Criticism: Please Be Frank
People who create always want to feel like their work matters and one way is to seek comments from others. While friends and family are probably the easier to turn to, I find that I learn most when I receive frank comments from the perfect stranger.
The problem I usually face with feedback from friends and close ones is also highlighted by NYTimes.com’s Design Director Khoi Vinh: eliciting honest and critical comments. After all, the point when sharing a work is not to receive a ego massage, but pointers to improve on the work.
But as I have written elsewhere, it is so easy to criticise but so darn hard to be critical, so maybe that is why people don’t want to fall into the trap of saying things they can’t really explain and end up hurting friendships.
Filed under: Stuff To Share, Thoughts and Essays | Leave a Comment
Tags: criticism, Khoi Vinh
A Distracted City
“In a city, you are distracted by everything around… that you forgot about the people.” she said.
Indeed, a city is built to be seen, a visual showcase of wealth and power such that when you live in one you find yourselves more often than not looking up. Towering above you are skyscrapers, office towers, shopping malls, statues — the scale of things make you feel small.
If the vertical compression is not enough, you find yourself surrounded by crowds, cars, advertisements all around. You wish you had that little bit more elbow room to move, to think, but you are distracted by the sights around you. Should you move, or stay still? Either way, the barrage of the city weighs on all your senses and that is when you cave in.
But that is also when you learn its language and you find ways to ignore it. You build your own walls of resistance — listening to your iPod, taking short-cuts, ignoring what is around… and you forget the person next to you is doing the same as you.
The city squeezes more of us into the same space, but in doing so, puts just as much distance between you and I.
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Tags: city, reclaim land, singapore
Filament 2009: A Site For Home
The annual showcase of final-year projects of my school is coming up. While there isn’t an official theme, a common thread that ran through the various films and multimedia projects this year was this idea of family, Singapore or what we call home.
In a way, that’s what WKWSCI has been for me the last four years. And before I leave it, I’m happy that my own final-year project will be showcased at this student-initiated event that was started two years back by a friend. The poster you see is also a design I did and I’m also working on the brochure for those who attend the event.
So come visit our home on the 27 & 28 April at the Singapore Art Museum.
There’ll be food, films and friends — what every home needs.
Filed under: My Works, Stuff To Share, Visuals | Leave a Comment
Tags: Design, Filament 2009, Film, singapore
just ramble 