Hi,
I had lunch today.
Here’s what cropped up during lunch.
I always had problems with my university. Syllabus-wise, lecturer-wise and a lot of things. I'm never satisfied, not only with others, but with myself too. That's what makes me a self-loathing narcissist ( there's such a thing, I am living proof )
So one of the problems I have with my University is basically the lack of specialization and specification of the syllabus. What we are learning now is way too general. For example, one of our main and core design subjects, Creative Communication Design (CCD), is actually a combination of many many important design fields. It comprises of Desktop Publishing, Corporate Identity Design, Packaging Design and many other fields. So what happened is the university merged all these subjects into one major subject, and divided it by 3. Which are CCD1, CCD2, and CCD3.
In 1 term, we will have 1 module of CCD. That means, in 14 weeks (1 term), we will have to learn about Desktop Publishing, Corporate Identity and Packaging Design. Which equals 4 weeks give or take, for one whole field. Every 4 weeks, we are required to complete an assignment, one assignment for one field. And I think it is crap. In the end what happens is students end up doing it for the sake of the assignments.
When you provide this limited amount of time for a student, what happens is they end up doing the assignments. Which surprise surprise! Is actually not the right thing to do. In the past, the University actually runs on a syllabus that all these fields have their own units and each unit spans 1 term. Meaning Desktop Publishing, Corporate Identity and Packaging Design are actually all 3 different units and 14 weeks is allocated for each unit.
What this does
is it allows students time to research more in depth into each specific field
and learn more about it and find out if they are interested in it, instead of
just fulfilling the brief, because this is what University is all about.
University is
an environment for students to experiment and find out what they like, what
works, what is going to be the trend of the future, and what their style is. But
when you force a student to be just a machine churning out assignments for the
sake of assignments, then how is it different from a primary school and
secondary school?
Why was CCD
born?
CCD was born because of what our aunties and uncles in the design industry are demanding. I've argued that university is an environment for students to be free and research. But another side of the argument is that universities need to provide students with the ability to get a job in the future. A university that can't do that wouldn't get a lot of business obviously.
Our aunties and uncles in the design industry now in Malaysia, is demanding all-in-one robots. They want graduates who can do everything, packaging, corporate identity, desktop publishing, angry birding, all-in-one. Why? Because cheap ma, you buy Nescafe also buy 3-in-1 right? Add hot water gao dim.
So, what happens is, in order for a university to run, the university will go and find people from the industry and ask them for their advice on their courses. And of course the industry would want a student who can do everyyyyything! Hire one, can do all, so save $$$!
But let me tell you one thing, look around us, look around in Malaysia, do you see any ground-breaking designs? Any earth-shattering, award-winning, aesthetically-pleasing designs? Or do you see advertising CRAP that belongs to the tong sampah!? Of course I have seen beautiful designs done by Malaysian companies, but come on that is like 1 in 10. (probably optimistic here)
Why aren't Malaysian designs beautiful?
Because no one can be perfect. There is not one single person in this world that can be an ALL-IN-ONE robot and at the same time create beautiful, timeless, effective, functioning designs.
But what the University is trying to do now is to create these robots but failing miserably. Yes, we learn everything under one roof. FANTASTIC. But what do we actually learn? Is 4 weeks enough for a student to become an excellent designer in a specific design field? OF COURSE NOT! There are many many many creatives who are still learning more and more about their own specific field and growing continuously. Do you see a web designer doing packaging? No! Because they are busy learning more and more about web design to become excellent web designers.
What my University is churning out now are graduates who don't have a clue what they are good at and what they are interested in. Which actually doesn't work for the University's policy of creating graduates that are ready for the workforce after they graduate, because all the students did in Univerisity was assignments. And what we learn in those assignments is just 0.00000000000001% of the whole field. When we come out to work, we are only able to create crap designs, crap shit that worth shit. Because we basically have no idea what we are good at, we aren't given the environment and time to nurture ourselves and learn for ourselves what we want in our career.
Listen, the industry is ruined.
The design industry in Malaysia has become a shithole where money money and money rules. They aren't designers who want to make good, meaningful work. All they care about is making money.
And if you care about making good work, please do, and please stop treating yourself like a slave to money. Have ego. I met a lot of designers who are treated like crap by their clients; they're basically robots with hands attached to the mouse receiving 'do' commands from their clients... That is just so wrong, Creatives MY ASS.
And I forgot another problem. Our university's president is a person who knows shit about Art & Design, he's an engineer. And basically, he is trying to do something he has no idea how to do. So, please Mr. President. Let those who know how to run a Faculty of Creative Industries run it. STOP CALLING THE SHOTS! YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED. I KNOW IT HURTS BUT IT’S THE TRUTH.
CCD was born because of what our aunties and uncles in the design industry are demanding. I've argued that university is an environment for students to be free and research. But another side of the argument is that universities need to provide students with the ability to get a job in the future. A university that can't do that wouldn't get a lot of business obviously.
Our aunties and uncles in the design industry now in Malaysia, is demanding all-in-one robots. They want graduates who can do everything, packaging, corporate identity, desktop publishing, angry birding, all-in-one. Why? Because cheap ma, you buy Nescafe also buy 3-in-1 right? Add hot water gao dim.
So, what happens is, in order for a university to run, the university will go and find people from the industry and ask them for their advice on their courses. And of course the industry would want a student who can do everyyyyything! Hire one, can do all, so save $$$!
But let me tell you one thing, look around us, look around in Malaysia, do you see any ground-breaking designs? Any earth-shattering, award-winning, aesthetically-pleasing designs? Or do you see advertising CRAP that belongs to the tong sampah!? Of course I have seen beautiful designs done by Malaysian companies, but come on that is like 1 in 10. (probably optimistic here)
Why aren't Malaysian designs beautiful?
Because no one can be perfect. There is not one single person in this world that can be an ALL-IN-ONE robot and at the same time create beautiful, timeless, effective, functioning designs.
But what the University is trying to do now is to create these robots but failing miserably. Yes, we learn everything under one roof. FANTASTIC. But what do we actually learn? Is 4 weeks enough for a student to become an excellent designer in a specific design field? OF COURSE NOT! There are many many many creatives who are still learning more and more about their own specific field and growing continuously. Do you see a web designer doing packaging? No! Because they are busy learning more and more about web design to become excellent web designers.
What my University is churning out now are graduates who don't have a clue what they are good at and what they are interested in. Which actually doesn't work for the University's policy of creating graduates that are ready for the workforce after they graduate, because all the students did in Univerisity was assignments. And what we learn in those assignments is just 0.00000000000001% of the whole field. When we come out to work, we are only able to create crap designs, crap shit that worth shit. Because we basically have no idea what we are good at, we aren't given the environment and time to nurture ourselves and learn for ourselves what we want in our career.
Listen, the industry is ruined.
The design industry in Malaysia has become a shithole where money money and money rules. They aren't designers who want to make good, meaningful work. All they care about is making money.
And if you care about making good work, please do, and please stop treating yourself like a slave to money. Have ego. I met a lot of designers who are treated like crap by their clients; they're basically robots with hands attached to the mouse receiving 'do' commands from their clients... That is just so wrong, Creatives MY ASS.
And I forgot another problem. Our university's president is a person who knows shit about Art & Design, he's an engineer. And basically, he is trying to do something he has no idea how to do. So, please Mr. President. Let those who know how to run a Faculty of Creative Industries run it. STOP CALLING THE SHOTS! YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED. I KNOW IT HURTS BUT IT’S THE TRUTH.
What I am fighting for are
great designers who want to create good work for creating good work sake. We as
designers know deep down that money isn’t king in the creative industry. Deep
down, we know that we want to be designers because we love being creative, and
love solving problems and money comes as a bonus, not the priority.
What I am fighting are for Universities to create this environment for their students, this mentality and to change the future of the design industry of Malaysia. First, we need to create students that are brilliant at what they do and not at everything. We should create graduates that are masters at their own field, and therefore have the quality to convince clients, to push clients, to reinvent the brief, and make great work. Making all-in-one robots that produces crap work is not the way.
What I’m fighting for is for people who do not know about design stay out of design, and let those who know what they are doing do. Clients, stop going to all-in-one PR/Printshops/Blergh firms that offer all-in-one quotations with designing aspect packaged. I know how ineffective they are. I’ve worked for one. Allow of design studios to form and outsource design jobs to them, let them handle the ads, let them handle the concepts. You as a client, sit back and reap the benefits.
What I am fighting are for Universities to create this environment for their students, this mentality and to change the future of the design industry of Malaysia. First, we need to create students that are brilliant at what they do and not at everything. We should create graduates that are masters at their own field, and therefore have the quality to convince clients, to push clients, to reinvent the brief, and make great work. Making all-in-one robots that produces crap work is not the way.
What I’m fighting for is for people who do not know about design stay out of design, and let those who know what they are doing do. Clients, stop going to all-in-one PR/Printshops/Blergh firms that offer all-in-one quotations with designing aspect packaged. I know how ineffective they are. I’ve worked for one. Allow of design studios to form and outsource design jobs to them, let them handle the ads, let them handle the concepts. You as a client, sit back and reap the benefits.
What I’m fighting for is for
design students to realise that they have enormous potential and graphic design
is not a course you take because you do not qualify for mechanical engineering.
Graphic Design is not a course you take solely make money. You do Graphic
Design because you just want to.
Guys, we are the future. We have to change now, for the future to change. I do not what to be a slave. Let’s save ourselves.
Guys, we are the future. We have to change now, for the future to change. I do not what to be a slave. Let’s save ourselves.
