I might have failed.
Questions from an impromptu test conducted.
* Comment on two designers covered in lecture 7:
Answers:
TOMATO: His works are brilliant and he has the special food name "tomato" that can attract public’s attention.
PIET ZWART: Piet Zwart did a good job redefining David Carson.
From wikipedia, Piet Zwart died at the age of 92 in 1977. David Carson started designing in 1991.
What have I done wrong?
Saturday will be my last day in The One Academy.
Many reasons helped me come to that decision.
For the past three years, I have had my share of satisfactions and disappointments with lecturing. It is rewarding to see FF Meta, Bello, Dolly, Monotype Grotesk, Akzidenz Grotesk and Avenir making their way into students’ magazine and corporate identity works, replacing the standard mix of myriad, helvetica and garamond. It excites me whenever students show me complex and unusual grid systems. It thrills me (secretly) when students start rebelling against thoughtless briefs and work outside the norms. All these made teaching meaningful.
I shall not vent my frustrations - that would be taking aimless shots at the whole education and cultural systems that shaped the psyche of so-called creative students. I may have to start cursing all the spoons that fed the souls.
What matters most to me: I’m glad I have got to know many students well enough to consider them personal friends. Gaining new friendship - this alone - made the whole experience memorable. As much as they are learning from my obsessions about grids, kernings and bodoni, I am learning to see things from their life, and in the process, enables me to rethink and reshape who I am.
I am not sure whether I will ever return to teaching.
Maybe someday.
Meanwhile if Piet Zwart has redefined Carson, I am led to think that I might have failed.
Unless I can see dead people.
August 17th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
pity. here i wish i was few years younger to have attended your lectures.
i heard leon is no longer teaching, too. is that right?
August 17th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
you’re an inspiring individual, whether or not you think you think you did not lecture well.
i learned things thru our conversations, although brief but i can see it as a lifelong friendship, that there will never be another Kay Khoo in the industry and in the world.
August 18th, 2006 at 1:10 am
actually school is just a place to let student sit probably to listen lecture.
student learning was not only at school. like me. actually i get inspired by you after the sem u were teaching me.
serious, u change my target from the first time i join toa. before that, i’m a mechine in pc and desk.
and the things i learn from you are not only Dolly and grid system. sumtimes have sum life experience u had told me and i will keep thinking and digest.
i see how you and vilin treat your daughter, i try to recall bacll my childhood, i will appreaciate my mom. before that i only remember how my mother scolding me.
i’m happy when i get know sumthing really happen in design industry. not only malaysia, i know who is bill cahan and yew kee, etc. and what they all did. coz before that i only using my imagination to guess how outside look like or getting the view in cacat toa library.
u’re not failure in Henry way,
if i really get success in future, u’ll saw Kay Khoo in my book. haha…
eh, u intro ah leong fried rice to me also le! haha… quite nice!
August 18th, 2006 at 8:43 am
Yvette, danke. Most flattered and friendship treasured. So much for lameness, life is elsewhere. Beachboy, add oil!
August 18th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Oh boy, and so you’ve finalized your decision ey? TOA suffers another great loss. It’s depressing to see the quality lecturers at TOA slowly departing one by one. Your insightful and witty presentations on Britney, Siew Lian, Ramlee and William Hung will always be missed (maybe you should send me a copy of those! ha). C,mon, look at the number of ppl you’ve inspired. You’ve literally changed my life at TOA. Not to mention the way I perceive and execute design. I’m very sure there are many others like me who were moved by your lectures and practical advices. Your extensive knowledge on art & design (and everything else!) put a lot of people, even professionals to shame. You’ve done nothing wrong, nor have you failed. Blame it on .. uhm.. the “success-ah” guy.
August 18th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Agree with wut they said…i remembered during ur class critic section…u told me ” bad alignment, ur typo very rude, ur art direction spoilt everything.” & u know wut…dis is the few simple words that have changed me….
August 18th, 2006 at 11:38 am
It’s sad to see the good lecturers are leaving. I think Leon is too, right? I think he said something about that in our final critique today. But yeah, I missed the william hung thingy. It was fun. Might not be a good typographer, but still, thanks for the good lecturers. I appreciated it.
August 20th, 2006 at 9:31 am
i wont kern words my words MANUALLY until i met kay. smile.