I RANT
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
7:14 AM
PSFK CONFERENCE ASIA
DATE Friday, October 10, 2008
TIME 08:00 am - 06:00 pm
VENUE The Asian Civilisation Museum, 1 Empress Place
Singapore 179555
My sincere apologies about this late entry.
One day i was browsing through my emails when i came across one regarding the conference and it stated that....
PSFK is looking for 10 student volunteers to assist them in running the
conference.
The requirements are:
- The student must have a keen interest in the conference itself.
- The student must blog about his or her experience at PSFK
- We require the students for the entire day of 10 Oct 08
- We will feed the students
- Students volunteers will be able to attend the conference
So i was thinking why not because i went to the website and read what the conference was regarding and it got me interested because firstly i was intending to pursue my studies in communication design so this would be a good exposure to what the industry is like and which direction it is heading as I'm still new to it all. Secondly, what caught my eye was the fee for attending the conference. It was $1000. It had to be worth it! For me as a student, $1000 was a lot of money and it would take me a really long time to be able to come up with the money to afford to attend this conference. So yes. I volunteered myself even though i had class on Friday! Somehow this conference took a higher priority because it was not to be missed.
On the day of the conference, I woke up feeling really very excited about the whole thing. I was not sure what to expect as this was the first time i was volunteering for such an event. Excited that i would be able to meet designers that i have heard about so much but never met in real life. So finally had the chance to meet them and hear what they had to share.
Sad thing is i did not bring my camera for i left it at home by accident as i was rushing to the conference. At the conference, i did not manage to sit in much for the talks for i was busy with the registration counter and helping with whatever i could.
What I gained from the conference? Well some insights on the new movement and more knowledge of the different companies and designers that are involved in the industry.
I sat in to listen to a talk called Creator Class. In the talk Piers Fawkes interviews members of Asia's creative community exploring the emergence of a new generation of multi-talented creatives, their ambitions, and how agencies and companies can collaborate with them. The panel included Jason Anello (Yahoo!), Paul Tan (POOL) and Brian Tiong (B-side).
From that talk i was inspried of how young artist/designer these days get together to start something small that ended up becoming a big project that is recognized among the industry. I did have dreams of wanting to achieve the same as them but never thought it as possible. But having known that it was possible, i am indeed dreaming again and working towards that goal of achieving likewise.
Another talk involved a panel of experts in a discussion about youth culture trends in Asia and how they will impact businesses around the globe. Listening to what was being said made me open up more to things and view them in a different manner. Like i always thought of blogs just as reflections on peoples' life or expressions of thoughts. Never had i thought of blogs as reports for cultural contexts such as the fashion trends or even the latest tech or a new subculture. I also thought of youtube as just another entertainment outlet, however, it is also a space for critics. Another quote that I never thought of was that our research these days are not done in the office but outside. It did make alot of sense and was very true. Another interesting thing that was brought up was about changes. "Silent shifts" they call it. Where youth of today tend to set their own values. Not from the elders or above.
That was what i manage to grasp from that talk. Because halfway through i was called to help with setting up some stuff at Superfamous for the after party.
That was not too bad. setting up the canvas pieces... although i made a mistake in the way i held the frame and was corrected by Paul! Something i learn too... although it is silly not to know that as it was common sense.
I really wanted to head back to the conference to listen to the last talk about the accident. However, I totally forgot about it and missed it! How sadden i feel but i'm sure there would be another time, i hope. I manage to hear abt it from the other volunteers who managed to sit in and i was inspired of how things like accidents can lead to such wonderful paths of becoming a successful designer. No one would have thought it would have happened but it did.
I got back in time to help in giving out the goodie bags and was given one too!!!! The things inside were interesting i say!
What was next was the after party which was held at superfamous and had a free flow of cocktails, wine and beer. It was interesting a sight i must say.
In the midst of it all i learned to work with people i do not initially know and also got a chance to learn things from them as they were mostly more senior and experienced compared to me.
Oh and on a side note, the food provided was really really good! Kudos to that!
So would i ever volunteer for such a conference or event again? Answer would be a definate yes! Even if i don't volunteer, I would try my very best to attend it! There were so many things i wish i did, such as to get to speak to the speakers on a personal basis to ask questions that are still left unanswered and also built a network of contacts. Hoping for future experiences like this.
For now, I'll just work hard to succeed in my studies of graphic and advertising design.
Pictures...
Special thanks to Ping for the photos!=)
Till then....
Jesselene
my memories ;
