MY STORY - THE HERE AND NOW #NYM14
A walked in with no expectations. I did not know what the city had in store for me.
With that frame of mind, my entire trip exceeded all that I had ever imagined. I took it all in like a sponge and never relinquished the idea that it would be mundane, irrelevant or boring. The reason I wanted to go to this study tour was to be there in the mix and not having any expectations of where and what I would be doing.
New York has always been my dream city - I have taken several online quizzes, you know the ones that facebook keeps recommending to you, and the city I would be most suited in was always New York City. So you could say that I belong here.
SOME DISAPPOINTMENTS
I also came here to experience the design world. I know that it was superior to Melbourne's market and I wanted to see that first hand but upon being there for 19 days, I did not see the kind of caliber that I was expecting. The design work is very similar to other parts of the world and even though many design companies are based there, it was apparent to see it around the city. Melbourne has been utilizing design in more of its environment than New York so that was slightly disappointing for me. The design culture isn't as apparent or maybe it was the fact that we didn't visit enough studios to experience the talent.
PRIOR TO NEW YORK
I want to put an exert from one of my previous blog posts on my project that really made a difference in my narrative:
"A sudden realization.
The very people I am trying to connect in my project are the ones that are reflected back to myself.
Born in Pakistan. Raised in Thailand. Living in Australia.
I have become the very essence of what MOVE is all about. Never stopping. A nomad from its own heritage. Yet finding new horizons creatively being a creator of content. The beautiful thing is there are a million of me striving to do the same thing. Our culture no longer is a crutch to trudge through - it is ingrained in us.
We are all made of stories.And this is a magnificent canvas to show everyone what we really are about."
"While making my daily 10km walking commute from university to home, I couldn’t help but imagine as if I was travelling a great distance each time from one place to another.
Then it came. Eureka! I can relate this back to MOVE. We are constantly moving from one paradigm to another - changing as we move through it. It’s not the destination but the path we walk in. Not only in physical landscapes but also in our minds, our thoughts and ideas.
MOVE is just that.
I would like to share the video that also inspired me on the execution of this certain idea. The Japanese band “Toe” made this exquisitely charming music video of a man travelling through the landscape on an amp.
I will do a similar execution to this video, walking through a long distance and taking stop motion photography of the journey. That’s exciting to even think about it !"
COWORKING EXPERIENCE
Fueled Collective Coworking
These guys are situated at Prince St and Broadway making it a great location in the heart of Manhattan. First of all I was impressed with the rustic 40’s style decor that’s placed all around. From soap box wall mounts to padded chairs, this coworking space really makes you feel at home or in your grandfather’s study.
Ironic from their setup, most of the startups here are tech companies like Mobile App Tracking, Curioos, and Twilio. (Most of them to be honest, I don’t recognize)
Their coworking area is large and spacious with plenty of tables, seats, sofas and free chocolate to curb your enthusiasm.
Makeshift Coworking
Newly opened in Brooklyn, Makeshift has been around in San Francisco for some time. This coworking space, created around a pencil factory has plenty of charm. Light ducts flood the space with natural light all day brightening the lobby urging people to be happy and work.
Graphic designers, architects, and developers are the mixture of this group with small business as their core. Downstairs you can work in comfort and privacy. Soon they will have a large format printer for making posters and such which is something to definitely wait for.
I really enjoyed working here as it's quiet enough to get your work done but there is enough there to keep you busy - I personally I enjoyed the mini-library they had that actually helped me on my project - I read the SIMPLICITY OF THINGS which was a good read. This trend will rub off on me in Thailand when I go back home because I have a few friends who have made their own co-working culture spaces in Bangkok and it will be quite interesting to see how they have approached it in Asia. Maybe I will even get a day pass there and try it out for myself.
THE BOOK FAIR AND WORKSHOP
This was a really interesting event and workshop that literally had my hands dirty. I am usually apprehensive when it comes to hand-made crafts and illustration. The book binding workshop urged me to dive in and just do it. And that I did.
I never even touched a thimble and thread to save my life but the workshop was done in a way that it became a necessity to give it a shot. So we bounded books with three different but simple ways.during the twine.
Other than that, the exhibition / pop up fair had plenty of little publishers and freelance designers passionately displaying their print sales and ideas. Events like these help the community understand print and that it’s still alive and well.
KICKSTARTER OFFICE VISIT
We took a quick guided tour of the Kickstarter office in Brooklyn and were pleasently amazed at their approach to office space. Instead of being like a modern tech company, they took the other rustic and natural approach. Rust exteriors, concrete pillars and rooftop ‘farmville’ type environment creates a very humble and transparent (literally) space.
Me and Amy P already did an extensive research presentation of Kickstarter’s activities and Andrew did well to reinforce the company’s mantra. All in or nothing. That’s what differentiates KS from other crowd-funding platforms.
NEW YORK IMMIGRATION COALITION
Having worked closely with Thanu, my friend who works in NYIC, I have learnt a lot about the immigrant society of New York City. It is the backbone of this city with more than half of its inhabitants being immigrants. This is apparent because every second person I met was either a Latino or African. This is a real testament of the city that doesn't care about where you are from. Cultural communities are so abundant here that it's almost impossible not to feel like being different and similar at the same time. Alas there are still many arduous challenges the immigrants have to face; the help of NYIC is trying to negate the disparity of immigrant rights and social stability. This city really is a social community more than anything else and the government needs to address that.
FINAL KEEPSAKES
I'm using my project and experience in New York as a part of my growth as a visual communication designer. This will be the selling point - I can demonstrate that I have worked on a project in New York with creative people and have seen the growing startup side of it. This will forever be an experience that I can use in the future - my goal as an Art Director and Creative Director will be given weight with this experience.
I can take back so much from this trip even if it was unfinished work or I didn't make high-profile connections because once you have been grazed by the touch of New York, it's infectious and will stay with you in your future jobs.