Independent, culturally rooted and globally active, 33.3TM operates within the intersection of creativity, business, technology and culture.
Under The Spotlight
Alisya Fairuz
Art Director & Designer
The graphical identity of Malaysia according to Alisya Fairuz is still young, and she believes that now is the best time for creatives to collaborate, uplift, and flourish to collectively create an identity that is uniquely Malaysian.
01 How has living in a multicultural environment shaped your creative practice?
Personally growing up with such diverse surroundings, I never really gave so much thought about it as ‘multicultural’ but rather as a given, it is a lot about looking inwards and unraveling the norms that I am used to.
Most of the time my surroundings are like minded creatives that I tend to take for granted the susceptibility and the acceptance rate received but the moment I leave this bubble and enter another one, it is a lot more on being adaptable and understanding what can be sacrificed and what can be taught.
I personally believe there is ego deep rooted in every creative that yearns to be heard but there should also be tolerance to be able to work with various kinds of people other than what we are used to.
02 What would you say is the best thing about being a creative in Malaysia?
The fact that we are still such a young nation yearning to find our identity. Everything we know now of Malaysia is what was perceived or given as the staple of the Malaysian identity when there is still so much to explore.
03 What methods/avenues can aspiring creatives utilise to grow in Malaysia?
Collaborate and grow with your local creatives and the people around you. Pave the way as the next generation and don’t solely depend on established creatives for opportunities but rather make your own.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and build relationships more than just to network.
04 In your opinion, what is a creative’s role in today’s society?
A responsible approach would be to serve a better purpose, a solution provider, to fix, to cater but in my honest opinion, it is also to push boundaries, break comfort zones as well as to persuade and influence.
05 Being Malaysian also means being exposed to a melting pot of culture. Could you share with us your favourite work you’ve done which is heavily influenced by Malaysian culture?
I made this poster design earlier this year for EINHUNDERT, a collective based in Berlin in collaboration with Adidas Germany with the main brief to design a fake ad in their zine. With that said, I wanted to reinterpret the biggest ad I had ever seen, which was the Wawasan 2020.
Growing up I witnessed this saying plastered everywhere..schools, billboards, teachers/parents dreamt about it and we sang it every year in school during independence day which has now become more of a meme to our nation.
I took the meme approach of incorporating flying cars, greens, an overall pretty and bright aesthetic that hides a burning ‘safe house’ as a symbol of basic needs neglected.
06 If Malaysia was an art style, what would it be?
Full on scattered, maximal design. If post concrete jungle was a style that could encapsulate our surroundings of urbanisation, new development popping out like mushrooms and our rich nature outside of the city with everything just full blown messy.
We hear the sound of construction every day, cars honking outside of our windows from the traffic, broken roads unattended, pakcik makcik gerai selling their kuih shaded by new giant buildings, it’s mostly loud and a mess.
The graphical identity of Malaysia according to Alisya Fairuz is still young, and she believes that now is the best time for creatives to collaborate, uplift, and flourish to collectively create an identity that is uniquely Malaysian.
Personally growing up with such diverse surroundings, I never really gave so much thought about it as ‘multicultural’ but rather as a given, it is a lot about looking inwards and unraveling the norms that I am used to.
Most of the time my surroundings are like minded creatives that I tend to take for granted the susceptibility and the acceptance rate received but the moment I leave this bubble and enter another one, it is a lot more on being adaptable and understanding what can be sacrificed and what can be taught.
I personally believe there is ego deep rooted in every creative that yearns to be heard but there should also be tolerance to be able to work with various kinds of people other than what we are used to.
The fact that we are still such a young nation yearning to find our identity. Everything we know now of Malaysia is what was perceived or given as the staple of the Malaysian identity when there is still so much to explore.
Collaborate and grow with your local creatives and the people around you. Pave the way as the next generation and don’t solely depend on established creatives for opportunities but rather make your own.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and build relationships more than just to network.
A responsible approach would be to serve a better purpose, a solution provider, to fix, to cater but in my honest opinion, it is also to push boundaries, break comfort zones as well as to persuade and influence.
I made this poster design earlier this year for EINHUNDERT, a collective based in Berlin in collaboration with Adidas Germany with the main brief to design a fake ad in their zine. With that said, I wanted to reinterpret the biggest ad I had ever seen, which was the Wawasan 2020.
Growing up I witnessed this saying plastered everywhere..schools, billboards, teachers/parents dreamt about it and we sang it every year in school during independence day which has now become more of a meme to our nation.
I took the meme approach of incorporating flying cars, greens, an overall pretty and bright aesthetic that hides a burning ‘safe house’ as a symbol of basic needs neglected.
Full on scattered, maximal design. If post concrete jungle was a style that could encapsulate our surroundings of urbanisation, new development popping out like mushrooms and our rich nature outside of the city with everything just full blown messy.
We hear the sound of construction every day, cars honking outside of our windows from the traffic, broken roads unattended, pakcik makcik gerai selling their kuih shaded by new giant buildings, it’s mostly loud and a mess.
Nothing structured, planned or strategic.