february recommendations: podcast edition

OK, enough already with Netflix, Sling and Amazon Prime. OK, if you made it this far without staring digital daggers at me: Throw those headphones on and listen in. You don’t event need to leave your couch! This American Life by NPR Once upon a time Amanda worked at an architecture office in San Francisco…

Read More

a chat with nick griffin

There are so many talented creative professionals in Chicago and around the world. We’ve had the good fortune of connecting with a number of them. And as we started brainstorming new ideas for the Sepia Studio scratchpad, we wondered: what if we could collect insights from the leaders shaping businesses and brands?

Read More

personal mantra

Sometimes misattributed, Louis Sullivan in his 1896 essay, “The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered”, said in full:
“Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling work-horse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever follows function, and this is the law.”

We hear you, Louis. Whether it be an office building or a branded promotional mailer… if you don’t fully understand what the purpose, the function, of a design is, the form it takes is irrelevant.

Read More

brandBite 001: Chillin.

It’s a scooter in the snow. In Chicago. In January. We couldn’t help ourselves to create a mini-brand out of this, a #brandBite, if you will. Can you market a 20 degree day? You can with a brandBite. It says: I froze my ass off getting to work, but damnit if I didn’t look cool doing it… and I may have a set of vintage riding goggles in my bag, you don’t know.

font: Quiska by Blankids Studio

Read More

rendering it right

Renderings bring a design to life and are so important to the proposal process. We love including as much detail as possible and including some human figure and actual location references.

Read More

perspective is everything

We love an abstract photo, and we love one even more when it’s grabbed on a walk in broad daylight of an unassuming wall. Angles baby! This textured paneling can be found in River North and we’ve never seen anything quite like it. Something can definitely be said for clean and simple architectural finishes that pack a big punch. We likey.

Read More

concept sketches by a former architect (aka amanda)

Getting sketchy, literally! A good sketch can completely change a project proposal – the added touch of a hand-drawn concept is really important to our creative process. Something about taking pen to a blank paper and churning out a design concept…*chef’s kiss*

Read More

Posts navigation