Graphika Manila 2012

I was browsing aimlessly on Facebook on a quiet day when I happened to stumble upon the poster of Graphika Manila 2012. As I am not doing much right now and I am pretty interested in graphics, I decided to attend the convention. It was held last August 11, 2012 from 10 am - 6 pm at the SMX Convention Center. We only bought the tickets the night before because the habagat drowned the city on that week and we did not want to take chances on the possible traffic and extended downpour. Great thing though that everything was okay and their ticketing system was efficient! We got our tickets at the counter the morning after without any hassle.

Very long queue at Function Room 2

Lunch Break!

For those who do not know (like me had I not attended this), Graphika Manila is the premiere multimedia and graphic design event of the country. This year is their 7th year and ever since they started, they have been inviting local and international speakers to share about their experiences in graphic design and their success stories. They also gave out some freebies which included a baller, graphic portfolio, pens, stickers, leaflets, and e-certificate code all in a small, black minimalist canvas body bag which I thought was pretty neat.

This year's speakers were Christian San Jose and Rob Cham of Create.ph, Jerome Austria, JP Cuison, Joshua Smith or Hydro74, Gerald Ding of Psyop, Sudeep Gohil of Droga5, and Bradley G. Munkowitz or GMunk. Each speaker was given around an hour each to talk about their journey and their work.

The Create.ph team made 9 tips for all graphic designers. They confessed that it was supposed to be 10 but they couldn't think of another one so they just stuck with 9. Their team just started years ago and they are composed of young artists. Through their talk, it seemed to me that they are the models of what it will really be like if one ventures into graphic design for the first time. Though I am not a big fan of the manner of speaking of one them, I have to give props to the truthfulness of what he said. I learned that besides being talented and knowing your craft, being lucky to be seen for your art is also important. More than that, I also learned that sometimes, artists have to be inspired first before they dive into working. I don't know exactly if watching TV and chatting for inspiration during work hours are good and acceptable, but they are cool enough for that!

Jerome Austria has got to be my favorite speaker. He spoke so eloquently and he excluded confidence which showed how much he knows about his work and how much he is proud of them. He has won lots of awards including those in Cannes Lions and Clios (advertising awards). I learned from him that it is better to be part of an agency first before you go freelancing. Being part of an agency helps you grow as an artist so when you go solo, you know your tools and your capabilities better.

I will remember JP Cuison as the funniest speaker of the event. He chose to speak in Filipino and blurted out some jokes directed to himself here and there. He represented the country twice in the Cannes Young Lions International Advertising Festival and he created the Ang Babae Sa Septik Tank poster. For me, he is one of the two speakers whose style really showed out because it's different from the usual. I am not sure but I think he is into advertising and he does gig posters and other non-advertising works that didn't pass in his advertising career. He makes his own version of posters and colors them in neon. I learned from him that if you stick with your style, you will be known for it.

Hydro74's attention to detail in his works is very, very admirable. Though some of his works scare me, I understand and appreciate his style. He makes cool vector animals and logos. He gave out free posters and other freebies during the event. I learned from him that working is good but we must all give time to unwind so we can recharge ourselves and make better things.

Besides McDonald's, I have to admit that Coca Cola's advertisements are also one of a kind. Thanks to the Psyop team! Gerald Ding is also one eloquent speaker. Though he feared that he might bore the audience with his presentation, he was actually very informative. He gave out the clear steps of making animation. I learned from him that it's hard to work with clients if there is a language barrier but that shouldn't stop you from doing your best for them.

Sudeep Gohil is the only non-creative person in the list of speakers. I did not mean that in a bad way. He is a businessman and he is on the other side of the advertising team. I really, really love their concepts in Jay-Z's biography ad and 4320 SYD campaign. They are so cool for my life and I could only that I was part of them (tweeting every minute and even just seeing the ads first hand). I love their ideas! This only made me want to think about more creative ways to advertise and actually be part of the advertising field!

GMunk is probably best known for his work in the Tron Legacy. He was very passionate discussing about the visual effects of the project. I did not know what he was talking about for the most part but his passion for sharing made me want to listen. To be honest though, when the video with the interpretative dance was shown, I paid more attention to the dance than to the lights. Props to him and his team though for the very intricate lighting! What I learned from him? Stay hungry. Not fasting or anything food related, okay? Stay hungry to do more and better things. Challenge yourself to exceed your last work.

I found it, in a way, inspiring that some of them did not really think about graphic design as their first career. One was an engineer, one dropped out, etc. It's like life just stirred them to graphic designing, learned it by themselves, and made the best out of it. I found it funny too that working for Nike seemed like the pinnacle or one of the highlights of everyone's career! Besides the things I stated above, I also learned that:

• We should just put our stuff out there. Our creative outputs are nothing and will not bring us anywhere if we don't show them to anyone.
• It takes time to be good at something. It takes 10,000 hours to be good at something. (That's like around 1 year and 1 month nonstop)
• Two things are needed in graphic design and advertising: Good idea and good execution. I kind of have to work more on the execution.
• You can copy ideas from others but get your own style.
• Do what you think you cannot do. Go out of your comfort zone. (I have now been told to go out of my comfort zone twice.)
• Be passionate in your work.
• A good team is not composed of people with the same thoughts, it is composed of people with opposing thoughts but with the same goal.

Q & A. Speakers are on stage.

Gerald Ding and Jerome Austria answering some questions.

At the end of it all, the attendees' questions which were sent via text (pretty cool) were answered by the guest speakers. Some lucky attendees also won in the raffle! They gave out an iPad and some Flux chairs among others.

Flux chairs. They are made of paper! How awesome is that? Check them out here.

Graphika Manila is worth going! The event was properly organized. The venue was cool and appropriate. The food outside was good (the name of the caterer skipped in my head-- sorry). The speakers were inspiring. Though I am not sure if I want to fully venture into graphic design (I am still thinking of it as part time), going to this event was really insightful and fun! 'Til the next Graphika Manila!