Wow

– Punch Out!

My favorite video game of all time was "Mike Tyson's Punch Out". The game centers around a young Rocky-like boxer, Little Mac, who dreams of becoming a champion but first has to fight a series of crazy characters from all over the world before fighting the last and greatest (as of the late 1980s) - Mike Tyson. The game was later changed to "Punch Out!" after Mike Tyson started to assault people in real life. The game took out Tyson and exchanged the last bout with Mr. World (seen above).

If the information below is confusing - that is the problem.

In Tucson, streets change names and then go back for no apparent reason, other than just bad infrastructure design planning. Really, all around town it's a mess, and the solution could have been (and still could be) allowing the help from information designers. I felt led to showcase 3 major examples that come to mind, though I'm positive there are many more problematic situations like this in Tucson.


Example 1: Magee




Magee Road becomes a major intersection when it hits the N. Oracle Road. Taking Magee West from Oracle is when the street naming disaster begins. Magee Road eventually ends at N. La Cholla Blvd., creating a T-shape intersection. Drivers heading West on Magee have the option of either traveling North or South on La Cholla. From Magee, if one heads south on La Cholla the next traffic light becomes another Magee–La Cholla T-shaped intersection. This new Magee road continues on another path West. When this new Magee Road hits the second traffic light, the road become Cortaro Farms Road. The interesting thing about this intersection is if one turns right they are heading North on Shannon Road, but if one turns left they are on yet another Magee Rd. And then this Magee Rd. eventually changes into Pima Farms Rd.


Example 2: River & Alvernon



The next street map fiasco is so new, Goggle-Maps has yet to update it in their system. Recent construction now allows the North/South traveling road, Alvernon Way, to connect with traffic on River Road. However the construction created a situation where if one is heading East on River, the road actually becomes Alvernon way if the driver does not turn at any traffic light. So that means if a driver is heading East on River expecting to reach the intersection at Swan Road, they have to look out for an obscure traffic light in which turning left would take them to Swan and heading straight would take them South-bound on Alvernon. If this isn't already confusing enough, if the driver does take a left they would see another Alvernon Way crossing River Rd before it arrives at Swan.


Example 3: Kolb





Kolb is a mysterious road that appears, disappears, and reappears again depending on the route a driver takes. This is similar to the Magee Road complex but this one might be harder to explain, so please refer to the map. Sunrise Drive and Kolb Road create a intersection with Sunrise traffic traveling East & West and Kolb traffic North & South. Heading South on Kolb, this road turns into Sabino Canyon Road at a traffic light. Sabino Canyon Road forms a major intersection on Tanque Verde Road. If one heads West on Tanque Verde the first traffic light they'll hit will be one where turning right will place them on Grant Road (which will curve and travel West), turning left will become another Kolb Rd (curving South), and heading straight the road becomes Wilmot Road (curving South). What an intersection!

2 Monsters of Design

I am a design geek who tends to follow a handful of trendy design firms around like musical rock bands. I love seeing the work and the incredible talent that always puts me in my place. I can admit I tend to show signs of a groupie when I read up on the designer’s bios to see if I share the same favorite typefaces or pantone colors with them. And it is fitting that I see these firms as“bands” because after all it was the music that got me into design in the first place. Asterik Studio was a name I noticed after the credit “design by” for many bands that I was in to. Their work spanned from hardcore concert posters, to incredibly complex interactive media showcasing well done animation & super clean programming with it. Recently the “band” split-up to form two different firms – Wonderful Union, and Invisible Creature.

Hope you enjoy the work!

Branding Illustrated

credits: NEUTRON LLC

"Love, Marvin Gaye"

I like Marvin Gaye alot. Just how Whats Going On flows from song to song is just terrific. I feel his brilliance in music is the power of restraint - an honest abiding within his means.

Find God: we've got to find the Lord. Allow him to influence us. I mean what other weapons have we to fight the forces of hatred and evil. And check out the Ten Commandments too. You can't go too far wrong if you live them, dig it. Just a sincere and personal contact with God will keep you more together. Love the Lord, be thankful, feel peace. Thanks for life and loved ones, Thank you Jesus.
Love,
Marvin Gaye