A big congrats to Artisa Tumiwa, one of our 30 TDK Awards’ winners for 2018. A Swinburne University graduate from Jakarta, their work was chosen by Dem from Ustwo: “I’m impressed by Artisa’s approach to framing problems, taking a challenge-process-solution approach to describing work helps to contextualise the projects in this entry. It’s also great to see that the users are considered when designing the final solution”. We asked Artisa to answer a few questions for next years TDK Awards’ hopefuls.
What are some of your earliest creative memories and what lead you into design?
As cliché as it sounds, I enjoyed drawing ever since I was a kid. I think it mostly came from my love of watching a lot of cartoons which include Foster’s Home, Powerpuff Girls, Hey Arnold and The Simpsons to name a few (I remember I’d wake up at 5 in the morning just to watch The Simpsons’ back to back episodes!). I also had the chance to grow up in an environment where I got to learn and explore about design. I looked up to my mom a lot, although she didn’t pursue a design related career (at first), she once showed me her high school journal which was filled with various hand letterings and doodles that were made with the ever-so-popular 2 pointed markers back in the day. From then on, it inspired me to explore more of my drawing abilities. To add to that, my computer teacher in elementary school was also a big part of my creative influence - where she introduced my classmates and I to the ~digital~ world of design, a software called Kid Pix! She also taught the basics of Microsoft Powerpoint, which I guess could be said as the beginning to how I got introduced to layout design and typography.
*What was your plan for graduating and what actually happened? *
Just a few weeks after finishing my final semester of university, I wanted to immediately start working in a graphic design studio - preferably in Melbourne. Instead, I had the opportunity to create a concert visual for an Indonesian musician whose music I really loved! I have made animations and visuals for a few other musicians before, but this was for the whole 9 songs in the album! From there I started to get commissioned for other music-related works. So after graduation I headed back to Jakarta, Indonesia and had the chance to work on many interesting freelance projects ever since!
What has been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt along the way?
I’m definitely still learning a lot, but some things I like to remind myself with are: 1. Always have the willingness to learn new things 2. You don’t need to please everyone on the entire planet 3. Don’t be too anxious about the future, just go with the flow 4. Apply your ideas on to paper, don’t let it just wander in your head 5. Sleep is good, it keeps you sane and makes your day more productive
Who are your top five design crushes right now globally?
Just click on the links and you’ll see why you too could have a crush on their work!
Where to find Artisa Tumiwa online.
Instagram: @artisatumiwa
