Presenting Forecept’s new Design Machine: She comes in a small package, barely five feet tall, with long black hair (that still keeps on getting long because she finds the hair salons in Singapore very expensive) and bright-colored shoes. A Filipina with 6 years of design experience behind her, this little woman braves six people (read: Project Managers/Account Executives) who regularly turns on “The Design Machine” to create new web design, revise the new web design, create simple flash animations, draw stick figures and rough storyboards, create direct mail marketing designs, design new logos, brainstorm for a pitch project, understand creative briefs and try to create a design brief for clients who wanted to have a website but don’t have any idea on what to place on their websites. This design machine can work with grace under pressure, fragile yet hardened by experience, works best when listening to her favorite music and knows how to laugh at her own mistakes.
This is most likely what will be written in my product brochure if I happen to be a design machine. And I’d like to think that I am exactly that.
On Tuesday, I will be celebrating my 2nd month as Forecepts’ (http://www.forecepts.com/index.php) new design machine. They say that the company is known for its back-end programming and web development services with its back-end operations done in their Johor office in Malaysia. The sales/account executive office is situated near Jalan Besar in Singapore. Companies seek out their web development and programmers and along the way, they were also faced with clients requiring the whole package that includes web design. In the past years, they were able to outsource the design until finally, they decided to hire a new web/graphic designer on board due to increasing demand for the complete package.
The Road to the Forest
It was April 24 when I first set foot on Forecepts’ cozy office for my first interview with the manager and, like any other job interviews that I’ve had in my whole life, he delivered the default ending to every job interview conversation, “We’ll call you”. Six days after the interview, I received an e-mail from him and told me that they’re having a final round of choosing their new designer, so they decided to hold a sort of “web design contest”, the lucky winner will get the job as the coveted prize. He asked me if I will be participating and of course, the design machine that I am, I bowed to the challenge and willed myself to create a good design.
It was the 5th of May when I received an email stating a job offer. I thought to myself, so I’m the winner huh? In the field of design, being chosen as the new designer or winning a pitch project does not mean that you’re better than the other designers. I think all of us, the designers, the account executives, the clients, the boss are all playing mind games. Its just a matter of second-guessing what design approach will work for a certain client, and when you hit the target bulls-eye, then you get the job, or the project.
So I think I have to add some new text in my product brochure: Forcepts’ new design machine also comes with the ability to play mind games with clients, account executives and other designers.
To date, this Design Machine was able to produce 9 new web designs, some flash animations and a lot of internet direct marketing materials.
Now, the account executives pressed the “pressure” button, so that the machine can produce Forecept’s new corporate identity that includes logo, letterheads, business cards, new website, the works! The Design Machine just smiled and a button started to light up, blinking are words in red letter, “Grace Under Pressure”.
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 11:58 am and is filed under Crayonslife in Singapore. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Nice blog and congrats Ms. Design Machine
You have opened the doors of perception… the doors that cleansed the world of art of its, pretentions… let your crayons show us the true colors of art…
- I will never fail you my dear sister… i will be a lawyer!
corporate identity???
wow! you deserve a pay hike girl!!!!
so proud of you!!!
see you soon! muah!