One way to get away with it is to have cool notebook covers:

The book on the right is where I use the very traditional way of writing down quotations given by suppliers/printers:

A classic Charles Mossant advertising poster on the cover of a notebook will surely add some level of sophistication…

Rejected logos sometimes made cool covers:

And of course, the elegant Moleskin (kind-of in my case…):

Well, I might be wrong, sometimes, designers carry boring notebooks with brilliant sketches and ideas inside. But hey, its about what’s in the inside right?

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Of course, you can be strictly consistent in your notebooking, Michael Beirut style.

Typeface: Trade Gothic, what else?

This art piece currently sits comfortably in our clients meeting room, facing one of the directors I think.

Not to forget that this event is a collaborative effort among the client and also a group of very dedicated people working together. They are: Paul+Pris, Jiad Li, Micky Tan & her runway trainer friend, all the designers who individually contributed their trees and many others. Also, the entire project was headed by @hooiwan and @bodonation, follow them on twitter.

Pictures taken from www.paperfantasy.com.

This is actually a lantern. With a light bulb installed inside. When lited up, the watermarks will be visible.

—Bruno Maag on Helvetica.

Take from Creative Review blog, titled The Helvetica Killer (absolutely brutal title I think). It also shows  interesting views on Helvetica vs Univers and their new nemesis, Aktiv Grotesk. This is how I look like on-screen in Aktiv Grotesk:

I don’t use Helvetica anymore but the thing is how should I categorize this now? At least in my profession (as a graphic designer) Modernism is Helvetica. Blogs preach about it, designers argue about it and even lecturers teach about it. Also taking into consideration that Victorian stuff is usually decorative and ornamental (and also that floral thingie…), which is the exact opposite of the general understanding of Modernist Principles that Helvetica impresses us with.

Helvetica is Victorian; honestly, I have never seen it that way before. Respect.

Some amatuer shots on wip for an upcoming paper exhibition by Antalis Malaysia, called Paper Fantasy.

Features a collective collaboration of works from various graphic designers, interior designers and a even a local fashion designer! More updates after the exhibition.

Also, please follow @hooiwan on twitter, she’s one of the main persons in charge on the exhibition.

I embrace the internet. And I believe that online presence is important. But I still believe that the magazine is a very powerful medium as well. Through the years, perhaps the internet has overtaken the traditional role which a magazine plays in news reporting. I have a client which discontinued their internal magazine for a cold-hearted-digital PDF form. And well, surely magazines offer more insights than newspaper articles, and usually appear in a few weeks time after a particular news has been reported. While catchy but sometimes annoying and predictable headlines such as ‘The secrets of John Mayer’s guitar tone’ or ‘Bob Gill Speaks’ surely will sell; but nevertheless, I turn to magazines for a better understanding of things, usually.

I find myself benefiting more from reading magazines than articles online. Perhaps the enhancement of the form and assurance of properly edited editorial content before printing leaves  a longer lasting impression of the articles I read. The physical form of the magazine gives me more attention than my Macbook Pro which usually has 5—12 apps running at the same time (currently 9 apps!).

Magazines should not die. But if corporations want to put in resources and priorities on other divisions of the businesses, do it respectfully. Do it with an intention in mind that there are readers who appreciate the current form and have expectations towards the title. Perhaps maybe, there should be a proper exit or endcore to the magazine. Like what Emigre did in the End Issue (issue 69) and the Look Back Issue (issue 70).

The magazine is a delightful form of media to me at least. And it is one of the reasons why I became a graphic designer.

Rest in peace, Grafik and Off the Edge.
They played a pretty important role in my jr. designer days.

Firstly, my point on animals, especially dogs who can design: Is that graphic designers themselves are sometimes not the best persons to do the job. What I’m trying to say is that clients should definitely not employ design services to settle a performance issue. Or perhaps a graphic designer’s aesthetic sensibilities to judge if whether a product is sellable or not. And definately not ask a graphic designer to write a company profile.

To compliment the issue, it also boils down choosing the right individuals for the job. My experience tells me that I’m not a designer who will stay loyal to my ideas. Last minute inspiration probably helped me form my greatest hits… So probably, if you enjoy the unexpected thrill of growing/throwing ideas, probably I’m the right man for the job.

Secondly, clients are getting smarter and better. Sometimes way beyond what we designers think they are. Clients are fully aware of the platforms we use, its limitations and its capabilities. In no time, some part of our work will be unnecessary as clients will also have the resources (including cash) to do so. Probably, in a few years time, production can be managed over the internet? or the iPhone monitors the design process? I’m not sure.

My last point, if a dog can inspire me to design in new ways, I will humbly acknowledge its assistance and enlightenment. Because if the idea of aerodynamics came from birds, then all vehicles working with the idea of aerodynamic systems to help boast performance must have been of its origin right?

On the last note, I sincerely do not mean to insult or make you feel uncomfortable via this post. But, lets say if you know a dog who can do graphic design, I’m most interested in its imaginative ideas.

Also, check out kancilawards.com

Before meeting Stefan Sagmeister, I’ve always imagined him being somebody totally out of reach, would expect him to answer questions very rigidly and probably not very easy to start a conversation with him and keep it going. He was totally the opposite. And I sure am glad that I had the rare opportunity to spend an evening with him.

After a talk which he was giving in Kuala Lumpur sometime ago, my colleagues and I were asked to accompany Stefan for a little tour to somewhere which he might be interested to visit around Kuala Lumpur city. Before boarding our transport, we had in minds to take him to Central Market, where the art scene is probably most happening around the city. But while discussing with him where he wants to visit, he gave an answer which surprised me; Batu Caves.

I admit I have not yet been up the caves before that. And while being asked by him whether I have been up there or not, I could not help but feel a little bit embarrassed and answer with an honest ‘no’. Same goes with the rest of the gang. We were also accompanied by Stefan’s friend, Alexander, who was then an artist in Bangkok. He told me that they both meet when Stefan hitch-hiked from his hometown back in Vienna. And I asked him if he had that funny long extreme left-parting hairstyle back then, he said yes with a huge laugh.

Like Neville Brody, he was also interested in the cultural heritage which Malaysia has. He spoke of his wish to visit the Islamic Arts Museum and also other spots which have deep roots in forming the Malaysia we know of today.

Batu Caves was almost an hours ride from the talk venue so we had lots of time to chat. We talked on his new projects back then like the famous digitally woven spider web which gets ripped everytime a viewer’s reflection passes it and reconstructs itself time and time again. Also we talked about the capabilities of new media and upcoming technological gizmos which seems really fascinating to talk about especially with him. He seems so interested in the advantages these things can offer. We also talked about Neville Brody; on being politically correct in design conferences (I’ll keep this open to your imagination). And also photoshop drop shadow effects.

We arrived and climb the stairs up to the caves. Up there, we were analyzing shapes of rocks which look almost like hanging alligators. And also stood silently observing the monks doing their prayer routines. We had a some drinks after that and then talked a little a project where he was commissioned to design a packaging for a cigarette company which did not manage to hit the market.

On the way to the seafood restaurant, we spoke of the newly reunited David Lee Roth and Van Halen gig. And he spoke of him being a band which he played flute in. Also touched a little or two about religion and beliefs. Over dinner we had more conversations about our lifestyles. Things that we do in our weekends and off times.

It won’t be until a few weeks later when we would meet in Goa for a design conference. It felt really warm talking to him and do a little catch up on things. The airline company actually misplaced his bags into another flight on that trip! But he sure does seem like he is having a great time during the conference.

After all that being said, I learned two important things from him:

And also, being as honest as possible in life.

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Stefan Sagmeister is probably what every young designer in my era look up to for inspiration and want to be like. He has designed album covers for the Rolling Stones, the Talking Heads, Live, etc. He is very tall.