School of aHo - Andrew Ho

still amazing.

2010-11-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

a teacher once said...

2010-06-28T14:50:00.002-04:00

Art is like masturbation. It is selfish and introverted and done for you and you alone. Design is like sex. There is someone else involved, their needs are just as important as your own, and if everything goes right, both parties are happy in the end.

Henry Ford Museum

2010-06-13T11:16:00.005-04:00

shooting on top of ccs

2010-06-11T01:51:00.001-04:00

Internship Project

2010-05-17T01:01:00.009-04:00

My internship last summer at Toyota Japan was a huge learning experience, much more than just another portfolio project, my time there allowed me to rethink and question what I was taught in school. It allowed me to meet other more experienced designers and students who could provide me an alternative view on design. The two months in Tokyo taught me more than two years at school.

Our brief: Create a car for 2012 for the youth of today based on the Yaris package. We were asked to use ourselves as the target customer.

Internship Project cont'd

2010-05-17T00:59:00.007-04:00

@ school we have so much time to develop designs. Little did I know how much harder it is in half the time with a model!

swoop

2010-05-16T22:31:00.004-04:00

so this is the model for the GM sponsored studio, we were asked to design an electric vehicle for each of the Gm brands...I picked Buick

boingg

2010-05-16T21:49:00.009-04:00

Aero

2010-05-16T21:03:00.002-04:00

2010-05-16T20:56:00.003-04:00

WORDS OF WISDOM
from a friend:

Things that I have learned after leaving school I wish someone would have told me before. This is not gospel, but what I think are, if followed, good tips for doing well and getting a good job.

Defensible design. Once you graduate and people think it worthwhile to manufacture your designs they start to ask questions. I’ve learned that good designers have good answers. When designing, always ask yourself, what is this detail? Why is it here and implemented in this manner / color / size / orientation / material? Doing things for emotional or abstract reasons is fine (though harder to convince people of) but doing things for no reason at all is unacceptable. (‘It’s red because I like red’ doesn’t go very far I’m afraid, but ‘Its red because of fashion / aspirational products / market data / aggression / market disruption / etc’ are all good and valid.)

Correspondence. Learn to write (and read) well. If you write poorly people lose respect for you, plain and simple. If you write well you will find it easier convince people to trust you and invest in your designs. The majority of my day is spent communicating over email; it is just as important as any other skill in my portfolio. Also, when corresponding, send files in the correct format. (resumes should be in PDF not JPG)

teh intarnets. There is now no excuse to not have an online presence as a designer looking to be hired, it is the easiest way to have your work seen. If it was my decision, I would require every graduating senior to have a website as part of their portfolio. It is constantly update-able, easy to email, easy to view and speaks volumes about your tech literacy. It is also not that difficult or expensive to set up, all you need is a welcome page, resume and gallery. [quick how to; 1. Get hosting ( I use my .mac account, but there are many cheap hosting companies), 2. Get a domain name (usually arranged by your host), 3. Get Dreamweaver (Its like MS Word for writing HTML. Learn it in a weekend), 4. Get a gallery template ( http://www.goodwidgets.com/gallery or http://www.airtightinteractive.com/simpleviewer/ or http://www.huddletogether.com/projects/lightbox2/ ), 5. Add your work and upload.]

teh intarnets part 2, revenge of teh intarnets. Aside from being a great place to have your portfolio, the internet is also a great place to get feedback on your work. Join a community, crit and be critted. (hot tip. The Core77 boards regularly have work posted to the front page which is read by most designers (that I know at least). Exposure like that can be invaluable.)

Prioritized goals. In the portfolios that I have seen, most projects lack direction. Like item 2, having a list of clear prioritized goals with solid reasoning behind them leads to better project buy-in. In our process, we develop goals (3-5 of them) after our initial research phase and use them to guide decision making trough the rest of the project. (For example, if am working on a boombox my first priority would be that it has boombox functionality, my second priority might be product weight (if it was an avenue to differentiate and succeed in the market). I would never make decisions going forward that compromised core boombox functionality, but would choose materials and processes perhaps at the expense of product cost that made it more lightweight.) Good goals = good products.

Show process. We do not want to see hot renders and pages of thousands of sketches, we want to see how you arrived at the design in your hot renders through pages of sketches. Most projects have process but don’t communicate it well. It helps to have items 2 and 5 done well, then all you need to do is put things in order. “Here’s the brief, here’s my initial research, here’s the goals I made based on the research, here’s how the design evolved with respect to those goals, and here is the final product, it satisfies the brief and goals in the following ways, one, two, three.” It’s as simple as that.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.” -Charles Eames Read that ten times, rinse, repeat.

On presenting. You are the only person that knows your design; you are the only person that is currently fighting for your design, present it as such. Have a cue card to guide you, but don’t read your presentation, you should know it by heart. Have passion when you speak, if you’re not excited about your design, why should I be? Speak loud and clear, you need to be heard to be heard. Don’t present to your feet, they are not your audience.

Think of the experience not the product. Think of the packaging, in store experience, ecosystem, user interface, companion products, behavioral impact, lifecycle, intended vs. actual usage patterns, etc. The iPod has not been successful just because it plays music.

Don’t do what you are told. If you are told by an engineer to modify your design, don’t just do it because he says so. Investigate why he suggested the change and come up with a solution that satisfies him and your design. If a marketing person tells you your product cannot be red, dig into why, present your logic for choosing red. Do not simply bend your design to accommodate the whims of others without pushing back or you will ship nothing but compromised designs, if they ship at all. (Required viewing: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Forget the book, you don’t have time to read it, watch the movie. If you don’t ‘get it’, perhaps you should consider another career)

Learn graphic design and typography. This is what separates a good designer from a great designer. Read books, magazines, blogs, make friends with the graphics kids, copy successful layouts; do whatever you have to do to learn graphics and type. Not only will it help you lay out a more appealing portfolio and web presence, but it will make all of your work better. (Tip. If it is not Helvetica (preferably Helvetica Neue), make sure you have a good reason for using it. If it has serifs, make sure you have a damn good reason for using it. If you downloaded it off the net because you thought it looked cool, don’t use it until three graphics kids give consent.)

Leave the country. Your creativity comes from your experience. Expand your experience. Make it a goal to live outside the continent for more than a month before you graduate, it will open your eyes in ways impossible to describe with words. CCS has exchange programs in place, there are also foreign internships to be had, earn one!

Have fun. If you don’t have a passion for design, creating something new, then quit. If you dread the new semester, or can only think of why your current studio sucks and would rather be doing something else, then quit. If you don’t truly enjoy what you are doing, it only gets harder and more stressful once you graduate, so if you don’t love it, quit. If you like to be told what to do, go be an engineer or an accountant or something; it will make your life much easier.

2009-11-18T06:34:00.006-05:00

Toyota Tokyo

2009-07-03T09:03:00.004-04:00

ok I wish I could talk about Toyota stuff, but I`d be violating the contract....hm. anyways this is everything I could imagine and more. Tokyo Design center. sooo sick!!!!

2009-06-15T15:21:00.002-04:00

Continental

2009-06-12T00:24:00.013-04:00

Gehry's A.G.O.

2009-06-09T22:11:00.063-04:00

My recent quest for inspiration brought me to the surrealist exhibit at the newly-refurbished art gallery. At first glance this building seems too tame to really be a "Gehry building", he merely added a glass facade to the existing building...

...BUT after absorbing it with the artwork and the city, I decided this gallery is well-executed and very appropriate. Considering the surrounding environment; Gehry designed accordingly. Context first. Shock value second. Shouldn't all design strive for this?

compare to these somewhat recent Toronto structures:
Libeskind's crystal aka the ROM

and Alsop's table which houses OCAD (art school)...

Gehry marries the old and new buildings harmoniously and effortlessly. In contrast, Libeskind seems to have arbitrarily smashed his creation into the old museum and Alsop's looks like a UFO just landed ...

For a mild Canadian city, do we need such flamboyant cries for attention? They stand out in Toronto like newly-sprouted pimples. Though the latter two are bold in form, Gehry's gallery trumps in function. He most definitely is a genius.

2009-06-02T16:54:00.005-04:00

fun. now back to cars.

am i dreaming?

2009-06-02T00:50:00.010-04:00

....so I got my plane ticket to Narita from TEE-MC, all I need to do is pick up the visa. Only one month away, is this really real?!

cars are boring.

2009-06-01T22:57:00.007-04:00

So, I've been trying to do get myself out of this mental block...I decided to do something different, newsprint and nature! Skulls have such subtle implied forms, such challenging surfaces.

Mesmerizing jellies

2009-05-27T03:19:00.002-04:00

sea creatures have such a magical quality.

I lied.

2009-05-18T18:57:00.010-04:00

Thanks to hotel wifi and my trusty iPod, I'm blogging again..!

I need to make it a goal to settle in California one day. It's just too nice here, everything is so laid back and upbeat, the weather is beautiful...knowing myself, ill probably change my mind when I'm in Japan haha. I need a change of environment, my life has become so dreary and routine at school and home.

Out 4 ah hwile.

2009-05-14T17:17:00.006-04:00

California: give me insight; inspire me.
for CCS has killed my imagination..

ill be back in a bit...

The secret to creativity...

2009-05-14T14:05:00.052-04:00

...is knowing how to hide your sources.
- Albert Einstein.

But is creativity rooted in deception? If we coexist together in an open and exposed global forum like the Internet, can anything still be considered original? When we can be so easily exposed to the world, can true creativity still thrive? Whether consciously or not, we all see and filter ideas rehashing the cherry-picked ones into our own. Finding inspiration in the world we live in, where nothing is really new, we should all have the potential to be innovative.

2009-05-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

ACCD dropout.

2009-05-13T21:46:00.002-04:00

Aquapods?

2009-05-09T23:03:00.000-04:00

Home!

2009-05-05T12:52:00.005-04:00

2009-05-05T12:29:00.007-04:00

more from the 2011(...) facelift project....

Stuart Kolakovic

2009-05-05T11:25:00.004-04:00

such cool colors.

Rubens LP

2009-05-05T10:51:00.006-04:00

I stumbled across this online... so simple, yet so descriptive.
http://www.r ub enslp.com .br

NASF present.

2009-05-03T23:38:00.011-04:00

more from a while ago, judged by select ppl from Ford, Harley, NASF, CCS

Master & Apprentice

2009-05-03T23:28:00.005-04:00

Thai food after a hard days of work.

Saturday Night

2009-05-03T23:09:00.008-04:00

Dinner at Kuze's place then bonfire at Mark's place

CCS sees the light.

2009-05-03T22:59:00.014-04:00

I've finished the semester with one dreary project left. I wanna get outta here ASAP.

Pixar inspired?

2009-04-27T03:16:00.008-04:00

seen in the sophomore studio.

NASF presentation

2009-04-27T03:12:00.003-04:00

It was all a blur. Congrats to Ludwin, Mark, and Adam!

Humiliation.

2009-04-22T18:50:00.005-04:00

the japanese self proclaimed best student in the world's freshman sketch. hahahah. so sorry...

Fr Views...

2009-04-12T02:00:00.006-04:00

trying to use different techniques to break out of the box im eternally in rendering wise.

Ford F150 Harley Ed.

2009-04-10T21:55:00.006-04:00

tweaked!
the second butt-wiggle.

Camaro Team @CCS

2009-04-03T22:40:00.009-04:00

Camaro design team presented to CCS students. o

Chunky.

2009-04-03T20:25:00.007-04:00

F150 Facelift

2009-04-02T23:42:00.004-04:00

only the front/rear can be touched for this project.
shit doodle first.

David Byron!?

2009-03-30T00:11:00.001-04:00

vis com teacher DB on Utube.

Toyota Internship!

2009-03-10T09:36:00.006-04:00

OMFG. I'm going to japan!

Who would've thought anybody would be hiring interns in this economy.
Summer 2009 is set to be an even more memorable one.

CCS Expansion

2009-02-27T02:31:00.014-05:00

chaos looms nearer....

Mazda

2009-02-23T01:11:00.006-05:00

day project for mazda app.

Yellow

2009-02-07T18:18:00.004-05:00

trying some color.

2009-01-31T19:46:00.003-05:00

quick yellows.

2009-01-31T19:29:00.009-05:00

got one image from school photographer...

.....and setting up for a better shoot with irene.

2008-12-14T12:53:00.010-05:00

ideation

2008-12-13T01:16:00.017-05:00

American Chemistry Council/CCS
2020 Emerging Markets presentation

Team CITROEN!

Team Benz

Team VW

Team Saab
Team Nissan

2008-12-12T23:53:00.004-05:00

done! .... finally being photographed!

2008-12-12T02:42:00.009-05:00

windows painted!

.

exhausted students

2008-12-09T04:24:00.003-05:00

somehow, in the busiest time of the semester, i find time to update this blog. maybe it's my way of procrastinating.... here is an image of the tedious sanding process....the room is crammed with models waiting to be painted.

2008-12-08T01:06:00.013-05:00

i've been going non stop for the past week and i am just exhausted.

here was my model a week ago beside the mcdonalds coffee (which is surprisingly ok). the tan colored thing is a "bridge", which is used to get the vehicle symmetrical.

there are some tape lines to experiment with graphics.

my wheels have been printed. here they are from the rapid prototype machine.

i need to sand and harden them.
they are literally made out of powder...kind of like this kind of candy....just not edible....

here they are on the car

my color has been chosen!

mellow yellow, metallic grey, and dark purpley grey...

originally i wanted white and black, but i changed my mind.

sculpting time is OVER! here is the last shot of my model in clay.

this is just before the model is sealed . i wish i had more time.

this is in the paint booth. the clay is sprayed with some rubbery plastic film and is "sealed". so (hopefully) there will be no cracks or bubbles in the paint later on

5 hours later the sealer is ready to be primed. this is a matte finish layer under the paint that is sandable.

3 hours of drying time and i can sand...and then i will prime again, and sand, and prime, and sand.... and repeat 4 times.so that is what i will be doing from now.

2008-11-26T03:13:00.002-05:00

i'm sick. my throat is sore.
here is my model. so much left, so little time. the pressure is on!

2008-11-20T23:46:00.007-05:00

just a bunch of old ppl giving awards to other old ppl.

2008-11-20T00:10:00.002-05:00

going to an awards gala tomorrow night IF it doesnt snow... anyways, here is the program. maybe pics later.

http://www.speautomotive.com/pdfs/f%20-%20Innovation%20Awards%20Program%20Guide%20-%202008.pdf

2008-11-16T21:26:00.002-05:00

here's my model now, slowly being sculpted. less than a month till the end of the semester!!!

2008-11-16T21:22:00.004-05:00

ah, the first snowfall. how depressing.

2008-11-15T21:54:00.002-05:00

took most of the weekend, but im DONEEE! finally...ready for print.

here it is with a gaudy background

2008-11-14T21:34:00.003-05:00

2008-11-06T18:22:00.003-05:00

nice fall night.

painfully slow process of packing clay onto the foam.

2008-11-06T00:39:00.004-05:00

breakfast at midnight

2008-11-06T00:27:00.003-05:00

presentation to the "American Chemistry Council" (our sponsor) a couple of weeks ago.

2008-11-05T22:46:00.003-05:00

gift from a Jay Ho's mom.

2008-11-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

tape drawing and beginning of model. (blue foam & mdf base)

2008-11-05T21:43:00.001-05:00

research boards and tar get

Group project this semester. We must design a lineup of cars for a city that are the only ones that operate within the city. We have chosen to design for Chongqing and chose the brand Citroen. Each group member has chosen a target market, I am designing for "singles."