As much as I’d want to brush it off, I’ve been receiving messages (and even hate mail) here and there indicating that my design style ‘lacks originality’, a cheap copycat of certain design studios, as well as other indicators. I usually brush off these criticisms but I guess I do have the time to write about this now so better late than never. Grounding everything first to its roots, I admit that my design style is primarily inspired by three local design houses: Electrolychee, Team Manila and EveryWhereWeShoot. I am dividing this into various exhibits to clarify.

Exhibit A: Team Manila

For one, I have been immersed into typography since God-knows-when. I studied calligraphy way back in grade school, and I have books and collective works which I have not published to prove that. Team Manila, as they grew more into the limelight got known for their type treatments, and people compare my work to theirs primarily. The Team Manila studio’s treatments are top-notch and no one can deny that. Being an avid supporter since they still weren’t into the GDLS business much (I was one of the first few customers), I got accustomed to their design sensibilities given that they were one of the first actual graphic design studios not tied to an advertising agency locally. Give or take 3 years I’ve known them personally, I can definitely say that they have been my primary influences in my design style but take into the fact that I do not ‘copy’ what they’re doing in the sense of the world.

Also, we share common links and resources over at random conversations both IRL and at yahoo messenger. I haven’t been in touch that much with the dynamic duo Mon and Jowee recently, but my friend CSJ works over there and we pretty much have the same resource pool with regards to design elements so go figure.

Vector graphics and typography are my forte, and so is Team Manila’s. How can that be in its essence an imitation of style when there are a lot of other design studios in the world that focus on the same medium as well? 57EVEN, HYDRO74, UFHO and even Stephane Bucco are designers who excel in the type/vector application and I find it a bit unfair that I’m getting stereotyped as mere imitation. Heck, how come people who copy movie ads (and/or copy those goddamn apple ads - iWhatever, iSuck, iBitch, iWhatever-insert-event-here) and do it with their fucking cliche taglines with the exact same fonts, exact same pictures, exact same bloody fucking concept get away with it, and I who merely hodgepodge various design sensibilities get criticized more?

Exhibit B: Electrolychee and EveryWhereWeShoot

EEWWSS and the Lychees are my idols, first and foremost. ElectroLychee’s Bru recently contacted me to create a poster for NinjaKiss, a recurring event at Saguijo for my type application and I am deeply grateful for that. Both studios are inclined to 1980s/neon/abstract/illustration-based design element applications which I probably derived my color schemes. How did this manifest more? I was into grunge and anime-style design back in high school and I eventually got tired of it because first, grunge just made me depressed and it was too ‘niche’ during the time and anime, I just lost interest over time. The color clashes eventually seeped into my work a few years back when I got introduced to the work of Ryan Vergara who I still look up to until now - photographer and designer extraordinaire. I think with regards to my inclination of what I do after college would be very much similar to what he does, because I enjoy design/photography and the pop culture confines. I was always a fan of Street fashion, Andy Warhol and Lomography and been an avid follower of his works since time inconceivable because I finally found a local designer who shares pretty much the same interests as I do.

My recurrent use of 1980s new wave/new rave elements are probably due to these two studios. The three-stripes and mesh-based elements have probably come from both studios as well. They both continue to influence my work, but then again I can’t believe that I copied both of them per se. I am working (up to now) on primarily school-based design materials - sans the occasional work I do for Embassy and Temple. I actually do follow certain dictates and restrictions given by my peers and clients and it’s near-impossible that I actually copy something that’s applied on a different theme and nature. Again, the manifestation IS present and I have to acknowledge that but saying that it’s a complete copy is just not fair on my part.

Exhibit C

I have been studying graphic design formally since I entered college. I believe that I deserve to have a voice and present my own design identity which continues to evolve over the years. Stereotyping me as a copycat because my work is similar to what others do (again, as reiterated many times) is unfair at my part because I actually do stretch the extra mile to actually read resources and buy books physically to improve my craft, look for applications of various medium to present information.

It’s really contradictory as to what the outside world sees the work of ‘Aaron Roselo’ and the work of ‘Aaron Roselo’ in the confines of the Ateneo. I have been branded to have a distinct design style already in school, and I have been actually advised to get out of it because I’m too young to have a distinct style. I envy people who at my age (or younger than me) who actually have come into a sense of stability with regards to referring to something as ‘This is definitely the work of x’ - Robbie of Sushi Boy, Val who does these crazy watercolor illustrations, Rico Sta. Cruz of Ambiescent and his fractal art, Jin Joson the multi-disciplinary artists, Feanne with the art nouveau/ukiyo-e style and a lot of other young designers/illustrators locally. I am still confused as to what I really want my work to manifest, and every time I do it I end up bringing it back to primary references or ‘homages’ to the people I look up to and it eventually looks good (or passable).

Exhibit D - Being in the public eye

I would probably be one of the few designer-bloggers (along with Lai and Rick) in the local blogosphere who focuses writing primarily on graphic design and I have a stable readership on some of my other blogs because of this niche. It has been both beneficial and problematic in a sense. Beneficial because it gives me exposure to my work and I get to voice out things once in a while. It becomes problematic because views are different for each person. Aesthetic value in Philosophy refers to ‘what appeals to me’ or ‘what looks nice for me’. Aesthetics is subjective and is the primordial reason for argument in art (and in my case, design).

It is by my nature to ‘whore’ myself or to put in the words of my design professor Ali Figueroa ‘Ang pagpuputa ni Aaron Roselo’ because I’ve been blogging since high school and my passion became split with design. I can’t honestly live a day without blogwhoring whether in friendster or multiply or this main blog. I get mixed comments. I get fan mail. I get hate mail. I get invitations to design. I get into fights offline. I get into fights with my parents with what I post.

Pretty much, let’s say that my life is a walking tabloid waiting for a Britney breakdown once I enter the designer’s workforce should I choose to continue to pursue it. This factor of my own online publicity is a prime mover on how I see things in my world offline, believe it or not. I get affected. Sometimes I wonder have I not been inclined to this public whoring on my personal life, what kind of manifestation would it produce with what I do, and what could I have been doing instead of writing novel-length posts like this confusing you, my reader and making me, the writer even more depressed.

Exhibit D.2

As cliche as it might sound, ‘nothing’s 100% original anyway’. We are always bound by subjectivity and we cannot erase it from societal views. Andy Warhol always gets criticized for his work being ‘un-avant garde’ and ‘not art’ and eventually he got recognized as one of the biggest movers in art in the contemporary world. I am open to being criticized, but being criticized as someone who doesn’t have a vision or ’soul’ in his work and doesn’t think of something new is just damaging to me. I am hurt. YUCK EMO.

Capping it off

To sum all this nonsensical, whimsically tragic emotional outburst brought about by a single line of disagreement, all I can say in the defense of my design integrity and my continuous abuse of using run-on sentences is/are…

Aaron Roselo deserves a chance to prove himself in the design world. Don’t close me off because my work looks like somebody else’s. Experience builds character and I am far off from those who have already established their name. Give me time, and please continue to read and view my work.

Call me defensive, call me an attention whore, I just wanted to voice myself out on this one.