Simple success tips from Adam:

Done by a genius called Adam J. Kurt.

Stumbled upon this and thought I should share the simple wisdom.

Hope your 2015 is going great so far! 

8D Myanmar 2014

Went to Myanmar earlier this year and here are some of the pictures I forgot to post.

It's a beautiful country, with the people so mild and the history so rich. 

Not a single Starbucks or MacDonalds to be seen, no H&M or Topshop to be found.

This is a land before commercialized time.. 

If you ever want to see a world before all our consumerism begins, 

this is the country to go to. 

Time is of the essence; 

before the major Corporation takes over.

Route: Yangon - Heho - Kalaw - Inle Lake - Indein - Bagan - Yangon

Turkey: Footsteps of Paul

Just some pictures that I've edited so far.. loads more to come, maybe I'll find a nice way to display them all soon. Super cold weather, hot air balloon flight, seeing the most amazing rock villages, camel with swag, and their beautiful patterns that adorn their plates. The trip was just so mindblowing to see such a self-sustaining country staying true to their culture and art.
Everywhere looked like a perfect postcard and I think if I lived in Turkey, I wouldn't need to travel anywhere else.

I will update this space again soon when I'm not so sleepy. Ciao.

Value

Just one little observation I've noticed over the time I've been doing design as a profession..

Would you ask your dentist friend to do free extraction/whitening/braces for you?
No.
Why?
Because it's his profession.

Would you ask your doctor friend to operate on you for free and tell him you don't have the budget to pay for the fees but you're giving him exposure and experience anyway, so that's totally okay.
No, you wouldn't.

You understand the value in his work, and so you know its only right if you pay for his time and skills.
After all, you only pay for things that you think have a value.

So.. why would you think that its normal and fine to ask a graphic design to design your 'simple' collaterals for free?

'Oh you can just whip up a design in 10 mins, if I pay you $150 for it then won't you be cheating me off my money?'

Sure I could whip up a design in 10 mins, and a lawyer can send you his bill for 10 mins of his time.
What makes you think my 10 mins doesn't deserve a proper payment and the lawyer's does?

The thing that just irks me is the level of respect they give to good design and to designers.

If designing is that easy and deserves such a low budget, then why don't you save the money and do it yourself on Microsoft Word?

Because you know it is harder than it looks.

Way harder.

Designing involves a whole lot of planning, practice, concepts, late nights, deadlines, colour and type customization, time, and software proficiency.

So why would you, in the first place, want to approach a graphic designer to do your collaterals and what not?
Because you know the importance of a well-designed campaign.
Because humans are visual creatures, and because before you can even sell your products, your designs will represent you first.

So why aren't you willing to set aside some money if you understand its importance?

Angst-y designer rant aside, as I have this certain skill set in my hands, I definitely wouldn't mind helping a friend out if I really believe in their products/ideas.. but to those people who are just looking to get a free bargain or value deal because they don't value the work of a designer, then please don't waste your time cos I ain't running no charity organisation.

Wake up / Dream on

In this world full of confused and mixed-up signals, 

one of the most commonly-heard phrases to motivate people is 'Wake up'.

Similarly, the next commonly-used phrase to inspire people is 'Dream on'. 

Ain't that a juxtapose? 

And what if you were in a dream that seemed so real one day, that you have to grasp a faint strand of sanity in your mind to wake you up?

Or what if you are too awake and busy that you lose your dream in the midst of it all?

What is a dream and what is reality if the lines keep crossing?

This graphic piece is a reminder to keep both essences of the dream and the waking-up to a balance.

Just like how the words seem to blend into the background colors, sometimes all you need to do is to work a little bit harder to grab the message you need in order to get to where you want to go.

So as you peer and squint your eyes to read this poster, 

may you wake up.... to dream on.

Cheers.

One more for the road:

Any time I miss you I'd just need to close my eyes.

Sweet dreams. :) 

Quotes visualized

Inspiration struck and I've been up doing some graphical/typographical work. 

Random phrases that inspire or songs that have been singing itself in my heart.

Hopefully I can sell these designs on cards or wall posters for some pocket money next time.

Imgaine seeing your design on people's walls at home!

For now, please enjoy these few designs that I've done.

More to come soon. Xxxx

Passion shows

http://limitless-movement.com/

Can I give you an exclusive behind-the-scenes pass to see how this animation was done?

First up: Planning is super important, because it starts the timeline and work flow proper. 

Fail to plan and you plan to fail. So true. (Good thing Josh was really detailed in the planning!)

Josh met Din and myself to discuss the storyboard and well, ideas just flowed out naturally and we got what we had today: A video about dreams. Dream to dream. Dream within a dream? Inception! 

Haha okay more like Din-ception. (Get it?)

Din, the super illustrator, sketched out all the works at lightning speed. It was an enormous pressure on him because his drawings will make or break the video (since this is a purely-animation video). I blinked only once and I heard he's done with colouring it. Now that's what I call talent!

Josh then painstakingly cut out the drawings bit by bit, layer by layer. He also sourced for the music and did the layout of the various scenes. As he is the creative director of this video, it was important to have the same  vision so the video will really bring across the message in our hearts accurately. 

Thank God we flowed well and could understand whatever picture we were trying to paint out! 

So I got the files and started animating them. This is the part I dozed off during my work, danced at night and stuck matchsticks around my eyes to keep them open while I animated the video through the night. Rendering, playing with particles, guessing the music timing- my days and nights blurred together. I won't tell you how many hours of sleep I got in total that week of the camp (though you can count on one hand) but because it was a God inspired project, I found the strength and motivation to finish it. 

Truly, when God gives a vision, He will provide the provision and grace you will need to see you through.

Honestly, I would have just crashed and gave up halfway if it weren't for the fire burning in my heart.

I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to be a part of the limitless movement & sharing it with the church, because while I was doing this video, my dreams got revived.

 And that's how this video is able to inspire others to remember their dreams too. 

After all, you can only share what you have experienced for yourself. 

Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope that as you are watching the video, you will dare to go to the deepest part of your heart and pull out that buried dream once more. 

If God has given you a vision, He will give you the provision.

If God is for you, who can be against you?

Take heart, there are no boundaries.

You can't be stopped.

You 

are 

LIMITLESS

Home is where You are

Every once in a while I retreat back into my own cave for reflection and rest.
Inspiration doesn't come so easily as I'd like it to- and does anyone notice that it is the hardest to come by during crunch time?

This Shanghai trip was a good chance to use my time alone to breathe.
Yeah it was a work trip and it made me feel sleepier day after day but I had fun meeting new people & learning new things!
Plus, the hotel room was like one big cave of comfy goodness. I mean, TV in front of a bathtub?!? A whole big soft bed with thick duvet?! Felt so pampered that I never wanted to leave.

It also gave me time to read this beyond amazing book called 'The Shack'.
I felt like I had my own shack experience in Shanghai where I couldn't escape (and I wouldn't escape anyway lol). One sentence that struck me the most was 'learning to live life loved.'

You will only live life like a princess if you know you're a princess. You'll live life like the situation you know you are in. And so many a times, even though we know we are loved.. but why is it so hard to live like it?
Do we live with a simple trust and faith that if we are loved, then nothing can hold us down for long because love will trump all other misery eventually.
Or do we live in fear or guilt because of things in the past that we worry we are never good enough or not loved enough?

Such a simple concept but it took time for me to digest it.

Let's learn to live life loved!

Okay abrupt change- on to my picture travel diary from Shanghai ;)

        

Kinda feels like I travelled 5 hours on a flight to reach a chinese version of Singapore haha. No wonder I felt comfortable there.

E-ART-H

Did these paint doodles when inspiration struck!
Planning on doing a whole series of 'em based on different themes and storyline.

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