Down-right foolish, honestly. Here are some cool and interesting infographics I stumbled across in my travels.

Groovy Cat

We recently got a new cat named Groovy Cat. As of late I have found myself wishing that our cat was somehow endowed with the voice and persona of Tim Gunn, a host on Project Runway. If this were so,  he would be able to approach me and my roommate in the morning and say 'Good Morning Designers.' Also, he would be able to offer words of encouragement in times of hardship, such as, 'Make it Work.' Unfortunately this is not the case, and I must persevere with no talking cat... which at times is quite difficult. More later.

Hello, let me tell you about a designer I like.

A designer I have really enjoyed as of late is a metalsmith named Monique Rancourt, (moniquerancourt.com.) I saw her work at a craft show in Boston, bought some earrings and have been watching her since. When I spoke to her at her booth she said that she was always experimenting with new techniques for her jewelry.. some of her chain bracelets are all dipped in molten plastic which give a really interesting affect.. All in all her work is just really unique unto itself and really well done. I can also honestly say I had never seen anything like some of her pieces, and I give her kudos for establishing a line of beautiful handmade jewelry that is distinctly her own. Even though all her pieces are really different, there is a cohesive undertone that makes them collectively identifiable as 'monique rancourt'... it is definitely an admirable thing to have such a strong, identifiable sense of design perspective.