COMMENTARY

These ‘Post-CircuitBreaker’ Motivational Posters Will Help You Stay Positive As CB Loosens

We spoke to two local creatives, who clearly had a productive CB

BY: JONATHAN LEONG
HEAD OF CONTENT
11th JUNE 2020

As people start coming out from their caves and try to adapt to the new normal at work or play, two creative professionals decided to make the best out of their recent #CB time.

With work projects stalled or delayed and forced to crack their brains to keep their spirits up at home - two local creatives: a creative agency owner and a photographer, decided to use zoom calls to collaborate on a motivational poster set…thereby turning lemons into lemonade.

How did each of you end up in this line of work and how has #CB (Circuit Breaker) and the rapidly evolving global situation made you tweak your work strategies?

Hao: Creating visuals has always been by passion but I took the leap to study it in University. From there I worked for established agencies such as BBH to fine tune my craft before starting my own consultancy. As creatives we thrive on active collaboration and energy derived from in-person discussions, #CB was a wake up call in terms of how certain processes could be fine tuned and streamlined. Digital won’t erase the need for human connectivity, but we’ve had to adapt quickly to using things like zoom or other online tools to keep things going.

Jing Wei: I studied photography in NTU and picked up freelance photography to support myself despite the epic challenges along the way. I’ve never looked back since devoting my time 100% to professional photography and don’t plan to. While this global pandemic has made things more challenging as all outdoor commercial project shoots were impacted during #CB, I used the time to touch up my portfolio and reconnect with clients online to better plan and understand their future needs. Better to get semi-constrained now than risk a full blown pandemic - that would impact things going back to normalcy, which would definitely be detrimental to many industries.

What were some of the highlights of your career and some new challenges you've experienced with this #CB period and the global COVID19 situation?

Hao Soh: My studio got to work on projects such as Singapore Grand Prix as well as more experimental visual projects and curatorial work with Marina Bay Sands Art Science Museum. As with all other industries some of our projects got outright cancelled or delayed, so we are adapting ourselves to the situation to ride out this ‘apocalypse’ and to emerge stronger.

Jing Wei: I got to work on household name brands such as LEGO, which mean the world to me as I grew up playing with LEGO. While COVID19 has impacted the photography industry, I see this point as an important rubicon which the industry has arrived at - separating those who are committed to this trade versus those who are only ‘dabbling’ in it. Being able to deal with the ‘non-creative’ aspects of the job such as crisis communication and being adaptable in projects which are fast evolving especially now - is highly important. A professional photographer’s job is just like any other career, you need to have a combination of skills to stay relevant - it’s not just about being creative.

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What keeps you going when everything points towards choosing an easier path?

Hao: I love challenges and not being conformed within my comfort zone when experimenting. I find that very satisfying if the end result is achieved. Even if it's not achieved, the little victories along the way makes the entire journey very fulfilling. if you don't try, you never know.

Jing Wei: The creative satisfaction of crafting the image you originally envisioned in your mind when working on a project. It’s incredible, there are few jobs such as this. For example these “Post Circuit Breaker” motivation posters we created. In this day and age of social media it is easy to keep talking about ideas or appear ‘busy’, but to get your hands dirty to actually translate thoughts into reality is where the juice lies. Anybody can have an idea, but it takes real work to make tangible things happen.

Continued below…

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Why did you guys choose to work on this self-initiated project?

Hao: While some people rediscover new passions/ hobbies (such as baking, haha), we found ourselves initially unmotivated creatively during the early stage when the pandemic first took hold and #CB happened. Being confined to a fixed location is usually not conducive for me and at times I really lacked inspiration and that resulted in thoughts of self doubt, and dwelling on emotions due to all the uncertainty. When I saw Jing Wei producing some initial photo sets at home, I thought we could collaborate and see how to leverage our combined skills into something meaningful.

Jing Wei: Covid19 brought all of our projects and jobs to a stop. Sometimes you can either dig a hole and go deeper in it and feel helpless in the larger scheme of things or figure something out. The pandemic wasn’t something that seemed to be going away anytime soon. We had to find something to create or be bored to death.

Outside of work related stuff, how are the both of you personally dealing with COVID19?

Hao Soh: Attending webinars to better improve one's mental well-being and creative skill sets.

Jing Wei: Reading, Trading (it helps to have some savings as a creative professional, a tip all young creatives should heed!), Netflix.

As these two Singaporean creative professionals have demonstrated, sometimes all you need is that spark to keep motivated as the #CB situation continues to loosen gradually in the midst of this global pandemic. Download the “Post Circuit Breaker” Motivational poster pack for your office here: https://bit.ly/2UotdYu

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