Asiiiek, dapet kue!

Satu dekade. 10 tahun. 120 bulan. 3,652 hari. 87,648 jam. Atau 5,258,880 menit yang lalu, ketika saya memutuskan untuk menentukan jalan hidup saya sendiri menjelajahi belantara dunia industri kreatif di Maret tahun 2000. Hari ini, Jerry Aurum Design & Photography (JADP) masih berdiri disini, still rocking and rolling around, mencoba membuat perubahan buat dirinya sendiri, dan mudah-mudahan, untuk sekitarnya.

Lho, koq jadi serius begini? Maaf, tadi kebawa emosi jiwa, abis kalo dipikir-pikir, diinget-inget, betapa manis dan penuh kenangan 10 tahun yang terjalani ini, boleh untuk nyaingin cerpen di majalah remaja. Kisah JADP sendiri pernah diulas di posting blog ini tahun lalu, From Hobby to Business and How I Started It. Cerita singkatnya, pada saat itu saya berumur 23, belum lama tamat dari ITB, mau sekolah lagi tidak ada uang tetapi sudah kebelet mau jadi entrepreneur, karena tidak mau terkekang oleh aturan main di perusahaan orang lain. Jadilah perusahaan beranggotakan, hmm, satu orang, yaitu saya sendiri, berkembang menjadi dua (nambah satu kurir, masih nyapu ngepel sendiri), lalu jadi puluhan, mengkoleksi klien-klien di berbagai negara, menunaikan beribu proyek, membangun sendiri studio tiga tingkat, memotret keliling berbagai benua, dari udara, darat hingga dalam lautan, berpameran ke manca negara, menerbitkan buku dan menebar ilmu di berbagai seminar. Kedengarannya mantap, bukan? Lagi-lagi maaf, tidak.

Mempertahankan JADP di garis depan tidak semudah, atau sekeren itu. Jadi ga mantap-mantap amat jatuhnya. Terlalu banyak kesalahan yang saya lakukan, mungkin bisa jadi buku baru: Uncountable Stupidity of Me, yang tebalnya bisa buat nimpuk guk-guk. Untungnya, karena saya terlalu pelupa, jadi yang kebodohan yang diinget juga sedikit.

Gosip yang sudah mampir juga tidak kalah canggih. Saya pernah digosipin jadi anak menteri sehingga bisa buat pameran di berbagai negara. Atau digosipin  jadi penanam modal Sour Sally. Pernah digosipin sebagai fotografer yang rela meninggalkan klien kalau tidak sependapat. Atau tidak sudi memotret orang jelek. Atau dikatakan saudaranya Delon (saya ini bapaknya!).

Sejak beberapa tahun lalu, JADP kembali menjadi mungil, dan berusaha sebaik-baiknya untuk tidak tumbuh besar kembali, karena saya ternyata tidak berminat mengurus perusahaan dengan orang banyak. Banyak mengurus jadi sedikit memotret. Tidak asik. Jadi, the company should stay small, the jobs should be big.

Supaya tidak kepanjangan, saya buat jadi bullet points saja ya, apa yang bisa saya inget-inget dalam 10 tahun aksi sepak terjang, jungkir balik, kayang, head-spin dari JADP (sebagian dalam bahasa Inggris, karena kebetulan kedengarannya lebih keren):

• Climbing up is never be that difficult. Keeping the team intact is.
• Fotografi memperkenalkan beribu hal baru: naik helikopter, melihat wanita telanjang (hmm, udah pernah sih sebelum mulai motret), mengunjungi Bahama, menerbitkan buku, makan konro dengan wapres, dirayu sosialita (ouuch), melihat sekolah miskin, tidur di jalan dan banyak lagi
• We have done too many mistakes to count, but I hope people remember our goodness more.
• God knows how much I love what I do, and how I hate doing its admin! I always lose my pen and can never find my stapler.
• Don’t talk about idealism when we are in our ideal situation. When we’re in deep shit, prove it.
• Tiga hal yang bikin saya merasa hidup: eksplorasi ide, memotret dan mendesain. Sisanya, saya jalani supaya tetap hidup.
• Entrepreneurship can be very lonely. Lucky I was well prepared when starting it.
• There is no such establishment. Changes constantly shake it and keep us dancing and rock n rollin!
• Good clients are such a treasure. So are good friends.
• Don’t get into dirty deals. Be a lawyer if you want to do so.
• Never give up. No one wants to deal with losers. Losing doesn’t make us a loser.

It is the 10th year of our journey. I hope we’ll be around for another 100 years and still inspire others in another 1000 years.

It was a fine afternoon in January 2010… clear and breezy. I could not take my eyes away from the horizon in the sea of Rajaampat, Papua. Being away from Jakarta always brings me a good mood to give a quality time to myself (an exception to my toilet affair every morning, which is awesome, but doesn’t include a million dollar view like what I had).

One thing I did remember: I forgot more things. It’s funny to see that our hunger of excitements only fuels our source of forgetfulness. I thought I better write down a few things that I considered interesting to remember in 2009, so I can remember to use it when trying to look smart in front of new clients.

So here I am, sitting at a cafe at Plasa Senayan at 3 pm, compiling those thoughts (and wondering why these people around me don’t have to go to work… lucky bastards…).

1. I have realized that the toughest battle is within myself, with myself. In most of the cases, I lost.
2. I realized that graphic design was a dying business. Most of the work from idiots have successfully satisfy idiot clients. The only problem is, there are more idiots than ever now.
3. I wrote more than ever in 2009. They were still terrible writings, but I hope they didn’t fail to make you an inspired reader.
4. Being more well-known brings lots of benefits. But I don’t think the downside is any less.
5. I am being blessed with my last exhibition and book, In My Room. It proved me that simple ideas work well in this complicated world.
6. The book made me talk in-depth with many of the public figures in Indonesia. You know what interests them the most? Themselves.
7. Advertising in Indonesia has been walking backwards. Less creative ideas sell more.
8. Photography is getting very popular. And so is Photoshop.
9. I realized that in LOVE, I knew nothing.
10. I lost a lot of things during the year. So much, so many. Maybe I needed to.
11. I have hurt many good people around me during the year. Some, deeply. I am truly sorry.
12. I thought I would have been tired with Facebook. Nope.
13. I was introduced to another amazing world wonder: Twitter. See, simple ideas, again, work.
14. Canon made its best move in photography with its 5D mark 2. My best value camera ever.
15. Macintosh stayed cool and unbeatable. If PC people think differently, it’s mostly because they haven’t tried both.
16. I was surprised to see the development of inkjet printer. Hewlett Packard did a good job.
17. Creative industry got dirtier every year. Getting hard to win pitches with honesty? Be a lawyer or start a restaurant.
18. I stopped doing pro-bono work. It’s a stupid concept.
19. My company became very slim. Love it. Less headache, less fix cost, more profit, more free time, more traveling.
20. Getting out of my comfort (creative) zone saved me from being a cocky asshole. I hope.
21. I judged a national design competition for the first time. I found it equally as fun as judging photo competitions.
22. I started to do sport again. Creative people, trust me, it helps.
23. I needed less sleep. Some said it’s a sign of getting old.

Saya tadi duduk di bangku tunggu penumpang di terminal satu bandara Soekarno Hatta, di lorong sebelum masuk ke gate. Bangku rendeng tiga tempat saya duduk berada di depan pintu keluar ruangan merokok, menyisakan jarak 50 cm dari pilar. Terlalu sempit untuk jadi lorong, terlalu lebar untuk tidak dilewati. Jadilah itu lorong ‘tidak resmi’ yang membuat jadi terdorong-dorong setiap orang memaksakan lewat. Fals.

Saya melihat logo sebuah universitas besar di Karawaci, yang menjadi universitas swasta termahal bertaraf internasional, yang jurusan desainnya pesat berkembang. Jarak antar huruf dalam logonya tidak berimbang, tidak ditata. Ternyata bikinan Singapura (syukurlah?). Fals.

Kasus lainnya. Majalah inflight magazine maskapai penerbangan lokal dengan ratusan pesawat barunya. Dalam satu edisi, dengan gampang saya temui lebih dari 10 salah ketik. Fals.

Dalam sebuah pameran foto beberapa rekan fotografer fashion. Foto terbingkai dengan berantakan, penuh gelombang karena gelembung udara. Susah pula dinikmati, karena lampu diatas bingkai terpasang terlalu rendah, memantul dengan suksesnya pas di tengah foto. Fals berat.

Ada sejuta hal serupa begitu gampang kita temui di berbagai pelosok Indonesia. Betapa anehnya, mengingat begitu banyak desain tradisional, bahkan primitif, asli Indonesia begitu terbebas dari nada fals, dan penuh dengan harmonisasi dan kesempurnaan. Tidak perlu saya jelaskan lagi contoh-contohnya.

Mengapa demikian? Karena para ‘desainer’ zaman leluhur kita dulu tidak ada yang lahir instan. Bila mereka harus memahat dan mengukir, itu lahir dari ribuan jam memahat dan mengukir, sampai boleh mengklaim dirinya ‘pengukir’. Singkatnya, perfection to excellence adalah kultur yang tergariskan sebelum boleh mengklaim diri.

Eksekusi memang bisa instan, begitu pula olah ide. Akan tetapi, yang namanya kepekaan, intuisi seni dan berbagai hal penting lainnya yang membuat seorang desainer menjadi benar-benar handal tidak akan pernah lahir instan. Itu semua adalah hasil asahan, kecintaan, komitmen serta kepedulian. Kepedulian akan kesempurnaan, yang kian hari semakin langka (karena tidak terlalu dibutuhkan juga?).

Fals terus, lagu tetap melantun.

I don’t think we can build the understanding of design through its definitions if we are really interested about knowing what it actually is. The most interesting part is the fact that our understanding may not stand too long as the design world is spinning so fast, we will be introduced to new experiences, new meanings every day. I think it is pretty much the same as the definition of marketing. If you ask marketers about this, they either come up with a very ambiguous answer or no answer at all.

I believe that design was born because of necessity. Human beings need solutions to their problems. They need solutions that function well and look beautiful at the same time. Early on, people started to insert aesthetic influence into these solution, making them artistically functional, and/or functionally beautiful. But it always comes back to the effectiveness of the solution. So we, designers, often call ourselves problem solvers, although not many remember this while actually laboring at our jobs.

Most of you know the design world is divided into several common categories: graphic, interior, fashion and product design. In very recent history this has expanded into more elaborate differntiations: visual communication, web, interior textile, new media design and so on. I now prefer not to put designs into categories. As design is a very dynamic discipline, it tends to change, mix, overlap and alter itself into something new, every time. Interior designers collaborate with graphics to make a big wall in a living room look good. Fashion designers such as Gianni Versace are involved in designing exotic car interiors. One of my all-time favorite product designers, Phillip Starck also designed a lot of really nice hotels as an architect.

One of the most essential parts in the design process is formulating the concept. A concept simply means the core thoughts that support a design. This is a very personal step. Some people form the concept at the beginning of the process, (sensoric) preferring to think before doing. Some prefer to do it while developing the design, (motoric) to think and design at the same time. Some do it after they finish the end result, (reverse engineering) do first, then think up something to make you sound truthful and wise. The funny thing is more than half of all designers out there don’t conceptualize at all. Barbaric as this may seem to those that do practice this crucial step in the process, machismo is no excuse. No thinking, no solutions. But why do so many designers bypass conceptualization? Because it’s bloody difficult. It requires deep knowledge, broad perspective and long, laborious research. Say, you wanted to design a wedding invitation. The end result might be very simple and elegant. But do you know how difficult it is to make something very simple, elegant and interesting? Imagine a clean white wall. All that empty space makes it extremely easy to spot any flaws.

Now let’s talk about the execution. Back to the wedding invitation example, a good designer has to pay attention to the smallest details. Is the material flexible enough? Is it thick enough? Is the space among the letters  equally balanced? What is the tonality of the fonts, is it romantic or elegant?

In my early years the most difficult part was not designing, it was the clients. There were, of course, nice clients who appreciated your work and vision, and finally trusted your skill and judgment. Although, being nice doesn’t necessarily mean being easy to please. Difficult clients tend to make us better designers as they like to challenge and question us. There is, however, another species; the clueless clients. They usually don’t know what they want, only what they don’t want, so they are never satisfied. These people spend a lot of time being frustrated. They change their minds as often as they change their clothes. In these relationships only experience can save the designer’s sanity. I personally tried not to take these patrons too seriously by compensating myself proportionately: the more annoying they were the more expensive my fee. The great thing about creative work is that you can be creative about the bill, too. If you’re getting it for free, chances are it’s not worth anything. Designers tend to consider their work just that, a full time job, and just like any other job, sometimes it’s “one more day, one more dollar.”

We designers tend to try and look cool, as well. Probably because of our love of beautiful things, we try very hard to design ourselves. Of course, part of this is just to differentiate ourselves from other designers. I usually end up with the same style everyday, black on black. My reasoning is the subdued look focuses the attention on my work, not me. Or at least, I hope it does. Sometimes my apparel can stand out in a room full of summer colors. In my college, students who tried too hard to look unique were usually not trying hard enough in their classes. I think my all black look is a work ethic holdover from my college days: I want to focus all my creative energy on my job, leaving none for my clothing selections.

Design is indeed a fascinating and unique world. It is one of the rare disciplines that values technology and the sublime, function and form. It is the star of the creative industry because it’s everywhere from the Guggenheim museum, the iPod to your favorite band’s logo. So please remember, if any of your children want to be a designer and you’d prefer them to be a doctor, someone had to design that scalpel, those glasses and that artificial heart. Design is a part of everything we use, and if it’s a good design we probably use it every day.

As written for High End Magazine, Mar 2009. Special thanks to Ryan McClure for his editing.

I have to say, HM Sampoerna is still one of my favorite clients. It respects creativity. The people have good taste. It always applies clean business and good corporate governance. No wonder Phillip Morris bought it from Sampoerna family with super deal price 3 years ago.

Published in March 2008, this annual report is the second I have done for them, 2 years after the first one. It was a good pitch. I won although my price was the highest (as always . They wanted 3 alternatives and I gave only one (why bother?).They wanted a rough concept for first viewing and I gave them full, finished design (I don’t present half-cooked).

Well, I personally hate losing.

The idea was very simple. The client wanted to talk about innovations as the main theme. So, I thought, let’s make an innovative annual report then, design wise. Enough talking (as I believe my writing is much more terrible than my design) you might better enjoy the pictures.

PS: How could I lose if I personally design most of the work for Sampoerna where most of the competitors only assigned their account executives and designers to do it?

At FGD Expo 2007, the biggest digital expo in Indonesia, 40 designers from all over the world participated in a poster exhibition that was held during the event. The theme was: One Globe One Flag.

When the commitee asked me to join, I felt very honored. And I loved the theme. Being raised as a Indonesia-born Chinese, life wasn’t very easy during my childhood in Medan. Racism was part of the struggle that I had to face everyday: at school, on the street, at malls. Luckily, I never categorize myself as ‘anyone’.

My mom grew up and spent a lot of her time in Holland (her Indonesia language still sounds very funny today) and my dad was also influenced a lot by the Dutch culture. So we, I and 2 siblings, had adopted a lot of mixed Western and Eastern cultures, which made us quite ‘in between’ of everything.

That made us belong to no races. Not to the native Indonesians, nor the Chinese. We all saw human beings as human beings, nothing more. I am glad that we did. That’s why I grew up in Catholic elementary and junior high school; and native-Indonesian-majority public high school; and another public university (the best in the country, Institut Teknologi Bandung . We didn’t speak Chinese, and still don’t. Most of the Chinese in Medan couldn’t believe it hahaha!

This little story of my life became the inspiration for my poster. It takes courage to step out of our comfort zones, visit others’ domains, explore their cultures and be part of them. Let the walls down, open our hearts and welcome new breeze of differences in our lifes.

I am telling you, it’s worth it. Let the differences become the supplement of our creativity.

PS. When Stefan Sagmeister saw the poster, he was looking for the designer, and then shook my hand saying, “Well done Jerry.” That made my day.