Homan Cheung
LCC Graphic and Media Design During the quarantine, I have been thinking about how things might change in the aftermath of the pandemic, wondering how the changes might affect me as a fresh graduate. For sure many people wish to have it settled down as soon as possible and move on as if it never happened. Yet, I suspect this global crisis will eventually and inevitably, to some extend, reshape the economy and our value. With my final year approaching in October (which the pandemic is likely to be still ongoing), I need to adapt to a new learning and working habit as the creative industry environment is changing. Even tho the changes seem to be temporary, but it does not harm to think about how the pandemic will do any harm or good to me future planning. I would love to first talk about my current practice regarding the situation. Everyone is in quarantine, having less social interaction, and simply wait for further notice from the government. My offers from studios are on hold (likely to be canceled in the future), many plannings such as traveling and studying have been postponed or became uncertain. Spending the upcoming weeks indoor is expected. With my Mac as my only resource for work and entertainment, many things have moved to the internet including my studying and working. In the previous weeks, I have been working remotely for my placement provider. My duty and workload were pretty much the same but my efficiency was hugely affected due to the unstable network, causing issues such as unpleasant loading time and constant disconnections during online meetings. Having a poor network is out of my control as I live in a student hall, thus to me working remotely does not sound appealing as the unreliable internet connection does get on my nerves sometimes, therefore working alone is preferred. The pandemic also makes me rethink how designers can play their roles in society, as a communicator what and how can we offer to others with our skills. SSSS Foundation is one of my responses, uploading posters for free downloads aiming to encourage the community throughout the uncertainty. Moreover, when drafting a new personal project, I started to think from the perspective of the community as a whole, aiming to be innovative and practical. All in the purpose of setting a reference to my future self and others with my outcome, not merely just for personal interests. As anticipated, by the time I write this blog post the British Government has announced to extend the quarantine for 3 more weeks, with the expectation of it lasting until June. With no intention in repeating the same route every day (even tho it is comfortable), I did plan to apply for a remote internship or keeping myself busy with design competitions. AUFI, an organization that connects brands and design agencies, has recently announced a new platform allowing design agencies to offer free advice to brands that are having difficulties. I am planning to get involved and see if I could gain a few new insights, as most of the studios are top professionals and well known in the industry. Besides, many agencies begin to adapt to the new system and recruiting new interns to work remotely, thus offering me an extra option to keep in touch with the industry while having limited resources. My plans for my future or after graduation are inevitably disturbed as well. With years living in London and my previous internship experiences, London is one of my favourite cities and I sincerely would love to work and travel around Europe if I have the opportunity. Yet, due to my identity as Asian, the increase of hate crimes in London and all across Europe makes me worry about my safety. I worry about how when the crisis is over people will start the express their hatreds on us, resulting in both verbal abuse and even physical attack. I understand London has long been a melting pot of different cultures and people, I am glad to experience how well developed and sophisticated the industry is. But knowing how some areas remain conservative and narrow-minded, it makes me scared to travel and be alone outside the cities, eventually losing interest in working here. As the creative industry built on top of the economy, the depression for sure hurts the creatives as well. According to a survey, more than half of the designers are experiencing having less than a quarter of business, even with finical support from the government, it is no doubt many agencies will bear a significant loss which might take time to recover. Unfortunately, by the time I graduate in 2021, I fear that many agencies are still in recovery thus have little intention for new recruitments. Along with Brexit, it will be challenging for me to apply for a working VISA considering how less qualified job opportunities will be. Concerning such a situation, I am starting to draft an alternative plan which is aiming to southeast Asia. Throughout the period, many countries in Asia appears to be having the pandemic under control with their thoughtful and well-prepared strategy, I expect their economy will recover faster than others, thus providing more open doors for me at the right moment. Places like Tokyo and Taipei both embrace a high reputation for art and design. I do see those places as a great potential for my future career, the plan will remain flexible while London being my first choice. With no doubt the explosion of COVID-19 has put the world into upheaval, countless businesses are affected followed by a high unemployment rate. But at the same time, we have been seeing a lot of new opportunities and industries adapting to the situation and operate in a new behavior. The same thing to the creative industry, our work does allow the majority of designers to work from home, but the impact of decreasing income is undeniable. Luckily many professions have adopted the circumstance and figure out different ways of working. The crisis will eventually end and we will go back to live and work as we did before, but we should always remember how this historical event in 2020 has made us rethink the way we work and knowing how nothing is guaranteed. Thus it is important for me to always be adaptive and think wisely for my upcoming future knowing how things never go as planned.
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February 2023
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