MANILA, FEBRUARY 11, 2013 – Some 3,000 graphic design aficionados flocked to the Philippine International Convention Center Saturday, February 9 for the eighth instalment of the country’s hottest and biggest design conference, Graphika Manila 2013.
“Passion” and “play” were two words that kept on cropping up in almost every presentation, pegging design as a very personal activity rather than something that can be done in a mechanical fashion.
James White, the man behind the success of one-man crew Signalnoise, advocated doing every project based on passion. “Personal passion should never be replaced with monetary goals,” he said. His own journey in the world of work and design told the story of how he found purpose in designing for a living, calling that phase in his life as “The Woods”.
Recounting the time when he lost enthusiasm for agency work, he went back to basics and play. “I was trying to find beauty from limited materials,” he said, choosing to create on Illustrator at the time of Photoshop.
White also studied vectors during his spare time and tucked his creations away in a folder in his computer. “I’m a big believer in recycling vectors,” White said, showing his poster work for the 2011 movie “Drive”. The project is a classic case of something that started as a passion project used for clients.
Passion projects
Personal projects took up a good amount of his own time, creating his best and more popular works. One example is his simple tribute for Apple founder Steve Jobs in 2011. Taking the classic happy mac ad in the early 1980s, the sad mac illustrated the world’s mourning over the loss of a genius. White uploaded the graphic on his blog and ended up on the inside front cover of Newsweek’s special tribute issue.
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With this story, White encouraged Graphika attendees: “You really don’t know where your content will end up of you don’t put it out there.”
‘Pick your battles’
The influx of social media channels has provided artists with endless ways to promote their work to the world. But one doesn’t have to open an account on every single social networking site. “Choose the ones that work for you and use it wisely. Pick your battles.”
Another challenge that one must hurdle is the “I’m too busy” syndrome. White doesn’t believe in it, saying that there are enough hours in a day to do something if you make time for it.
As for clients, White said you don’t need them. Just create your best work and you never know when you’ll land a gig for the client you want.
And at the end of the day, it all boils down to: “Do what you love. Be fearless. Be a renegade.”
