A Presentation Well Done.. I Think?

Lalallala~~ very happy and giddy. Why? Coz presentation is over!! Seriously!! The major burden is off now! The dolls that I have spent all my mom's hard earned money on as well as the reason for all my fears and hopes, have now been stashed in some musty store room on level 2, Design 2.

I love my work. I talk to it, I plead with it not to give me trouble, I kissed it when I did it well, and I bid it farewell when it's time to let go. Again, I stress, I love my work. But I don't have that kind of attachment to my designs like my other friends do. Some view selling their art work as selling off a bit of themselves. I do not disagree with it but I don't see the problem of selling my work (if there's someone who wanna buy it). Don't go yabba-yabba about how your artwork is about your passion and not money. What's wrong with encountering someone who appreciates your work as well as you do to want to buy it?

Anyway, have gone completely off track! This post is about presentation! Gak!! When I arrived in class today to get ready for presentation, my worst fear was confirmed. After listening to all the chink-chang-chink-chiang on the way in the car, the glass on one of my packagings had come off. I quickly grabbed my glue gun (thank God I have the good sense to bring it along) and smuggled that packaging out of the class. I ran into the photolab, searched for an outlet and shoved the plug in. Ah... I had to change three outlets until I get one that electricity actually flows into. The few minutes waiting for the glue gun to heat was torturous... Alas, all is well!

I think I did okay with my presentation. I was so nervous that my hands shook. Which was a pretty normal occurance for me. I got shot with a question I see coming, "Why did you do only three packagings? I thought we're supposed to do six."

Quoting Eve: Nobody is stupid enough to do only three when six is required.

Of course I didn't say that, but does it not make sense that I do only three because I have other stuff to cover it up with? Anyway, I answered that I was doing some promotional stuff as well as actually designing my products, that I got permission to only do three. And then a follow-up question: "But I thought it's about packaging."

Oi~ hello. What's your problem??!!

I meekly answered, "bla bla bla... most importantly, I got approval to make the promotional items and only three packagings."

Oh!! I can just smack myself when those words are out of my mouth. I am a firm believer that no matter what kind of approval you got, you're soly responsible for your work. Even if it sank in the end, it's stupid and unprofessional to blame it all on having got the green light from the lect. It's like very irresponsible to shirk your own responsibility as a designer.

Umph. Will do better next time when asked questions like this. But then again, I don't think that I did anything less. They just did more.

I don't like the presentations this time around. Never mind the fact that we're all in a dungeon looking room with no chairs to sit on, we're not encouraged at all to ask questions. Plus, no feedbacks from the lecturer. The most proposterous comment from the lecturer, not to me, thankfully: "Why are all your packagings the same size? It's stated in the brief that you're to make six different packagings in different designs and sizes."

What the $%#&!!! What kind of a comment is that??!! If that's a problem, shouldn't he as the lecturer point it out during the numerous tutorials we go to him for? He has got nothing good to say then, only to save the most outrageous bits during presentation?? If what he said is true, a lot of us in class flunked the project, including me.

Haih...

It was great seeing all the different designs that my classmates came up with. Some of them made some really astounding improvements in terms of their skills and design. There were many times that I thought to myself, "When did they get so good?!" I'd better buck up! Better polish my skills if I don't wanna get left behind.

There was a problem with a lot of the designs though. I'm surprised that the lecturer didn't point it out, actually, shouldn't be surprised. A lot of the works there are designed for design's sake. They are designed to look pretty. You go ooh-aah over a piece of packaging, but how well does it work anyway? Does it make sense to make a huge box to store a water bottle? A pretty box simply to put in a keychain?

They are all good designs, some impressive with the quality of finishings, but how practical are they? Once again I took the easy way out with my work. My work was not perfect, it's really not practical, it's also to simply look pretty. But my excuse it that they are collectibles, their purpose is to look pretty. What's their excuse?


This is my favourite design of the lot. To me, it embodies a good design plus practicality. Not only does it look good, fantastic, actually, the design also works! It's not merely for display, but functional as well.

Wanna see the rest of my classmate's works? Check out my Facebook album. It's a brilliant opportunity to go ga-ga over some of the crazy works. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, please feel free to comment in that album. :)