SIMON TE1603/MNL
The work I do focuses on making messages clear and simple. Able to distill complex ideas and connect with a wide range of audiences no matter the industry.
I’m also a persistent learner with more than a decade of experience in brand building, creative communications, and product development. The level of understanding across a wide range of industries and communities allows me to iterate in context with the cultural zeitgeist.
*Currently accepting consultancy, experience, and installation work.
Where you may find me:
MOLD
Makerlab and Circular Design Studio
FRGMNT
Commercial Film Production House
POSTHAUS
Commercial Post Production House
Email
Instagram
Contact Form 07 JOURNALWRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY
JULY 2024
Fear and Death
I’ve lost a parent so early in my life. It couldn’t have been helped that whatever I’ve made from then until now be tainted in grief. For the first few months and a decade, it’s been a convenient little motivator. One that keeps the engine of this metaphoric train chugging. But running on that same steam begets diminishing returns.
I don’t believe that grief is an unavoidable shadow. The “half empty” to contrast what actually is “half full.” The search for what isn’t there is already moot as is. Sometimes, I long to remember to remember what it was like to function solely on the throws of bliss. Before any action had complex foresight of its repercussions. Looking forward to simpler days.
JULY 2024
Imposter Syndrome
When do we really know what we know?
Who says we are learned?
These are some of the questions I wrestle with more often than I would like to admit. Ever since I was a kid, I would take apart everything. Furniture, toys, and even cellphones. A few lost screws, some snapped bits of plastic, and a severed flex cable later — I’ve come to find that I’ve broken what I sought to understand. How things worked became my favorite lightbulb moment. In fact, in the early 2000s there was this show that aired on the Discovery Channel that had me glued to the TV every time it came on; it was called “How It’s Made.” It featured a narrator talking about how everyday objects and structures were made by hand or by assembly line, all accompanied by glorious b-roll of the factory or workshop floor. Seeing how bits of wood, steel, plastic, and glass get manipulated into what would be a door handle, a skateboard, or a bulb made me feel like I was on a roller coaster ride. I was hooked.
This colored how I saw the world. I wanted to know how it worked. I would look closer, and ask many a naive question just to know a little bit more. I wanted to see how movies worked, how machines worked, and how groups of people worked. Were they all designed? Did it all fall into place? Or was it a mixture of both?
I found it so scary to be judged on the merit of what I put out. Why did I have to make something out of everything? Was learning not enough? Why did everything feel like a test when all I wanted was to understand. And in that season did my biggest opponent arise. This self-doubt that would masquerade as “imposter syndrome.” It was defeating to only be considered that I “knew” only after someone has deemed so.
I’ve dropped out of the university despite my love for learning. And went on to create things founded on what I love. Maybe I’ll return to the academe someday when that fear is gone. But since, I’ve learned along the way. I’ve learned through friends and mentors that have graciously given their time to this naive curious boy — to all of which, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
I feel a little less of an imposter because of you!