It’s not easy being a designer nowadays.

The fictional job listing above roughly shows what the industry is expecting from these people. I’m not kidding, just go to any job search website, find job listings for designers and you can start playing ‘find the similarities’ game. I bet you can score with flying colours.

The requirements of various companies everywhere actually don’t differ much, and I can’t complain because that is the harsh truth of this increasingly competitive industry and society. This is serious business. It is unfortunate that sometimes design is reduced to being merely mass produced products, where efficiency, productivity and profitability are key.

Nowadays it is not enough to be great at what you do, you gotta be fast. People are constantly finding ways to do things better in a shorter time. Life is too short; You can’t afford to spend 3 years to work on a Mona Lisa painting like Leonardo da Vinci anymore. Someday, archaeologists digging the grounds might just discover ‘Patience’ buried down there.

Now that we are in the Web 2.0 age, a lot of commercial design works are expected to be churned out like fast food. It disgusts me that sometimes quality has to give way to speed, like how gourmet chefs might feel towards instant noodles.

But that is not to say tight deadlines and stress are bad. In fact, I think it motivates you to think more clearly and stay focused.

At the end of the day, the only thing that keeps these poor designers alive and clicking is their undying passion. If you are working for money, you shouldn’t be a designer at all. It’s really not about the money, even though we are doing this for a living.

‘Clients From Hell’ and The Oatmeal’s ‘Design Hell’ amuse me and also make me look like I’m laughing at myself sometimes. Gotta love the part where The Oatmeal describes web designers turning into robots/mouse arrows that are being controlled by clients.

Just to update here, I have already found a graphic design job, sort of. For some weird reason, I can’t wait to start work and face the challenges ahead. I have set out to be an awesome designer who wants to change the world for the better using the power of media and design.

I will learn to be damn good at what I love to do and then use my ‘damn good’ skills to improve the society.

Nearly copying what Spider-Man has said: With Great Skills, Comes Great Responsibility.

Let’s go.

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Ip Man 2 Review

This is definitely a feel-good movie for the Chinese, a nearly 2 hour long advertisement of Wing Chun and also where you can see Sammo Hung getting pwned to death. I dare say Ip Man (Donnie Yen’s version) is now the worldwide Chinese population’s new superhero and idol. As usual, great action choreography (especially the one where they fought on the table), great humour and meaningful message.

(I’ve always wanted to write a self-reflection kind of blog entry to express what I feel about these 1 year 10 months, and the things I’ve gone through during this period. Finally! Here it is!)

For some strange reason I wasn’t as ecstatic as I thought I would be at the moment I collected my pink IC. Maybe I have already ‘left’ the place long before that day. For the past few weeks, I have been busy preparing what I call the ‘post ORD life’.

ORD has never been a destination to me. It is really just a door to the endless possibilities ahead. Suddenly I’m considering to get a toilet roll  to write my to-do list on it.

The first few months during BMT was quite tough. It was all about following instructions and punishment. Spending most of the time being cut off from civilisation is something that I learnt to adapt (initially endure) quickly. I have to admit, I miss the fresh air at Tekong. Life became better after I left that place.

On the first week upon posting to my unit (which happens to be located right smack in the middle of a neighbourhood), I told my commanders that I was willing to help out with anything related to design. That is my passion and I was not going to let it extinguish without even trying. Fair enough, I got what I asked for. Subsequently, all design related tasks from unit to formation and even Army level were automatically given (or ‘recommended’) to me. Even though I spent most of my time designing, it was still considered my secondary job as my primary concern was still, army.

I worked real hard; I delivered quality designs on time. Eventually I earned respect and trust from various commanders, who allowed me to exercise more creative control and freedom than anyone else.

And because I worked too hard (=PPP), I was often awarded day offs. I was also awarded a Letter of Commendation, Best Soldier of the Month and 2 Gold IPPT Awards (I know I don’t look like the sort who can achieve this, but come on..). All thanks to my desire to keep in touch with art and design as much as possible, as well as efforts to keep fit.

Frankly speaking, I already miss the free ‘freeflow’ food and drinks inside, no matter how bad they can be sometimes. I miss the free facilities like gym and karaoke (The system allows you to rewind and pause the song! How cool is that?!).

What about those friendship and bonds I have forged inside? Well, the closest army friends that I care about have already left before me (some to overseas, some ORD). I miss chatting with them and our makansutra food trips to various places.

Now I wonder how the hell I am supposed to keep myself disciplined to maintain my fitness from now onwards. I want to get gold for IPPT again!

National Service has indeed opened my eyes and introduced me to all sorts of guys in Singapore. I’ve seen scums who are huge waste of space but also seen quite a number of great guys.

Have I changed much? I wonder.

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Movie Reviews

Iron Man 2

Not as awesome as the first, but this sequel is a ‘good-enough’ movie that manages to entertain and get you ready for the next instalment. My favourite part of the movie? Definitely the suitcase transformation part. I jizz in my pants every time I watch it/think about it.

Kick-Ass

I expected this movie to be different. It’s a superhero movie about a normal guy who tries to be ’super. In many ways I guess most people are able to relate to him, and it’s nice that they try to keep it as realistic and down-to-earth as possible, as compared to movies where characters have superhuman/miraculous powers. Halfway through, though, things start to become formulaic and less realistic -_-. If you haven’t known by now, almost everyone’s favourite character of the movie is Hit Girl. She’s goddamn awesome and more kick-ass than Kick-Ass.