Category: Progress work

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Design Discourse in Kuala Lumpur (KL)

After all this time, finally one of my dream comes through. Design Discourse in Malaysia. Got this news from Asri Ahmad, a friend whose always giving his thoughts and ideas about my research and design.

CALLING ALL DESIGNERS IN MALAYSIA
and people whose interested in design and creative areas:

In Kuala Lumpur, starting November 2007, ongoing for 6 month trial I would say, there will be a discourse on design. I think this is a good start to gather all the designers together and discuss about problems, issues, experiences and practices in design. I’m not sure how this work but its sure sound too good to miss.

Interested? For further information check this blog:
Kaki Reka

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Kuala Lumpur – Past & Present

I found this visual in You tube. Interesting to see the changes, although it is only through the architecture. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian capital city developing since the past until now. This presentation is by ‘Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL)’, Kuala Lumpur City Council. Thanks for the effort of collecting some images and put it together. I think DBKL need some graphic or interaction designer to work on this further. Have a look… Kuala Lumpur dulu dan sekarang

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Designer’s hand can change the world

It’s been a while I didn’t log in and throw some thought here. I’ve been busy preparing my presentation for the Graduate Research Conference (GRC) which ended last Saturday. It went well and I’m happy with the comments and suggestions from the panel.

Part of my research presentation, I’m interested in the graphic/communication designer’s practices in industries and higher education. Mainly in the contribution of graphic designers in advertising, branding, education etc. I came out with this statement in Malaysian context.

I believe communication design plays an important role in crafting the cultural and national identity. I believe the contribution that the communication designer did influenced the development of culture and lifestyle. I think there it is important to start critical analysis in communication design areas in Malaysia. Hopefully by making critical comments, it will evoke the awareness of the audience about the role of communication designers in the society and enhance the design culture in Malaysia.

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KCF in Malaysia

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

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When I was in Kuala Lumpur (KL) CBD a month ago, I tried to travel around using public transport. Just to check out and update myself with the services. And to experience the changes. Fortunely the services have improved. More people choosed to take public transport than drive. That makes the “Rapid KL” and other public transport services, the LRT and buses improved their services. While taking underground LRT in KL, I saw this advertisment.

I find this KFC adds interesting. For sure this add will not sell or perhaps will never have the chance to be on the billboard in any western country. It says “Kita mesti makan nasi! Jadi kita tidak tercungap-cungap naik tangga” , “We need to eat rice! So we will be able to climb the stairs in a good shape.” Malaysian citizen loves “nasi” rice. Just ask anyone, to the extend that we even make some of the ‘sweet’ dessert with rice flour. As one of the marketing strategies KFC attracts their customer by adding the “culture values” in their menu. KFC serves with rice. A mixture of East (Rice) and West (bread). KFC is one of the biggest sales ‘fast food’ in Malaysia, therefore in order to keep the customer happy they keep on inventing their product that can fit the local taste.

Myth?: Some even said that KFC is much better taste in Malaysia or Asia. I wonder why?

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4th GRC – moved on!

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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Nurul Rahman poster for October GRC2007, the image haved been modified from the original add that she found from “Malaysia Year Book 1967”. An advertisment from Strait Central Agencies LTD., a travel agency.

Another GRC is coming this Oct 22. I decided to changed again my title from “Branding Malaysia? Thinking to understand the evolution of Malaysian Identity 1957-2007” to this new title “Design in Malaysia 1957-2007? Understanding the participation of Communication Designer in shaping the Malaysian Identity”.

Why? Well after the trip, I spent time looking at the collection of images that I collected during my field trip in Malaysia. Even during the trip, while collecting the images I realised that I can be out of track somehow if i keep on following the same path. I’m not trying to find Malaysian Identity, or trying to define what Malaysian Identity is/are. This topic is too broad. I’m also not trying to do research about branding in Malaysia. Yes this two topic is very much seductive because this is what i been long to know, but it’s not really what i want to do.

I’m a communication designer and a graphic designer. This is my areas of knowledge. I’ve been practicing graphic design, collobarate with others in design, and shared my practices, and knowledge of design with others (students, friends, client etc.) All of this happen when I was living in Penang, Malaysia. Studying and practicing graphic design and creative areas inspired me to seek for more about design. Further more, to be explicit it is all the way about communication design, and not fine art. I’m aware of the lack of understanding about communication design in Malaysia. Therefore, I tried to make some people understand the important of my role as a communication designer in some cases/project in practicing and in teaching.

In Malaysia (1994), especially in Penang, it’s very hard to find a designer position for career. I remembered when I told my father (who was a lecturer in automobile engineering department, in one of the college in Penang) that I wanted to study Graphic Design. He responded “What will you be doing after you graduate? A street artist? Can you get a job with this course?”. Wow! that was shocking. But, of course I insisted. I’m lucky at some point because although my father didn’t like the idea of me studying Graphic design, he still encouraged me to go on with what I really want.

What I’m trying to say here is, in Malaysia, the term of graphic design is still blur, perhaps not much people know what communication design are. Seriously, I understand the reason why i decided to do my PhD. I wanted to start a design culture in Malaysia. I hope the designer position will be acknowledge and recognise by others as one of the important position in creative department, in advertising department, in school etc. There are not much lecturer have the knowledge in communication design in Malaysia. That the gap that perhaps we can fix. The teaching curriculum strategies in the higher education.

I hope somehow and someways I can contribute to Malaysia by having this PhD. In order to do this, I’m will investigate the development of communication design in Malaysia and how communication design participate in shaping Malaysian Identity?.

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‘Graphic Design’ Versus ‘Visual Communication Design’!

I got this book called ‘Communication Design – Principles, Methods and practice’ by Jorge Frascara. This one particular topic that always interest me, moving from Graphic design to Communication design. I’m a graphic designer myself. I’m also a communication designer. These two term is common, but is the meaning and the role are the same? Recently the role of graphic designer have moved, or expend to broader areas. Graphic designer have looked into interior design, product, events etc. There are more and more collaborative work involve between graphic designer and client. Or sometimes even others from different disipline. This particular paragraph from Frascara explain more about what I wrote above.

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‘ It is necessary to recognize that the term ‘graphic design’ has contributed to the obscure profile of the profession. Although better than ‘graphic artist’ and far better than ‘artist’, the term still places too much emphasis on the graphic, physical elements and omits more essential aspects of the profession – the main aim of which is not the creation of graphic forms but the creation of effective communications. Although the most widely accepted term indeed ‘graphic designer’, it is more discriptive and appropriate to say ‘visual communication designer’, because this defination includes three ensential elements of the profession: a method (design), an objective (communication) and a medium (vision).’

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Designers Research Trip!

Hey, I’m off for my research trip to France and Malaysia, so don’t expect me to write regularly. I will send some link for the photos that I took while I’m on the trip. This is a research trip. As Laurene said, my supervisor said, this is a designer trip.

As a designer, apart of my usual practice when ever I have a new project, before the project started I will spend time going around some where or visiting the country side to refresh my mind. I think most of designers do that. We glean information. We are the gleaners. That’s is part of our research practices. Research before the research.

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This trip is part of the ‘research field trip’. It will be parts of the methodology that I undertaken in my PhD. I will collect anything that crosses and attracts my eyes, taking photos, observing society, visiting places and human behavior and most of all experiencing the process.

I will try to post some of my experience in the trip regularly.

In this trip I have lost some of my images, due to the lost of my hard drive that stored the collection I gathered along my trip.

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Change of plan..KIV ‘Siapa Kita?’

Hmmm…unfortunately ‘Siapa Kita’ project has to KIV for future plans, not for my PhD research. Why? 1st the project is out of my research track after spending times thinking about the possibilities that i might get if ‘Siapa Kita’ project happen. 2nd I know the project sounds interesting but I dont think I have enough time to focus on this project. I need to turn back and focus on Visual Mapping Malaysia project and I need to organise and plan this once in the life time research trip.

I’ve been reading interesting essays from John Berger called Uses of Photography in About Looking. He discusses about the use of photography and the various views that can be created by camera. Did you know camera was invented in 1839 by Fox Talbot. Since then, photography has been use for nearly everything (e.g. war reporting, journalism, pornography, documentation etc.). The first period of its existance photography offered a new technical opportunity; it was an implement. Now instead of offerring new choices, its usage and its ‘reading’ were becaoming habitual, an unexamined part of modern perception itself.

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‘Through photographs, the world becomes a series of unrelated, free-standing particles; and history, past and present, a set of anecdotes and faits divers. The camera makes reality atomic, manageble, and opaque. It is a view of the world which denies interconnectedness, continuity, but which confers on each moment the character of a mysery”. (Susan Sontag)

Meaning from photo can be interpreted in different ways depending on one cultural background and histories. Some people said ‘images never lies’, to what extend will it be? If histories can be map and deliberately structured, what about images?

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‘Siapa Kita?’

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˜Siapa Kita? is a sub-project that I created under the umbrella project Visual Mapping Malaysia 1957-2007. Apart from collecting the images from other resources (e.g. Libraries, Arkib Negara, Museums, National News Agency, Galleries etc.) ˜Siapa Kita? also collaborate with the participants/audiences to gather object.

The objective of this project is to encourage Malaysian to think and visualize their identity from their point of view through visual images (using any media – digital, screen shots, graphic, painting etc.). The question ‘why this image represent my Malaysian Identity’ is important. The process of finding an object that symbolized Malaysia will be an interesting method to develope later in future.

The challenge is to identify aspects of Malaysian cultures that need to be maintained in order to ensure a meaningful future. The outcome of these processes might lead to confident identities, resilient and capable of sustaining cultural norms, meaning, values, and traditions.

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Comm.Design Posgraduate

I realised that I didn’t have any visual images of our postgraduate members. Here it is, Miek, Yoko, Tania and Lizzie.
This images was taken last year when we’re busy withour Fashion City project. This is a normal situation in our room, all gather together and critiqs about wha ton the screen.

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