Racists: Life of a Blan in Haiti

Surely, one day I might get hanged for this or worst lose all potential lovers and the opportunity to procreate and pass my genes to the future generation because of my borderline offensive jokes… mostly to Haitians and probably to HRs and to those lovely closet human rights activist NGO ladies! But let’s face it, almost everyone has been called or addressed as a blan in Haiti, so much so that it starts to sound like a big Haitian national joke that people play on non-blacks.  
So, here’s one for those who are sick and tired of being called a blan and being treated like a walking ATM machine. Let’s laugh and not give a sh*t! 

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. Pong Li since 2010 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Save The Restavek Children

It’s fun promoting our clients’ products and helping their brands grow, that’s my excuse for not saving Haitian children and helping Superman score a date with Louise Lane. Though, it’s very nice to know that there are good people at IOM who’re using their skills to actually help enslaved children in Haiti called Restaveks.

Unable to pay for their kid’s needs some parents voluntarily send away their children to become a Restavek, a.k.a. be enslaved and be abused for little or no pay. No freedom. Not fun. This system of modern day slavery has existed as long as rice and beans but no one seems to be doing anything about it until today. Thanks to the good people of IOM Haiti and Foyer l’Escale–a shelter for Restaveks–these children now have somewhere to run to and a chance to be reunited with their parents. Touching stories, really.

Frennen Restavek | End Restavek Abuse by IOM Haiti

Even with our hands full with clients, we could all contribute to helping these children by promoting IOM’s campaign Frennen Sistèm Restavèk | End Restavek Abuse. Visit them, share, like and be part of the campaign or follow and give @FrennenRestavek a shoutout. Better yet, if you know of a Restavek child call 177 and help stop this form of modern day slavery! Or leave a comment below if you know of a Restavek child near you.

To the good men and women of IOM Haiti and Foyer l’Escale, kudos! 

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. Pong Li since 2010 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Out of Whack

Crazy! Is such a lovely word to describe a wonderfully deranged, extremely pleasurable fun-filled past weeks (past months, actually). Now I’m really starting to believe that life is more like a Haitian taptap or driving in the streets of Port Au Prince. It’s crazy. And the only way to make sense of it is to be crazy yourself. And if you think about it, it’s not so bad being insane; you protect yourself from going completely bonkers or being wrongfully diagnosed with clinical depression! Not really sure if that made sense but it’s 100% certain that you’ll go nuts if you live each day pretending to be sane.

Past Project. Illustration of Haitian Taptap.

But let’s be serious for a while, haven’t you noticed that modern day life is insane? Why else would humans, sacrifice their health, happiness and the best time of their lives for money/career and then later retire to make up for the time they lost, do fun stuff in pursuit of happiness while throwing away their money to recuperate their health? Insane, isn’t it? 
So I say, from this point forward, let’s just loosen some screws, let go and let the world spin out of control like a taptap swooping downhill with its engine off and cheap made in China brake pads. Leave the serious stuff to people mad enough to be sane. The upside is, you’ll make better designs and illustrations once you’ve gone completely kookoo.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. Pong Li since 2010 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Paragliding: Graphic Designer on Air

876,600 hours to live. After that last entry and a long silence, you’re probably expecting a packed suitcase, a one-way ticket to Europe and early Oktoberfest photos. Unfortunately that is not how things turned out. Just because you realized how you’re trading your time (your life) in the name of sleek designs, it doesn’t mean that you should pull off Justin Timberlake’s stunt in the movie In Time.
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You must do something to compensate if you can’t say au revoir to being a graphic designer yet. Living like a rockstar at night is an option but paragliding might be better. It’s like being Peter Pan with a giant kite as replacement for happy thoughts and fairy dust. Of course, it won’t be as magical as flying over London to Neverland but I imagine the feeling would be the same, seeing Port Au Prince from a bird’s eye view.
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On Being a Graphic Designer in Haiti

We woke up one morning to this, part of the mountain at the back of our building fell. Luckily my car is safe, the rubble stopped at the nose of the car. ;-)

Graphic Designer, Montagne Noir, Haiti—I once asked for clean running water, continuous electric service and a bit of silence in an apartment. The landlord and the real estate agent looked at me as if I’m asking for some luxury item like Zafiro’s $100,000 razor made from meteorites (and yes, that razor is already on sale!). What’s next, they’ll say people need to pay taxes for their human rights? 

Now I believe Maslow when he said that creativity and art ranks as one of the highest human needs that could only be satisfied once you’ve fulfilled your basic needs. It’s hard to create great designs when your head is still trying to understand how the sink could spew murky water, rice and beans all over your kitchen, mmmm smell the morning air! Or when you're still dazed on how part of the mountain fell on the parking lot crushing the neighbors' cars and making the parking lot as useful as coffee to an insomniac. This is what a graphic designer has to deal with in Haiti. Life is a bit complicated here (understatement). It’s a miracle sometimes how we could produce nice designs when the mountain is literally falling over our heads. Though, I should say, when things work life's a bliss. When it doesn't... well, it's like walking into the twilight zone mixed with the worst of Dante's inferno.
Maybe Maslow is not completely right. But I like his triangle… 

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Courtesy of Wikimedia.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg Lizardo 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Barbancourt: un portrait

Rhum Barbancourt, Portrait Famille 2011 Billboard. And yes, we were contemplating about how the white rhum lands against the black BG too.

The simplest design is always the best design. Rhum Barbancourt first fell on my hands in my first few days in Haiti. How me and the team wished it was a nice glass of rhum sour instead of a piece of paper telling you to make print ads and billboards.
We turned into coffee-powered zombies for days trying to cough up some fancy-schwancy designs for one of the biggest brands in Haiti, but to no avail. Then one day, just before the caffeine high permanently turns into clinical depression, it came… the beginnings of Portrait Famille. First as an accidental layout that later became a design that Barbancourt approved with much hoorah. In fact, they loved it so much that this year’s new Barbancourt design was just a modification of the original Portrait Famille. Hmmm, if memory serves well, last year's design was also the 1st Portrait Famille. Dang! They love that design.

The first version of Rhum Barbancourt's Portrait Famille billboard. Look at the upper right-hand corner of the 2011 Billboard, there are still remnants of the first design (with reduced opacity).

Looking back though, if you put the fancy-schwancy design attempts side by side with Portrait Famille, it would look like you're putting wicked stepmothers + big bad wolf vs Disney princess. So moral lesson, keep it simple. Always works, promise.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg Lizardo 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Graphic Design for VIP +Booze

It’s true that in Haiti activities range from, uhh, ten-thousand types of drinking and eating and party activities (a.k.a. socializing). So, who ever told you that there’s nothing to do in Haiti is sorely mistaken! Best of all an international DJ is coming on the 8th to little town Haiti to make the party hot! So if you want to be in one of the coolest event in town and be the man with the VIP table at Taras, like Prestige in Facebook and join the contest! And remember, the VIP table comes with booze (I imagine it to be free booze galore!).
 

A Facebook & Google Ad campaign for Prestige Beer, designed by yours truly. Hehe! ;-)

Full page print ad for Ticket Magazine in Haiti for Prestige Premium Lager Beer.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg Lizardo 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Illustration: Social Media in Haiti

Quick illustration on free time.

Some illustration done for a colleague at PubliGestion. The mastermind behind the social media department, yes I was just the department’s conspirator. It gave me a sense of fun (like we’re doing something really, really cool to change Haiti) when we were creating the social media accounts, not to mention doing the PG Blog and writing its first entry! Designing and creating all those visual elements to jump-start PubliGestion’s Social Media Department after the 7.o-you-know-what in Haiti is something that was very fun to do and I’m personally looking forward to doing this again!
So to my colleague, kudos to you and to the fun we had in changing the social media landscape in Haiti! 

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg Lizardo 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Logo Padmasana

Keeping on a positive note, which we had for the past entries, here is a logo study made for Padmasana, the wellness clinic. It was a healing clinic in Pétion Ville, Haiti before the 7.o-you-know-what. It’s not exactly your typical clinic but it’s more like healing through meditation and connecting with your inner self. Personally, the singing bowls session (plus crystals) is enough to make everything alright. It’s as if you’re feeling your body for the first time. Inner peace oOoohhmmmmmmm, Oooohhmmmm...

This is the logo that got approved. Followed all the request of the client. ;-) The request, a lotus flower logo with very organic lines.

I personally like this one. Maybe it could still be revised to make it more simple.

Okay, least favorite, but some people really like it.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg li 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other parties (if there is any) as the source of the material.

Photos Feel Goood

When gloomy days come, as creatives we look for ways to bring the sunny days back in our life so we could continue being designers, artists and, ahem, lovers or whatever role we play. It’s simply hard to come up with nice designs when you feel like your insides have turned into mash potatoes, even your swift 15-inch MacBook Pro feels like it’s been wrongly injected with a decaf espresso when you're not in-sync! 
So What to do? As for me, when these days come I turn to my personal Happy Days Archive, a.k.a iPhoto and Canon S95. It simply lifts you up to see vacation pictures, friends smiling, silly videos etc. Of course, no one can expect you to find endorphins seeing my family and friends fooling around, so let me just share these nice sunny pictures that is sure to make anyone feel better. Enjoy! 

Île à Vache, Haiti. Always makes me feel good when I see this photo. Especially when it's gloomy, raining outside and when my insides feel like mash potatoes.

Abaka Bay, Île à Vache, Haiti. Good days. Good days.

Oooooooooh. The South!

If you enjoyed these photos, please let me know on the comments below. Thank you!

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg li 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other party as the source of the material.

Ultimate Whitespace

One of the wonderful things you could do, is to exercise. It’s uncommon to many creatives to actually hit the gym, eat right and sleep right. It is as if a designing job comes with certain habits that naturally lead to a less healthy living. That’s why it's nice to work on the design and copywriting of a fitness centre. It somewhat awakens your gym mindset.

When you need to bring the best out of a brand/client, it also brings out the best in you.

Ultimate Fitness logo, was actually conceived thanks to a colleague's belt shape. The U in the logo is actually her, demonstrating a yoga position in our office at PubliGestion. It's surprising where inspiration comes.

Ultimate brochure, SideA. Everything we do, we take it to the Ultimate.

Ultimate brochure, Side B. Everything we do, we take it to the Ultimate.

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg li 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other party as the source of the material.

In Haiti & PubliGestion

Living in Haiti for the past few years have been pleasurable, fun and challenging. Work at PubliGestion, the leading ad agency in the country, has made my stay here fruitful and rich with wonderful experiences—by working with local clients and products you get a unique understanding of the country and the people.
Read more about Haiti in PubliGestion’s blog where I also co-write. There is more to this country than what you see in the news. Check out these entries that would open your eyes to the real Haiti: 

• Living Haiti 
• Football is Therapy 
• Electric Stone Age 
• The Rush 
• I know Kung Fu
• Other entries

Copyright © Whitespacelover a.k.a. poNg li 2011 All Rights Reserved, unless stated otherwise. You may copy and/or use the content of this blog only if you acknowledge this blog and other party as the source of the material.