Damian Holmes

Over the past two years with the Global Financial Crisis hit nearly every nation across the globe and as a result landscape architects where laid off in large numbers. This was hardest felt in the USA due to lack of work and collapse of the home building market.
Governments from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, China and [...]

Recently, I went to my local Xinjiang Noodle shop for lunch. I ordered my usual and sat down inside on a stool. As I sat there looking around at the full tables, I wondered why is it so many people come here. Now to explain the scene, Xinjiang Noodle shops often have three or four [...]

Last Thursday, I attended the GIGA Print presentation given by Mario Van der Meulen of SGTH Designs. It was an interesting presentation about the Print industry and how as graphic and print designers can be more effective in design. Some of the talk was doom and gloom about the environment but it focused more on [...]

Recently, I attended the JUCCCE Green Ideas Lab in Shanghai. The event was 3 x 8 minute presentations followed by break out sessions in small groups. I thought it would be good to share the ‘light bulb’ moments that I had during and on the way home from the event.
IDEA 1: No matter how big [...]

The title of this post came to me this morning whilst getting a coffee at Croissants de France. Recently, the Croissants de France near my  apartment put in a new coffee bar with coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and milk teas at half the price (8-12RMB $1-2USD) of the coffee chains who charge 18-36RMB ($3-6USD). The Coffee [...]

Image by Metafora AD Network via Flickr

Wow, time flies. I didn’t realise its been 3 months since I posted something. Funny thing is that I have posts in draft form on here but they are mainly rants.
Also I haven’t been able to find the time to get my thoughts together as running three industry blogs [...]

The decline of large USA industrial cities has received  media attention recently in articles such as the Forbes Fastest Declining cities, which have caused a great amount of emotion and despair among the named city’s citizens. This was evident from the city meeting last weekend in Dayton, Ohio reported by Wall Street Journal – ‘Fastest [...]

Recently I read Chris Brogan’s post about Sending the Wrong Message and found it very interesting and a good catalyst to think about brands and their messages. I have kept these ideas in the back of my mind when walking around Shanghai and have seen some good messages and some wrong messages. Some messages that [...]