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I am a graphic designer in the making. A visual theologian and ideas-man. I am in search of meaning in life and definition within myself. Over the years I have been gathering knowledge and experiences that has shaped me into a person of great compassion and humanity. With my backbone sorted, I am now in the process of continually editing my manifesto.
Graphic design is not only commercial art, but the ability to change the world through visual dialogue. I aim to inspire other designers to think like I do because monetary gain is not the pivotal achievement for a graphic designer, but rather having made a difference.
That difference can manifest in many different ways. Whether it be helping humanity or helping nature. What we design and who we design for is what defines the kind of designer we are. Striving for a better world is an ambition worth living for, it is a dream worth designing for.
Design Education
I began my pursuit for design in the newly open Jakarta branch of Singapore's First Media Design School. There I learned the basics. After 1 year I decided to move to a bigger University in a new and exciting place. I transfered to Wanganui School of Design in New Zealand to finish my Graphic Design education with a Bachelor's Degree. I am still in the course and to graduate in December of 2010. As the semester progresses. slowly but surely I am defining my style and honing on as many skills as I can.
2009 ICSID World Design
Congress - Singapore
Me with Robert E. Wendrich of Universiteit Twente & Professor from Virginia Tech
Me with associates of Foster + Partners Studios
Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge my greatest inspiration and role models of the design world; Emily Pilloton (Project H) and Duke Stump (North Star Manifesto).
“Money makes the world go round”
If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that saying in my lifetime, I would be a millionaire. It is a concept often passed on from person to person, but never discussed because it is immediately true to us who ever we are. Whether we are designers or poets, money will be a major part of everything we do. We live in a mad world, a world of consumerism and market capitalism, where we are the victims of our own actions, a part of the cycle of consumption. Many of us in the design industry crave for success and we define that with our client pool. The bigger the client, then the bigger the payoff which in turn means the bigger the success.
Is monetary gain the most important in being a designer? I think not.
Designers are at heart all activists, rule-breakers and culture-jammers. As a student we wanted to break the boundaries of design and deconstruct aesthetics, a desire to define design for ourselves and/or redefine it for others to consider. Pioneers such as James Victore kept pushing that border and had an independent opinion and did not fall into the hands of corporate phantoms and monetary clutches.
He did works that mattered, some to him alone and others to the rest of society. Bearing this in mind, why do many designers graduate with corporate dollars in their eyes? How do they loose their individual spirit and creative dreams?
Once clients are chosen in a more open-minded fashion, then designers can begin considering the way we design, from execution to final product. In the sense that is more responsible to the environment. However, this is different to ‘going green’ because unfortunately it is a fad or a trend that would dissipate in 5 years time. It is a trend because it is a movement that is only financially accessible to the wealthy. How are average income earners meant to join this movement if it costs them the majority of their income? Being environmentally responsible is be considering all steps of production and seeing whether the materials used were indeed made in an environmentally responsible manner. A better option is to consider discarded material where it would be the most environmentally friendly.
Ethical responsibility is also important for a designer to appreciate because by supporting companies that treat their workers fairly will go a long way in helping that country’s economy and social welfare, hence the term ‘fair trade’. Something else to consider is if designers do indeed still go for the big corporate clients then they should at least preach ‘fair trade’ and ‘going green’ because they can afford it.
As Designers, we have the ability to change a given constant, whether it is government legislation or consumer psychology. The power to communicate visually that we have learned and harness should not be put into misuse. It should not be helping big corporations fatten their bank accounts, but to improve the world, no matter the scale of that change. No matter the circumstances we can say yes or we can say no to our prospective clients. Our decisions should not be determined by pure monetary objective, but based on our principles and values.
The first thing a designer must reconsider is the client. The way we perceive them as wallets and not as people is wrong because clients should be seen as individuals we serve and not as individuals who are paying. If this common perception is changed then we as designers are less discriminate in choosing our clients and more open to accepting projects that might positively affect the world. In seeing the project with the absence of its monetary value will help steer design into, as Emily Pilloton said, a ‘H’ industry. This ‘H’ industry is all about design for “Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happines”.
This is still under construction, please forgive
for any inconvinience caused.
Coming Soon
network/ n. an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like.
gratitude/ n. the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.
Yodha Soewandi
change/ n. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history.
