Independent, culturally rooted and globally active, 33.3TM operates within the intersection of creativity, business, technology and culture.
Under The Spotlight
Najmi Arifin
Graphic Designer
Our latest addition to the 33.3 roster, graphic designer Najmi Arifin emphasises that the key to flourishing in the creative scene is to be adaptable and accepting of any new changes in the industry.
01 How has living in a multicultural environment shaped your creative practice?
In a design context, I feel like working in a multicultural environment has given me an openness to multiple choices, for example the way you want to approach your work to a certain crowd or targeted audience you can engage with a different perspective.
Somehow by collecting the briefs from the clients or for a project you will get to know more on the local market knowledge and insights to make the brand more valuable. So all of these factors will influence your creative practice on a certain project and I found it’s more on giving the benefits to my creative process.
02 What would you say is the best thing about being a creative in Malaysia?
Back in the days, a career in design was perceived as “just another hobby” and hence, it’s value weighs differently than those white-collared professions. Some people also think that if you’re not smart, art or design career is the choice for you but as a matter of fact, designers have the same weight of responsibility defining the visual environment for the people.
Flash forward, I see the best thing about being creative right now in Malaysia is you get more people supporting your career and people slowly find that graphic design is such an important role in any industry.
After I finished my study I found that it’s quite hard to find a place for an internship and you don’t really have much choice of experience that you wanted to explore but now I have seen almost everyday like cool brands or agencies looking for interns and hiring fresh grad-students for their projects.
03 What methods/avenues can aspiring creatives utilise to grow in Malaysia?
I red about how “AI (Artificial Intelligence) can replace designers” recently and how designers will evolve from being creators to curators.
It may sound intimidating but that’s already beginning to happen now and you can see how people can have easy access and learn how to use Canva or any free apps to do a poster nowadays, nothing is wrong with that but considering why people still need to hire a graphic designer in the future?
So I think the best method is to always adapt with the design principle when you’re working as a designer. For example when we design, we should not only think about how products will be experienced at particular settings, but also how the product can adapt depending on changing context and user decision.
04 In your opinion, what is a creative’s role in today’s society?
Creative’s role is to shape the reality we live in through our work.
I often ask myself when people are buying a product that looks bad, so do we consider that the audience are stupid and having a bad taste in design? Or they actually do not have too many options that are served in the market.
So reflecting on this question, as a designer you are responsible to create a new narrative for the audience and it will offer real change for people.
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 did one music related project with my friends in collaboration with Fred Perry (MY) last year. It’s a concept album compilation bridging the gap between the local design and the music scene.
The project aims to support the local music industry and encourage the public to celebrate the physical material released. The release is called Botanika, and the whole design reflects the atmosphere of Malaysia’s interdisciplinary creative scene as well as a characteristic viewpoint on nature.
We haven’t released it online because it feels like we’re neglecting the idea of the physical release so I can’t share the link for you to explore but I do have extra copies with me if anyone is interested!
06 If Malaysia was an art style, what would it be?
Our latest addition to the 33.3 roster, graphic designer Najmi Arifin emphasises that the key to flourishing in the creative scene is to be adaptable and accepting of any new changes in the industry.
In a design context, I feel like working in a multicultural environment has given me an openness to multiple choices, for example the way you want to approach your work to a certain crowd or targeted audience you can engage with a different perspective.
Somehow by collecting the briefs from the clients or for a project you will get to know more on the local market knowledge and insights to make the brand more valuable. So all of these factors will influence your creative practice on a certain project and I found it’s more on giving the benefits to my creative process.
Back in the days, a career in design was perceived as “just another hobby” and hence, it’s value weighs differently than those white-collared professions. Some people also think that if you’re not smart, art or design career is the choice for you but as a matter of fact, designers have the same weight of responsibility defining the visual environment for the people.
Flash forward, I see the best thing about being creative right now in Malaysia is you get more people supporting your career and people slowly find that graphic design is such an important role in any industry.
After I finished my study I found that it’s quite hard to find a place for an internship and you don’t really have much choice of experience that you wanted to explore but now I have seen almost everyday like cool brands or agencies looking for interns and hiring fresh grad-students for their projects.
I red about how “AI (Artificial Intelligence) can replace designers” recently and how designers will evolve from being creators to curators.
It may sound intimidating but that’s already beginning to happen now and you can see how people can have easy access and learn how to use Canva or any free apps to do a poster nowadays, nothing is wrong with that but considering why people still need to hire a graphic designer in the future?
So I think the best method is to always adapt with the design principle when you’re working as a designer. For example when we design, we should not only think about how products will be experienced at particular settings, but also how the product can adapt depending on changing context and user decision.
Creative’s role is to shape the reality we live in through our work.
I often ask myself when people are buying a product that looks bad, so do we consider that the audience are stupid and having a bad taste in design? Or they actually do not have too many options that are served in the market.
So reflecting on this question, as a designer you are responsible to create a new narrative for the audience and it will offer real change for people.
I did one music related project with my friends in collaboration with Fred Perry (MY) last year. It’s a concept album compilation bridging the gap between the local design and the music scene.
The project aims to support the local music industry and encourage the public to celebrate the physical material released. The release is called Botanika, and the whole design reflects the atmosphere of Malaysia’s interdisciplinary creative scene as well as a characteristic viewpoint on nature.
We haven’t released it online because it feels like we’re neglecting the idea of the physical release so I can’t share the link for you to explore but I do have extra copies with me if anyone is interested!
Still-life collage