Designed for Success

Aspiring young graphic designers and illustrators can check out this article on how to make it in the industry.

Designed for Success

Thihan Kyaw is from Myanmar and he recently graduated with a Diploma in Publication and Illustration from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).He shares his dreams for the future with Mark Lim, JobsDB Campus editor.

My graduate showcase is a children’s story book called Pollyanna and the Prince of Happy Land, which I wrote and illustrated.

It’s about a girl called Pollyanna who meets a Prince in her dreams. I was inspired to write the book after teaching Art part time on weekends to children who are between 10 -12 years old.

While teaching them how to draw and colour, they shared with me that Art was a great outlet for them to express themselves and it enabled them to find freedom from the stress and routine of school work.

Therefore I believe that it is important for us to always believe in the power of imagination and never give up on our dreams. I have really enjoyed my studies at NAFA and feel really confident to enter the working world as a graphic designer.

My teachers are really professional and helpful and have instilled in me a passion and appreciation for the fine details of good design and helped to give me a strong aesthetics foundation. As part of my diploma program, I also undertook a 3 month industry attachment at Marshall Cavendish International Singapore, where I got to do hands-on graphic design and book publishing work on the My Pals Are Here! Primary Science textbooks, in addition to other projects.

It was an eye-opening experience and I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with some truly professional designers and editors during my 3 months there.

The graphic design industry in Singapore is very vibrant and there are a lot of opportunities out there for hardworking young people, so I can’t wait to get started on my first job. Plus, there are so many great job listings on JobsDB.com, so hopefully one of them is meant for me!