Boarding Pass – Yah-Leng Yu of Foreign Policy Design
Today’s Boarding Pass takes us to Singapore, home of Foreign Policy Design, a design strategy, design thinking & ideas bureau. I discovered their work thanks to Pooja of Notabilia who made sure I was aware of the awesome work they had done for the Wanderlust Hotel. Yah-Leng Yu takes on the role of Creative Director for the agency. I love her eye, and as someone who spent a couple years of my life designing signage, I particular love her attention to the mundane, typography and signs. All this creativity has me wanting to head back to Singapore stat… Thanks, Yah-Leng!
last trip taken:
Do I count business trips? Nanjing/Shanghai, China. Otherwise, Tokyo, Japan.
next trip on deck:
Nanjing, China
one place you would go back to again and again:
Tokyo, Japan. Such a vibrant city with the future and history within, never been able to finish the entire city in 2 weeks. I love to explore each neighborhood thoroughly, usually I spend 2 weeks in one neighborhood and I don’t stay at the same place whenever I am in town. I like to take my time to check out each nook and cranny carefully.
place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
Can I recommend two places? Berlin and New York
preferred method of transportation:
By foot, on bicycle or by public transportation — it’s a great way to see the city and live like the locals.
place you’ve never been but dying to go:
Kazakhstan and North Korea
place you’d never go back:
Vietnam, basically I od-ed after numerous trips out there…
most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
Costa Rica. Three best friends taking over Central America! Sipping local Imperial beer, hilariously trying to pass by with our crudest Español, scaring ourselves silly in the pitch darkness of the tropical jungle.
how do you prepare for a trip?
I usually like to do some research about the place – print some information off the web, or the library to check out a guide book. I like to travel light so I pack as little as possible but usually I still have [more] than I need.
how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
Camera, pencil+moleskin notebook, and now iphone – facebook/twitter
what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
Signage, buildings, food and people in their environment
on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
2500+ average, I just can’t stop snapping…
what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
Sony nex-5, iphone with all the lomo and hipstamatic apps, moleskine – I still love the analog way of documenting.
what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
Either flickr or facebook, but definitely downloading to iPhoto within a few days of when I get back usually.
favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
maps, tickets, labels
LINKS
- website: foreignpolicydesign.com
- blog: create YU
- on flickr
- @yahlengyu on twitter
Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel.
travelkate
April 25, 2011 at 9:31 pm //
The Wanderlust Hotel look so fabulous! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to check it out when we were in Singapore in November, but hoping to change that soon!
Rachel
April 27, 2011 at 3:12 pm //
That suitcase picture is amazing. Your boarding passes always make me want to go to Japan really really bad.