Happy Father’s Day!

©Kara Christie Murphy

Lucky Clover, Xi’an. On Sunday 18 May 2008, I found this 4-leaf clover at the Terracotta Warrior site, which was a special part of my trip to China. When we were kids, my parents took my brothers and I to see the traveling exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors — it was one of my first visits to a museum gallery and the life-size statues made a lasting impression. Over the past several months, my Dad has fought like a warrior against his cancer. So, I picked this lucky clover with him in mind and brought home a mini replica of the General for him.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! You’re the best

China :: Terracotta Warriors

©Kara Christie Murphy

Terracotta Warriors, Pit 1, Xi’an. Xi’an is one of the most important historical and cultural cities in China because it was once the capital of 13 dynasties. It is renowned for being the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and for the location of the Terracotta Warriors, which is praised as the eighth major miracle of the world.

China :: Pairs

©Kara Christie Murphy

Again, while in China, I took a second series of photographs of pairs — couples, friends and artwork. To compare services, I posted the full series of low-res images in a iPhoto Web Gallery (link below). I found it much easier to navigate and post with iPhoto than Flickr — let me know what you think.

China :: Pairs Photo Series

China :: Found Letterforms

©Kara Christie Murphy

While in China I took a series of photographs of found letterforms. Shown here are a few thumbnails captured by Flickr, where I have posted the full alphabet. The “W” is courtesy of Richard and the model for the “T” is Rob, who probably wasn’t aware that I took his photo. To see the full collection, click on this link:

KaraMia’s Flickr Photostream

BBC :: Global View of US Presidential Candidates

James Reynolds, BBC News

While in Guangzhou, China, a few of us wondered what the rest of the world thinks of the US presidential candidates. I can’t remember if it was Rich or Anne who came up with the idea, but we all thought it would be interesting to build a web site where people from around the globe could hypothetically vote for who they wanted to win. Coincidentally, on Wednesday, BBC News posted video clips sharing a global perspective about the final two candidates. The first one on the list: China — good scoop!

BBC News 4 June 2008 ::
Obama v McCain: World Views

China :: Sam’s Tailor

©Kara Christie Murphy

China :: Earthquake Relief

©Peji Design

Century and Creation, Tianjin. At 2:28PM on Monday 12 May, our group was checking out Mr. Chen Youlin’s cool two-story office in Tianjin, which is north of Beijing. A few us felt the tall building sway slightly; I just thought it was the wind. Turns out it was the earthquake that has claimed nearly 70,000 lives in the Sichuan province.

We didn’t learn about the earthquake until we rolled off the bus into our hotel around 10PM to find emails from family and friends in the US wondering if we were OK. Thankfully, we were fine but we were isolated from the local news because only a few us understood Mandarin.

As our trip continued and the death count continued to rise, locals were watching the news and we were completely oblivious in our tour-bus bubble. I felt helpless. However, now that we’re back, there’s an opportunity for designers to give back through an earthquake poster exhibition. At a minimum, I’ll make a donation to the Red Cross. Links to both below.

Sichuan 5.12 Earthquake Poster Exhibition ::
Call For Entries
Current Submissions

American Red Cross ::
China Earthquake Relief

China :: Trip Highlights

©Kara Christie Murphy

AICI in Beijing. I signed up for the AIGA Design Expedition to China when I read that it included a visit to the Great Wall and Hong Kong. The trip was better than my expectations and paid for itself on Day 4 when we visited AICI, who created the main logo for the 2008 Olympics — I was so in awe of their design process presentation that this was the only photo taken on my camera while 30 designers crammed into their work studio.

Happy Mother’s Day!

©Kara Christie Murphy

Mom, you’re the best! Sorry I can’t be there today. Just in case I don’t have access to email or phone, I scheduled this blog post just for you. Say hi to the gang for me

Please Hold :: Gone to China :-)

©Kara Christie Murphy

Phew…! My students’ final grades are in; my grad school course has wrapped up; and, my web site (karamia.com) re-design is done. Now, I can pack I’ll be back in blog land in June with a ton of pics of China and Hong Kong to share. Cheers!