Visuals first before my blog entry:

I love that CS3 tagline. Truly, this software breaks borders seamlessly. Imagine integration that we only imagined a few years back, and now its a reality. I absolutely love all the new features of Photoshop - the smart filters, better tricks with vector smart objects, amazing cross software functionality. With photoshop, you can now leap into other programs as if you were visiting the next door neighbor. Aftereffects also turned out to be a real beauty (although i would have to view more online tutorials before I get to master it’s touch). The 3d Integration is just wonderful as well, It left me in AWE after knowing that Photoshop isn’t merely a 2d platform anymore.

After listening to all the wonderful speakers, I felt that positive vibe in the room. People were raring to go back to their offices, try things out, experiment.People were actually challenged to try new things, to sift through creative juices and create something. And that, to me, was priceless.
I feel so loved.
Adobe and Macromedia’s union is bringing beautiful things for it’s users - and almost guarantees beautiful output, too, since it saves mounds of time and effort spent on what once were conceived as herculean tasks.
Of course, On the other side of the spectrum, the implications bothered me. I was saying…

Wait a minute! Stop right there Missy! Not everyone can be a graphic designer!
… Well, but photoshop just does exactly that. Everyone can be a graphic designer. Or a print maker or a web designer. Or a video person. What once was called Multimedia Arts was now becoming a norm.

Photoshop democratizes design to a different level wherein people without any art background at all (or no drawing skills for that matter) can deliver almost the same kind of output as people with previous conventional training. AND then i thought, hmm.. that was what drew people towards multimedia arts graduates - - - because they were expected to have that undying thirst to learn and deliver, across programs, regardless of the output.

Then, I ask.. Will this really matter? Is talent and creativity relative also to each individual, and could it be possibly replicated with the help of a few software tricks? Along with the loss of possible specialization in particular arenas, Aren’t we going to see a loss in the kind of out put that we deliver? Is this change too fast
paced for a society that’s probably not yet ready for it?

Hmm. It bothers me because not everyone should have the privilege of being called a graphic designer or an artist. A kid who slaps digital photos into his blog shouldn’t be called a photographer. In the same time, a kid who doodles and puts in photoshop filters shouldn’t be called an artist.

THE bottom line is, along with the democratization of design, also brings forth, to a certain degree, the loss of purposeful design. –.– Design that I’m sure me and my colleagues will strive hard to achieve, for years on end.

I’m not one to rally for a cause, but if I was to start, then I’ll start with design.
Art & Design has always been my lover, unknowingly, ever since I was three years old. Ever since I started drawing that Lion drawing, I knew that I wasn’t going to see myself doing something else when I grow up. I wasn’t going to be cooped up in a boxy suit, I wasn’t going to be analyzing reports…. I was going to deliver my art and broadcast it so others can use it.

My photographer friend, Obi, once mentioned that a photo doesn’t depend on what kind of camera you’re using, but how you use it. hindi nasa pana yan, nasa indian.With that said, I started taking the liberty of taking the snapshots of things that i like, or the stuff that I think would qualify as good material to post in my portfolio. Believe it or not, I screen my own works before posting in my portfolio because it’s hard to show feature something you’re not happy with. With that said, I think I’m pretty happy with my snapshots. These photos were taken in random places. Starbucks, the boxing match, serendra, amongst others.Enjoy:D

This was a little artwork i made while waiting for Wilbert in our resident Starbucks area, in Pasong Tamo, Makati. I love that place. I love it that Dacs (my barista) knows exactly what I want. Although some might say Starbucks coffee is overrated, for me, it still has that homey feel that I come back to.

SO, I made this artwork about how slowly society is being molded into one mainstream culture, with every big business monopolizing people’s choices, it’s hard to manufacture new ideals, new wants and new needs. It’s a rather controversial thought, but I made my execution simple and cute for people to view. Clicky!