Identity
No, I’m not full of myself. I did this to establish my identity beyond any reasonable doubt. My school records show that I am Nollie Araral. I only found out that my real name is Kakuei Araral after college. These photos are hard evidence.
Wacom “Thank You” Postcard Design Contest
My entry for Wacom’s “Thank You” Postcard Design Contest. View the entries here. Thanks to redbloc.net for the bloc rockin’ badges. And to the owners of the lovely images, I owe you all a postcard!
Tags: contest, Design, postcard, wacom
idN Universe design competition
My entries to idN Magazine’s Universe design competition.
drink deep
lightspell
Tags: competition, Design, designers, international, network, universeThis Too Shall be Made Right
by Derek Webb
people love you the most for the things you hate
and hate you for loving the things that you cannot keep straight
people judge you on a curve
and tell you you’re getting what you deserve
this too shall be made right
children cannot learn when children cannot eat
stack them like lumber when children cannot sleep
children dream of wishing wells
whose waters quench all the fires of Hell
this too shall be made right
the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
we say we’re just trying to stay alive
but it looks so much more like a way to die
this too shall be made right
there’s a time for peace and there is a time for war
a time to forgive and a time to settle the score
a time for babies to lose their lives
a time for hunger and genocide
this too shall be made right
I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder it’s suicide
this too shall be made right
Stories from the Field: The UNDFF logo design contest
The concept behind my entry “Tell the World” is simple. I designed the film camera icon to make it as friendly, open and accessible as possible symbolizing the goals of the festival.
The festival title “Stories from the Field” is inside this icon. The typography has a young, raw but vibrant feel reflecting the addition of a new special category for the new generation of filmmakers.
I solved the challenge of setting the type in three lines with the word “the” spilling over the camera “lens”. This represents the screening of the stories to a global audience through the festival.
The full version with the title “The United Nations Documentary Film Festival” was set in two lines at the base of the icon to support and strengthen the over-all design. The typography is traditional to represent the organizations and the established filmmakers that form the vital link to the festival’s roots.
Finally, the colors used are consistent with the standard colors of the United Nations to further reinforce and build the organization’s brand.
My entry and description for the $5,000 United Nations Documentary Film Festival logo design contest. There are 951 1603 entries to this contest which ended 11/26 27. Public voting now on til05/12 and winner announced 12/04 17.
I am a nervous wreck. Pray for me. I found out too late that you can submit more than one entry. I was also playing with another concept but my wife voted for the first one. Here it is. Deadline was extended until today!
Tags: competition, Design, documentary, entries, film festival, logo, social design network, stories from the field, united nationsA graphic symbol of the experience of documentary filmmaking is the concept behind “Out in the Open”. These experiences form the stories that reflect the conditions of people under the Millenium Development Goals.
The stenciled graphic typography of the festival title evokes strength and refers to the insignia of the UN commonly found in the field.
The typography of the full version is traditional to represent the organizations and the filmmakers that form the vital link to the festival’s roots.
Finally, the colors used are consistent with the standard colors of the United Nations to further reinforce and build the organization’s brand.
Kakuei got Gumped at the Mindanao Bloggers Summit
Smartbro downtimes are golden opportunities to write posts. Or to fulfill promises. No more procrastination. So here is my MBS1 story, still piping hot from memory.
Coming in late from Tagum with Jho and KC means suitcases to fill and photo-finish drama. We came a day early for the Civil Service exams but late for this historic summit. Heard that my old friend Marc Macalua is coming. Marc and I come a long way and I recently found out he’s into this SEO thing. Let’s just say that the last time we talked was an exercise in disruptive economics. Right Marc? 
But we’re quits, since he’s the only friend I have from Manila who came for my wedding last year. So when I walk in half an hour before lunch I was caught in between cramming thoughts and social anxiety.
recognize the person on registration. She was an acquaintance at Victory. Jammed with her once when she showed up at our event. And since I was majorly late and hadn’t yet changed my email to my real name, I use my spellable and usable nick ‘Noli’ when I am in a hurry. The typical scene would be “how do you spell your name? Kakaui? Kakeui? Kakuie? So I just say ‘Noli nalang‘ and grin.
Blogie Robillo was on the mic when I snuck in. He was annotating the avp of Fr. Alejo, a stirring cry for peace and unity in Mindanao. I quietly sat at the back nearest the entrance, which is a latecomer reflex I am not so proud of.
I share the table with Charles and Tere (I’ve read their email intros so I know) and another guy but I was too shy for small talk. Lunch was coming up in a few minutes. Sure enough I see Marc and his fiance Sharm. They were joined by Abe Olandres and Jayvee Fernandez, fresh from the success of the 1st Search Engine Marketing Conference (SEMCON) Philippines 2007. He introduces me and I just say hi because I really don’t know what to say. He asks me to join their table and lunch out but I cop out by falling in line for pack lunch being served. Later they fall behind me. They were probably hungry, coming in from an early flight.
I barely touch my lunch when my phone died out on me. Since I have no other way of contacting my wife, I leave posthaste to have it charged at the ground level. Laptop in tow, I trudge through the chilly trade hall with an empty stomach and barely half an hour until the talks resume at 1pm.
Now my phone has battery problems. I was half-sure if it would charge properly. It didn’t. So 30 minutes of walking around while waiting for the thing to charge was perfectly wasted. I come back finding my lunch missing. Apparently someone cleared our table. Dead phone. Empty stomach. I was shivering inside and out!
But so were Marc and his table. Seeking shelter from the overhead assault of the aircon vents, they found their way to my almost vacant table. Kim Castillo’s talk was on and as much I tried to take it all in, I just took the time to listen to my new seat mates’ stories from the field.
Then it was Jayvee’s turn to talk and Abe kept teasing Marc about his ‘admiring’ comments for the speaker. Then it was about Marc’s relatively short ‘meteoric rise’ to being an internet celeb. Abe was joking about writing about Marc’s bio. I offered to write about the ‘lost years’ of 2000-01 when Marc and I first met at his first job at AsiaOnline, then to DevCo then to… but I promised I would not write about anything incriminating though :D. Those times were defining moments in our careers.
By the time Marc was called upfront the iced tea and aircon was taking its toll on me so I went to the bathroom or as Forrest would say ‘I gotta pae’. When I came back Sharm was filming the talk. She’s very supportive of Marc as his official videographer.
Looking back, I can say that we’ve really come a long way in our relationships. We’ve stepped into another level of maturity. I’m particularly proud that he’s engaged to be married next year. After all what is success if you can’t share it with someone. Right?
Photo remixed from wyzemoro’s flickr photostream
The rest of the afternoon was rounded off by a panel discussion with the A-list bloggers joined by Bob Martin and Andrew dela Serna, who also served pastries. Marc also introduced me to Jun Macarambon. Since I was starving and freezing, I didn’t hang out and meet the organizers and fellow bloggers. Which I regret. I also skipped the after party because of the next day’s exams at 7am. Good thing there’s another event coming up. Hope to meet more friends there.
Tags: Mindanao Bloggers SummitSingapore Design Festival Icons
My entries for the Singapore Design Festival Icon Wall. It’s fun and it’s free to join.
Tags: singapore design festivalHow could the designer, who must (like others) make a living actually serve ‘real needs’ of human beings? “I have tried to demonstrate that by freely giving 10 percent of his time, talents, and skills the designer can help.” In other words, a willingness to volunteer.
– Victor Papanek in Design for the Real World
Post MBS1 post
I have a confession to make. I wrote a lengthy draft about the event that very day, which I finished a few days later. I used Qumana to post from the desktop offline. Then I switched to BlogDesk. And I lost the article. Disclaimer: not BlogDesk’s fault but mine. I will rewrite it again soon. I promise.
*Promise to self fulfilled.
Tags: desktop blogging software