This book is about the things I make, the things that make me make them, & what I make of this.
In plainer words, this book is a record of my inspiration & creations. Enjoy.
Home This is where I do working style is to sit in around like a madman fo Along the Shing Mun Ri working at home does not I love taking a stroll from town centre. It gives me to observe along the wa best alone at home, but and looking at the work ar me as well. The Avenue university, this is anothe spend some time alone w
o most of my designs. My my swivel chair and spin or ideas to come. iver Just because I prefer t mean I do not go outside. m my house to the Shatin time to think, and plenty ay. Design studio I work talking to my classmates round me can help inspire e of Stars Close to the er favorite spot of mine to with my thoughts.
The average number of tabs opened in my browser per online session, over the course of a week
AM Monday 23 Tuesday 43 Wednesday 29 Thursday 30 Friday 34 Saturday 50 Sunday 29
43.2
PM 49 50 55 53 60 32 68
As a student with virtually no prior formal training in any related fields, much of my knowledge came from the web before I got into design school. It is no substitute for a structured design education, but the bits and pieces of resources I picked up here and there actually built me a surprisingly solid foundation. Naturally, I continue to frequent countless design-related sites nowadays. Gone were the days when one needs to open new browser windows to go on multiple sites. Thanks to the invention of tabs, multi-tasking is made easier and browsing more efficient. I try to find as much online as possible and learn from it all, to give my brain the creative jolt it sometimes needs.
On the flipside, the Internet has given me a serious case of information overload. Browsing 43.2 websites “at the same time” can be a schizophrenic experience. So much can be discovered online that I have found myself spending unnecessarily long periods of time browsing for “inspiration”, when I should start doing work myself. While it has played an important part in shaping me as a designer, the vast sea of the Internet can just as easily consume me if I am not careful enough.
but in a different way compared to my fascination with the web. I have much love to spare for this traditional medium, because there is just something especially inspiring about taking in the content of a book by physically holding it and flipping through the pages. It may not be able to compete with the Internet in terms of interactivity, but the tangiblity of the object, together with the extra room for imagination, actually makes reading a richer experience than browsing the web in some ways. I have always been an avid reader. From fantasy novels to non-fictional titles on philosophy, books of all sorts interest me. The simplicity of the format allows me to immerse myself fully without distraction, and as hard as it is to spend some quality time reading these days, books continue to inspire me; not only as a designer, but as a person in general.
I created a newspaper during primary school. It had amusing collages made from newspaper cutouts, reports of school gossip, as well as other nonsensical columns I came up with. The publication was crude in a charming way, and it was circulated around the class, giving me a taste of the satisfaction of creating and sharing. Continung to explore other media, I hosted my very own online audio programme from 2006-7. Looking back, the content was cringe-worthy, but like my old newspaper, the show (the “Mak Cast�, if you must know) gave me a sense of ownership. When you have created everything from the script to the theme song, listening back to your finished creation gives you a certain pride that is hard to substitue. Seeing as how much books have inspired me, my love for words is hardly surprising. I got more serious about writing when I started a blog. in 2006. I treated words with more respect, but that did not stop me from writing for fun at the same time. My blog was not your typical online diary, but was constantly updated with poems and song lyrics I made up. I also started creating graphics for my blog. So a way my appreciation for design can be indirectly traced back to my passion for writing. And what kind of a design student will I be if I do not mention how much I drew when I was young? I made my own illustrated vocabulary lists to study for dications when I was in primary school, and I created a comic series starring a wise-cracking skeleton, which was enjoyed among my classmates. I also studied painting when I was young, but my formal training in art was short-lived. However, as you can tell from this book, my interest in the visual medium continues to go up.
2001
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
Jonathan makes. Just that. Makes. The fact that it ties into my name nicely certainly does not hurt, but what I like most about the phrase is both its directness and ambiguity. It says nothing about what I make, simply that I do. I try not to restrict myself to the realm of design. An essay, a poem, a song... I enjoy creating, no matter what the finished products are. It is very satisfying to give form to an idea, and I see my work, however insignificant they may be, as evidence for my existence. I wish to leave a mark on the world, something I can call my own. Doing this makes me happy, and that is good enough for me. Just keep making. Those are the words I live by.
Life is what you make of it.