貓!olicious

i pledge!

2009-04-24T20:27:00.003+08:00

Something which was done for my Greenpeace poster competition cum school project.
Work done using a few combinations of various art pieces - acrylic painting, photoshop, marker and graphic pen.

a DIY notebook day

2009-04-10T23:46:00.006+08:00

I have meant to make use of a huge stack of wasted paper last year but have only gotten around to doing it till yesterday. I've only made 2 for each design since it was only something I did for fun.

I'm pretty satisfied with my DIY skills overall. :)

doodling of my daily routine

2009-04-06T20:45:00.009+08:00

My daily routine.

I don't think any other description fits better than this.

Octopus - and I'm craving for takoyaki now

2009-04-02T00:00:00.003+08:00

Painting done with acrylic.
Work in progress.

It's meant to be part of a bigger picture which I will piece them together when all my images are done.

steph's take for YOLO - Keep the Dream Alive Competition

2009-03-27T00:54:00.013+08:00

My submission for the YOLO competition.
Will be heading down in the early afternoon to drop it off at their office.

The YOLO Dream Making Machine creates, customizes and packs your dreams when you put your heart into it. Within the machine, YOLO bees work together to help put your dreams together; creating the perfect dream for you.

Thus, "Not forgetting the joy of creating DREAMS but also in keeping them!"

chalkboard illustrations!

2009-02-28T00:08:00.012+08:00

P/S: I blancoed my contact info out and hot-stamped my name across the image for a reason ^^

Erm... so I haven't really been drawing much lately although my portfolio submission for the semester draws nearer each day. Japanese language studies every week is making me tired by the time I get home and having tests every week is driving me nuts. JLPT2 prep course is one hell of a journey to get good grades for the exam which occurs at the end of the year. But for the sake of getting a pretty cert with grades that I can be proud of, no matter how bitter the road may seem, I'll take it head on and move towards my goal.

I seriously should have done my portfolio first but I went ahead and did my namecard instead. It was done pretty quickly since I had this concept for the whole week and just didn't have time to sit down infront of the computer and get it done. I really like chalkboard-like illustrations. XD Maybe I'm missing too much of my secondary/primary school days.

1 more week left before hell breaks loose. I haven't done a single illustration at all for my portfolio.

Rebranding Myself for the Future

2009-02-11T22:00:00.014+08:00

This is one of my projects from my university course work and I was supposed to answer the question given by my lecturer below. It's meant to be done in a magazine article format on a review column. :) But I thought I'll just post it up as an entry here.

"As I study and as I being my career as a communication designer, I begin to imagine and envision myself working in this industry. With that in mind, how can I re-imagine or re-envision myself or my job in the communication industry?"

With the economy downturn, one cannot help but feel that their roles in the working industry have been challenged and that, like a commercial product, need special or different capabilities that differ from others and stand out amongst the crowd.

Quoted from a lecturer who had a conversation with a friend in the advertising industry: “Times are bad. We are not looking for people who are efficient at using the Mac computer or design software, but intellectual designers who can think and solve problems.” True to that, companies can no longer afford to train fresh graduates like us who have little experience, but need someone who can give more to the company than pretty illustrations or designs.

I once heard that when a Jewish boy returns home from school, his mother would ask him: “Son, how many questions did you ask your teacher today?” In contrast, a Chinese mother would ask: “Son, what did you learn from your teacher today?”

The difference in approach is cultural. Candidates from the Chinese imperial examinations are required to quote from the Confucian Analects whereas in the bible, the prophets plead and argue with God.

I felt that being raised in a strict Chinese family, has led me to not argue or question, but to absorb whatever I hear and learn, and reapply them into various situations, or in worse cases whereby I do not agree with what I’ve heard; to keep quiet about my opinions. This in fact, still applies to local companies where junior employees dare not voice out their opinions in fear of getting fired. And this, would probably be the biggest barrier which I definitely have to overcome if I were to take this large step from being a student, to a communication designer – to question, to voice out my opinions and to think freely.

From a recent article in The Straits times – “Fostering the freedom to think”, which caught my attention, Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Singapore, now an adjunct professor in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, he said – “As a society, we need to foster thinking outside the box. But this is easier said than done. The problem is not lack of intelligence. The greatest impediment is cultural. As an Asian society, we tend to be paternalistic.”

Indeed, Singaporeans are good at thinking within the box. We score well in examinations and make competent professionals and managers. But very few of us are creative or entrepreneurial. Cultivating the habit to question and think out of the box cannot be done within a day’s work, but it should be something we should gradually pick up and apply it to daily usage.

Despite the flaws of our cultural approach to learning and thinking as I have mentioned earlier, I strongly believe that we should never forget our roots. Asia has a rich culture, which we should not abandon just because the world is gradually westernized and globalized. Our heritage is something to be explored and rediscovered. It’s rich and colorful source of beauty, information and characteristics, influences the mindsets of many Asians and brings out the unique quality of our history, values and identities.

With these sets of values which I strive to cultivate a habit to myself, I would envision myself not as a designer who could do work that would only look pleasing to the eye nor like the superhero ‘Flash’ who can accomplish work within a short period of time, but as a communication designer who understands the core of each client, product or brief through vigorous research and questionings, connecting with the client not on the basis of someone employed to do advertisements for them, but as an employee who takes pride in the company whom he/she works for, and finding solutions to problems which the client might face, be it marketing problems, social awareness issues or design and communication flaws.

Using these as my foundation, I would work towards a goal, which explores the nature of our rich and deep Asian culture, and how these cultural influences can impact the society and bring the message or voices out from the visually colorful world of design.

This article and the above illustration is done by the blog owner, Steph. The content of this site is protected by Copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of content is prohibited. © Steph 2009

やっぱり〜ドラマに美少年が必要だ！

2009-02-09T01:53:00.014+08:00

やっと電池辞書を買った。昔から紀伊国屋で見て、そして学校でパンフレットがあったんだった。まあ〜もう６年ぐらいの事だった。今の電池辞書はとても使いやすいし、色々な辞書も入れてできるし、一応満足してけど、まぁ。。。もっと好い辞書が入ったら、完璧でしょう。例えば文法とか、表現文型とか。

最近、日本語の勉強を考えたばかりので、今の大学の勉強はすっかり忘れてしまって、興味もなくなって、何か心配している。やっぱり日本語について興味がもっと強いじゃない？広告とデザインが好きですが、そんな仕事は給料が少ないし、時間もかかるし。。。それに卒業時は災厄の時から、どうするか分からない。私は普通の仕事を探すか？またデザインの仕事を探すか？

私、どうすれば好いかな。。。

Aside from my woes and worries, I've been watching quite a few Japanese drama lately. Some of which have been adapted from manga.

If you're into crime and investigation, Q.E.D Shoumei Shuuryou might interest you. It's about this genius high schooler (yes, why are all the detectives from Japanese manga/anime/drama all high school boys with above average IQ?) who meets an active girl (obnoxiously loud and a busybody) whose father is a policeman/detective, and gets entangled with crime investigations.

For something that's darker, Zeni Geba will probe into the darkness of men's hearts and show you the extremes of what men will do for money. Coincidentally, the lead actor is "L" in the movie, Death Note. And note: just from hearing the way he talks, and roams around gloomily in the streets, he's like this evil pasona of "L", driving himself deeper into the depths of hell with a strong obsession with money.

Lastly, for your taste buds, there's Kami no Shizuku, acted by Kamenashi Kazuya. If you've watched an anime regarding food/cooking or something similar to that, you can probably imagine that eating something will probably land you in heaven, a field of sunflowers or maybe a nostalgic scenery. The story's about a man who detested his father's love for wine, gets hooked up in a challenge by his late father, to fight for his will with his adopted brother, who happens to be a world-reknown wine critic.

That's all for my recommendations today. ^^

祖母へ

2009-02-06T03:46:00.004+08:00

初めのは、ちょっと嬉しいの気持ちを出したらほうが好いですが、今にも笑顔を掛けない。

祖母へ。。。
今にも泣きたい。もう１週間の事だった。
あなたは一番素敵と優しい人でした。
私達のそばにいるの感じがするが、祖母。。。天国で静に進んで行くね。
祖父と一緒。