The bridge between student life and the real world - My Graduation!

On the 19th day of December 2009, I got my first degree in Design.

It was a very memorable day! Entering the hall with butterflies dancing in my tummy, I felt a mixture of different feelings - sad, happy, overwhelmed, nervous, excited, Ecstatic!

We felt like big celebrities as we entered the hall. Photographers, proud parents and other loved ones snapped our photos from every angle as we made our way to our seats.

I was really happy to be selected as an award winner! I won an award for "Best in Advertising Design" and I felt like my hard work had really paid off after all the years of Designaholism :)
This is where I must thank God for giving me the strength to help me through the enduring times, especially in my last semester when I had just lost my father. I don't know how I manage to get everything done. Thank you God.

I also thank Mostafa for his support, inspiration and strength during the breakdowns, company during the lonely days and nights and help in my photography-related assignments by being the best model I could ever find! Thank you so much Mushy!!

I thank my family - Mom, dad and sis for their support and allowing me to go for my dreams. Without my dreams I am just a little living veggie. Thank you so much!

Last but not the least, I thank my friends for the inspiration. Advertising is all about thinking for creative ideas. When my mind couldn't think of any more ideas, discussing them with friends really helped to expand them. My friends also helped lighten those dark cloudy days when stress took over my life!

Oh, I must also thank Starbucks and Coffee in general! Most of my best ideas came over coffee!! :)

As I say goodbye to my student life at Limkokwing University, I feel a sense of pride. I learnt a lot in my stay here. From the little girl who was used to being spoonfed, I have evolved into the young woman who can take care of herself no matter what situation she is in.

For those reading my blog, I will sign off by giving a few words of advice.
- Never underestimate yourself - if others can do it, so can you, they are humans too after all!
- People will always try to bring you down. Ignore them and show them what you can do!
- Loneliness is just a state of mind. You can use your time alone in doing things that you always wanted to do, in building a better future by fully utilizing your time. Do anything. Just don't waste it by feeling lonely. You know what they say about idle minds!
- Don't forget to pray! Always remember God at all times.

I will end here for now; When I am more successful, I will add a few more words of advice. I still have a lot of mistakes to make and learn from for now :)

Reflecting on my Goals

When I enrolled for BA in Graphic Design, I knew that the field I would thrive in was Advertising.
I loved it from the time I heard about it. I enjoyed it from from the time I was younger and would lip sync or act out all those ads that came up on TV!

What should one do when he or she is faced with a dilemma - A love for Graphic Design and a deeper love for writing?
The solution is simple, combine the two and go for Advertising!

That is exactly what I did and I must say, I loved it!

Every waking hour in this field was spent in research and thinking of the craziest ideas for the craziest products! I mean, seriously! It was a wild ride. We had products such as memorial parks, adult shops, beers, singlets and what not!

One person who made this great fun was my lecturer Mr. Henry Lee - he taught with passion and dedicated all his time to students. With him, it felt like working in a real agency. I can never thank him enough for the knowledge he instilled in us.

Now that graduation is approaching, I have discovered I am once again a top student in my Advertising class :) I feel really motivated to pursue my career in this field and I really hope the universe helps me get to that.

Thank you all! and keep checking to see my work posted here! :-)

Explanation on the CRC Ads below

The ads below happen to be my latest assignment, where we were required to make a campaign for CRC under UNICEF to bring international awareness on child abuse and ask people to join hands with this convention in order to get more support and protect the children.

This was my idea: make it shocking, controversial and expose the truth.

A designer is not a person who just fools around designing creative things, a designer uses creativity to express his or her concerns and plays a huge part in the well-being of the society. At least that's how I define it.

Wow is this for real?!

The new ads for CRC are out and the images are simply horrifying! The ads are all over people's blogs and it made me aware of all the horrors in the world; making my heart go to the children who suffer in these nightmares.
I don't know about you, but I am definitely joining hands with CRC after this!

I am back!

I have been dormant for nearly a month now, and being a newly joined blogger; it's really not healthy. I think am finally ready to blog myself out again.

I shall continue from where I left off, that is, posting my work and sharing my ideas.

I am currently in my final semester in university, studying advertising as my major.
I have a looooong list of assignments awaiting my lovely touch..hopefully they shall receive it during the mid-term break next week. Juggling full-time studies and house chores is really not easy; but when i reap the fruits of it at the end of every semester, I feel really proud that I made it :)
so guys...keep visiting, and if you think my work is worthy of a comment, pls do leave one - be it good or bad so I can know where I stand and what I need to improve.

Till my next post,goodbye and take care! :-)

I love you dad

I never got to launch this blog as a week after my last entry, on the 25th of June 2009, my beloved father passed away. It came as a huge shock to all of us as he was a perfectly healthy man. I have still not gotten over this shock. I am left with thousands of "If only's..."
If only I had met him one last time instead of being away for over 5 months...
If only I had sms-ed him 20 minutes earlier so he could read my final I LOVE U...
If only I could have talked longer to him on his birthday 10 days before he left us...
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.
.
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If only I had said a proper goodbye the last time he dropped me off at the airport knowing I will never meet him again...

But I know that instead of lingering on these regrets and wishes I can concentrate on doing what he wanted me to do and make him proud of me.

May Allah rest his soul in eternal peace.

I love you Papa.

Triumph Print Ad Campaign

We were given this assignment where we had to make a print ad campaign for Triumph Bra/Lingerie under the concept of 'Art of Seduction.' It was a very exciting yet stressful experience, as all my classmates went model-hunting for girls who would agree to pose in lingerie. I thought of making my idea a little different, without actually showing the product. My idea was "Triumph Lingerie reveals your inner desires." These desires are Passionate and Forbidden desires, as well fantasies. The props I used were Apple (forbidden fruit), strawberry, and a lollipop. My theme was red and black as I believe it's a very attractive and sensual combination. So here it is... Have a look and let me know what you think about it :-)

My Logo!

Great News! I finally got done with my semester today! It was such a huge relief to hand in my three hundred and ninety-page Design Management journal. This journal was a nightmare, but I felt so proud when I had it all printed out. The special thing about this one was that it had no research. It was all my own written analysis - no plagiarism involved. So I kinda feel proud about that, and it has made me start thinking (once again) about writing some books/novels.

Anyway, as soon as I got home, I started designing my own logo.
I have decided to call my work "NP Designs." The NP being my initials, of course.

Well here it is. Sweet and Simple. Just like me :)

My first ever blog entry!! Woohoo!

Quite unbelievable ey? I know I am kinda out-dated. Well as they say, better late than never. If the world's really ending in 2012 I should get moving and try some things out.

Well, I have a lot of work compiled from my previous semesters in university that have never been displayed. This is an insult to art, since art is meant to be displayed. So I am planning to post my work here - few at a time - so that I can share my ideas, and get some feedback from you all. I know it is not the best work, but I shall get there some day...before 2012.

God! I seem to be obsessed with 2012...hehe...I have been reading and watching too much about it lately so its just stuck in my head, but I don't really believe in it. Unless some very crazy people start obsessing with the prophecies and create war or God forbid, some asteroid really hits the Earth. Anyway, back to my topic.

So I will be posting my work here, some photography/videos, designs, and some poems that I wrote. Please feel free to share your views and comment on them!

Firsts are always special......so I dont really feel like ending this blog entry..therefore, I'm not going to sign off..
:)