The Shembe tribe’s pilgrimage site in Durban culminates in a temple lined with daily affirmations… and pictures of flowers getting gross and sensual…

Because it must take a buttload of energy to generate enough cold for the indoor winter wonderland. Now if they can bring Burl Ives back to life…

Hey kids, it’s collage time! Here’s a new one I made last night. Words from Punkrocker by TeddyBears featuring Iggy Pop.

Let CUP’s Making Policy Public project begin! As the graphic designer for one of the projects, I’m collaborating closely with CUP and The Street Vendor Project to create a fold-out poster distilling NYC’s complex vending laws into something concise and coherent. Sean Basinski, a lawyer and former vendor, founded The Street Vendor Project in 2001 as a legal advocacy group for NYC street vendors. Their organization has 600+ vendor members who sell food and merchandise on the sidewalks of New York.

We all met at Sean’s office yesterday and he pulled out a comical box containing heaps of pink tickets they’ve accumulated from local vendors. The violations are mostly for the physical position of vendors’ carts and tables, which must be certain distances from curbs, crosswalks, and building doors. Vendors are also frequently ticketed for not “conspicuously” wearing their vending license and for setting up shop on restricted streets. All these regulations are buried in official documents made up of legalese and heinous text formatting that seem set to get you. Check out this list of streets you’re not allowed to vend on:

Snap. Can the City be ticketed for bad formatting?

Section in the Diepsloot News, Johannesburg (separate from the Diepsloot Community News).

A simple but effective way to ensure you can get your jet-set snooze on and your food on, thanks to Emirates Airline. Just slap the sticker on the top of your seat and you’re good to go. Hmm so many other possibilities for ‘Wake me up for food’ stickers…

Sign in Kyoto, Japan.

I’m honored to be a part of two very cool projects. I won a $20,000 grant from paper company Sappi’s Ideas That Matter program which funds righteous print projects that graphic designers want to produce for non-profit organizations. I’ll be developing my flashcards on renters’ rights for tenant rights organization Tenants & Neighbors. A mock-up of the project can be found here and it’s all about making NY renting rights more fun to learn. Tenants & Neighbors and I will collaborate closely on creating a set that will be mass-produced and available in their online store in a few months.

I’m also excited to work with one of my favorite organizations, Center for Urban Pedagogy. They have a program called Making Policy Public that pairs designers with advocates to develop posters on public policy. I’ll be working with the Street Vendor Project to translate the complex regulations governing NYC street vendors into an accessible poster for all vendors. The poster will become a handy resource that they can use every day on the street when dealing with police officers and local store owners - while serving New Yorkers some of the best and cheapest food in town! Cheers to making important city information more accessible and engaging!

Everyone has a cell phone in South Africa. They can cost as little as $5 and township residents say if they lost their phone they’d get a new one by the end of the day. Mobile phones are a potent device here, and SMS technology is something we started researching with Diepsloot Community News as a way to improve local communication and government transparency.

At a temporary Shembe pilgrimage site in Durban, most people don’t have electricity so there are small businesses (above) dedicated to recharging cell phones (for R5 = $0.65). Makes you wonder if there are easier ways to power up, like via sunshine or sugar (fo’ real). Someday you and your phone can get your big gurl on and eat cookies together!

During the past month in Global Studio in Johannesburg, I’ve been working with the non-profit Diepsloot Community News to help improve ways residents can communicate within the township of Diepsloot. Inspired by a community chalkboard model in Liberia, we installed a local community chalkboard so residents can have an accessible platform, share info on a daily basis, self-organize, and empower each other through local knowledge. And it’s cheap to boot! I want one in my neighborhood! Learn more here!

Someone told me Johannesburg looks like an ’80s photo. I like that. After going dark for a month, I’m back online with juicy escapades from Global Studio 2008 in Joburg. More to come. In the meanwhile, thanks to Gothamist for the mention about I’ve Lived!