Being App-ed (all puns intended)

Learning how to be apt at things are really not the easiest things to do on the list. Especially so when there is a timeline give, a deadline, and also criticism and changes proposed to almost everything original you can come up with.

For a while on my learning (work really but, ah wells...) journey, designing mobile applications has been the most tough of all the graphic design studying I have to do on my own. It was indeed fun while the fun lasted, but mostly it was hours of OT and tears that endured in my memory... (QwQ))

1. Add-Verts

Although this isn't my first app design, it has been one of the app designs I treasured working on. I believe it can be found on the playstore even now.

I wouldn't say I'm proud of this one, but I'm really appreciative of the chance to design this app. It gave me the chance to learn many things about how basic elements of design and functionalities of general mobile applications work. Besides the unfamiliarity of graphic design, I had the chance to animate the shining of the jewel on the loading screen. Ahhh~ the familiarity of animating is almost a near heart-touching consolation amidst the struggle to learn new things. :)

Working and communicating directly with the client was also another major set of knowledge I gained while on this project. I was very lucky she was a very nice and kind lady.

2. Marine App

Next up is an app on the marine facilities. It basically works like Carousell app but they only feature marine field related products. It has already been launched on both appstore and playstore.

The Marine App app started out to seem a simple concept but the full UI screen design was really not slightest bit near simple. This is yet another one out of the many apps that I have designed that has endured in my memory. A milestone for me I suppose. The thought process that goes on beyond the beauty of an app, this app taught me the importance of designing in the thought for good user experience. The app is extensive, linking not only from obvious functions like main menu and browsing of products, but also the user profile, the chat function, the notification function and many other more minor functions but all the same important in the app. 

I guess the UX (user experience) of an app is ultimately the make or break for an app. A white elephant cannot make the ever-changing tastes of users keep an app for the long-term, only an app that is useful, relevant and user-friendly. 

3. OINK!

This is an in-house bill reminder app, aim mainly for the local users. OINK! has already been launched on playstore and is coming soon onto appstores!

As you can see from the sample screens, this app takes a totally different turn in terms of design style from the rest of the apps that I use to design. Everything is to-the-point and easy to understand. To be honest, I am especially proud of this app. From the concept down to the smallest function of a button has been proposed and designed by myself. 

Other assets that ensued the publishing of the app includes small posters made for Facebook marketing.










 4. Lobang King
Another in-house app that has yet to be launched in the market. In a nutshell, it is a shopping-base app that is basically aimed directly at local users.




This set of UI has been a real memorable set. It started out VASTLY different with slight differences to the UX and functionality to the app project. Initially, it was made more like a Taobao shopping app, a mess of information is being cramped in one single page and there are a zillion buttons to a zillion linking screens. It portrayed the aura of cheap shopping well through the initial design. Although everyone thought it was fine, I thought the app concept screens have to change. It is nice to tell people they are looking for cheap things here, but to me, shopping is not all about getting cheap things. I wanted it to be an experience where it becomes something that is enjoyable and easy (on top of great prices). Therefore, just the screen conceptualising itself took months to evolve to that you are looking at now.
Although it took so long in the making, it was a common baby of everyone in the team and we revised it over and over again. Every time a small change like thickness of icons, font usage, image placements, etc. This is by far the most inclusive and extensive app that I have done to date and I have to say, will be looking forward to the response of the public once it is published.



This is all I have to show for apps for now. I have only picked out those that are more memorable for me on my design journey and I'm really glad to be sharing this to the world. It makes me feel like my hardwork and OTs are being reaffirmed and possibly appreciated in a form that only writing for myself can make me feel.

Listing them all down this way really makes me see my growth. Learning things and seeing the growth is amazing, isn't it?

It has been almost 2 year. I cannot say I have been awesome but life has generally been well. 

I have been working. 

First on a Children's cartoon called "Hairy Legs". Check it out! I really loved that animation and the process of bringing it to life onscreen was undoubtedly fun. The animating team was an amazing bunch of people, they really love being fun. I would say, it wasn't one of the best paying job (monetarily), but it could easily be one of the most fun working environment I've experienced. As for the cartoon, you probably can find them on youtube or kisscartoon. :) 

Next up, 1 season of "Hairy Legs" was completed, and so did our contract. Thereafter, I went to a design firm where I picked up graphic designing for the first time.

GOD IT WAS SO TOUGH.

The learning was fun to be honest, but the pressing timelines against my speed of learning was a really steep curve. It has been an absolutely arduous journey for me. 

Anyway, just updating on some Print Media designs first!

This is an example of a multipaged brochure of a shipping company.

The company was surprisingly not as rigid as I thought they would be, choosing to go for a more playful look for their brochure. This was one of my earliest Print Media project and I had great fun with it.

Here, a construction and renovation company is looking to get a flyer design done.
It took a really long time for a simple 2 sided (different language per side) flyer. Yes, it sounded like an easy job to me at first too! But I soon realise not all clients are agreeable to some designs even though they have no idea about graphic designs themselves. They keep coming back with changes and the project really dragged out. This was a not-so-fun project but still a great learning experience.

Next, this is a project I thought was a pity that the client did not pick my design to go with their product (which mean I didn't succeed in pitching for my company. Yikes.). They wanted a different look from the usual pesticides in the market for their new pesticide product.
So I came up with 2 designs and I went down with another colleague to their office and tried selling the design. I went with Retro and Nouveau. Sketching the little insects (esp the cockroaches) really gave me shivers, but oh well, I like the way the design turned out. :)
Like I said it was a pity, yes, but it was still a pretty good effort in my own defence.

Alright, just these for now. Print Media designs for this post.

Do look forward to more posts. It will be some dramatically different stuff. 

And most are the reasons for the steep learning curve. Haha (cry).

A goddess for luck.

I have a friend with always the worst luck, for as long as I've known him.
So to make the long story short. I drew him something for luck.

This might be the most cliché of rendition for luck, but it was with my well wishes and good will.

 The goddess of luck. To smirk upon all the bad things that will happen to him and keep him safe.

Goddess of Luck, Digital.

The Gurts

Created a series of guts as character design and maybe just playing with some insides concepts.

I've wanted to create some kids level of comedy health awareness stories without making it too preachy, so I thought I would make the characters their own body innards. Who better to tell you about how to take care of your health than your own body?

Having said that, this series of (incomplete) guts characters were made for concept preaching but wasn't too favourable, apparently because children do not have innards. Nevermind that, I'm still compelled to finish up the character line-ups and perhaps complete the stories in a smaller scale of comic strips. And perhaps rate it unfit for children.


1.  Le Haart.

    The head of the Gurts clan and also the main guy who calls the shot. Maybe.

2. Sir. Leevar.

   The grouchy old man of the team. But not to worry, he may grumble and grouch much, but he's a nice guy.

3. Kirly and Wurly.

   The conjoined twins of the group. Kirly is the big younger brother while Wurly is the small older brother.        They usually can't stand each other, that's why they just slither on the ground.

4. Glahturn.

   He is slower and much stupider than the rest. But for some strange reasons, he is the most influencial in the    team.

Comic Strips for the past.

I had a clique of unique friends in high school.
We usually are in a group of 3. And because of my name, 熊, which translates to bear, we have been referred to as bears in drawings or ours. We had so much fun in our days of youth. Agh, I sound so old.

One of us loves gaming.
One of us loves snacking.
One of us loves manga.

And thus our peacefully-unexciting-but-still-kind-of-fun adventure begins...

Sketches in pencil paper.

Digital illustrated.

And... Those were the days!

ネコとウサギ物語

Memories are special, and humans are forgetful, despite the fact that they are creatures made up of memories. Therefore we made art, and paintings and photographies and anything at all, just to force us into remembering, to treasure forever what we treasure at the moment.

This time it's a personal current project!
Aiming to finish painting all 13 of these sketches within the year I hope. Here is the first 4!

 ネコとウサギ物語(The Cat and Bunny Story)