Day 14: What rhymes with orange?
San Francisco, CA
8.14
8.14
WHERE ARE YOU?
San Francisco
WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
Woke up bright and early to catch a Caltrain to get into the city, where we interviewed the amazing + kind Rod Cavazos in his studio, PSY/OPS, which was an incredibly cozy, colorful space with letterforms EVERYWHERE. It was especially interesting to learn about his interest/experimentation with type that transcends all the senses, particularly in the 3-D realm, when type and fonts are generally thought of exclusively in the digital or print space.
Later after a quick lunch, we visited the California College of the Arts to sit in on one of Rod’s lectures in his type design class. His students were on the final stretch of their projects, so it was really exciting to see and compare their most recent iterations with their first sketches.
One of my favorite moments of the day was opening the discussion to his students and getting to hear about their own passions + journeys as design students/budding designers. We've definitely talked about conducting interviews/extending the project to students/peers and friends back in Seattle, and getting to hear the diverse stories in Rod’s class definitely sparked more interest on implementing that idea.
After saying our goodbyes we explored CCA some more, gushed about the light + left campus to wander around the city for a bit before taking the train back home. Ate some dinner. Attempted to build a chair—did not build a chair. Journaled + prepped for tomorrow’s interview.
HOW YAH FEELIN?
I've said it before but I'm going to say it again, interview days always make me feel a certain way: so empowered, inspired and so, so grateful for the wonderful people this project has allowed me to meet and build relationships with. It was amazing to get to talk to Rod and hear his story, and also getting the opportunity to hear from his students as well.
Thank you, Rod for welcoming us in PSY/OPS and your classroom, you’ve made us feel right at home (even without the gray clouds).
s
WHERE ARE YOU?
San Francisco
WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
Woke up to catch the train into the city bright and early. The commute was about an hour and a half but was actually really nice. It allowed for a slow morning, with time to read, talk, prepare. It felt very meditative.
We got into the city just in time for our interview with Rod Cavazos! About a year ago, I met Rod coincidentally at a workshop that he was holding in one of my favorite studios in San Francisco - Creativity Explored. We got to talking back then and I mentioned I was a design student at UW; he told me that he was at TypeCon not long before and actually saw the typeface me and a four other students made for a project (felt like a little moment of fame). It was so great talking to him back then and I was really excited to reconnect with him, see his studio space, and dive into his passions and path.
Everything about Rod was a humbling pop of color on a gloomy San Francisco day. It was really inspiring to hear and see how experimental his studio is with a medium like type, which can come across as a very "Type A" field. <--unintentional pun
Later, after a good walk and lunch, Rod kindly invited us to his type class at California College of the Arts! His class did a very similar project to the one that we did in our type class and it was SO COOL to see their results. The most exciting part was definitely the conversations we had. Rod opened up the floor for everyone to talk about their stories, passions and what drove them to design and it was really great hearing the different journeys :)
We later got some coffee...I fell asleep on the train back home. It was a happy, tiring day, and we get to do it again tomorrow - and I'm so excited!!!
HOW YAH FEELIN?
Rod mentioned to us that our interview forced him to reflect more deeply on how he feels and where he stands in terms of pursuing his passions and it was really rewarding to hear. I love that this project not only benefits us but also the people we interview, whether a small or big effect.
I feel like I'm learning more about Sahm and Sam everyday which I love.
- DANA G.
WHERE ARE YOU?
HOTEL CALIFORNIA (aka san francisco aka actually Dana’s dad’s place in San Jose aka layin in bed in my pijamas at 8:30... side note, finished this at midnight... solid focus)
WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY?
Rudely awoken by falling out of bed at who even knows how early.
Crazy start to a crazy day.
We caught the train into the city, letting the morning settle in on the hour-and-a-half journey to find psy/ops on the 5th floor of a building with a beautiful staircase (we took the elevator, whatever that means). It was SO CUTE. so much color and fun patterns. To be honest I don’t remember much of the interview because I was so focused on being in charge of b-roll which makes me kind of sad. I’d rather be engaged. That’s why we’re doing this right? I do know though, that Rod’s absolutely wonderful and he was so sweet to invite us to his class later.
After the interview we walked 30 minutes, to grab lunch near california college of the arts (where Rod teaches). That school is BEAUTIFUL… so much natural light and all the white walls feels like a gallery. It had me feeling so inspired, I’ve got live cross-disciplinary hallway crits dancing through my dreams like old Russian parties through Anastasia’s. A beautiful thing happened in Rod’s class too. He ended up asking all of his students about what they’re into, after 4 weeks spending 4 hours together twice a week and not knowing hardly anything about them and it was SO COOL.
It’s crazy to think we move through our lives without diving any deeper personally with hardly any of the people around us, even those we spend so much time with, but boy is it rewarding. For all involved. To hear stories, to tell stories, you could tell it really engaged and empowered everyone in that room. I really love how reflective and thoughtful Rod is. At one point he he thanked us because the interview prompted him to think in a way he didn’t normally and we even got to see that in action as he asked his students to do the same. Really makes me want to extend this project to anyone, literally ANYONE, ‘cause we’ve all got stuff we’re into and different paths in that let us do (or doesn’t) all the goods. Just lovely.
Then we took the train home (which I’m loving at the moment <3) and Sahm made us din of roasted veggies (along with various snackies). Rolled around on a beanbag with Dana, threw some snacks at Sahm, watched too many rando videos, and am just now getting to my journal, so here it is and I’ll probably go to bed right after this...
HOW YAH FEELIN?
#blessed : so happy to be connecting with people in this way.
Feeling like too much is happening though that I’m missing by the time we write these at night. I want to be better at documenting the day as it happens, but also that age old conflict with living in the moment and all… we’ll see.
But anyhoo, loving this project and the people in it more and more <3
- even sappier sap
