But 26-year-old J. Lucas Reyes is a Web designer. And he’s at the top of his game.
J.’s road to success as a visual communicator began with his junior year video project, Hanggang sa Bumigay, about a day in the life of a self-supporting student. It won first prize at the CCP’s Alternative Film and Video Fest in 1999.
Then, he created the first film org for the UP College of Fine Arts, the Cinema as Art Movement or CAM, of which he was chairman and pioneer member.
His work as a student impressed his professor, Cesar Hernando, production designer for most of Mike de Leon’s films. One day, he tagged along to De Leon’s LVN studios to dabble in sound design and film editing. There, J. saw the antiquated facilities of the studio and introduced LVN to non-linear editing and film restoration. Most of the films in LVN’s archives, the only remaining copies in the entire country, were in such a decrepit state, with some of them in betamax format.
For one year, J. and his team painstakingly restored films digitally by capturing them frame by frame on Photoshop, many of them black-and-white classics from the ’40s and ’50s. He says of the experience, "After we viewed the first film we finished, Waray-Waray, we were just stunned at the final version. It was something else. Later, we streamlined the process and trained others to continue it."
Fatigued from the work, J. took a break in 2001, during which time Caloy de Leon, Mike’s nephew, asked him to do the LVN website. He agreed, began his foray into Web design, got hooked, and the rest is history. "This was where I found that creative spark I was looking for," says, J. "The convergence among different mediums on the Internet was just mind-blowing. At the same time, it had this do-it-yourself spirit that is really my kind of thing."
This year, J. won the Best Website award for Corporate for his work on the Pilipinas Teleserve Inc. site. But in many ways, it’s only the beginning. For J., "It’s a challenge to be perpetually creative. Everything’s been done, if you think about it. So I just continue to search for a new look, a new idea, and it will go on for a long, long time."
Click on this new kind of icon, folks.
What can you say about the current local design scene?
It’s making progress. There’s a current crop of designers who are certainly world-class. We’re part of the international design scene through our design portals, which deliver constant information on what’s new.
However, the current business landscape is not attentive enough to the needs of proper design. I don’t have a middleman when I talk to clients, so that the message is not cluttered or garbled. The thing is, many Filipino companies can greatly benefit from the web, if only they realize its true potential.
We need a real design school. Some are better at designing for themselves than for others when the focus is on expression. But we need more streamlining, which a real design school can give. It will provide avenues for specialization. And a disciplined eye.
So how do you discipline your eye?
I don’t watch TV. I exert control over what I watch. I don’t want to be bombarded by images. I only watch good movies to lessen the visual pollution. I educate myself constantly. There are tons of resources on the Web, there are books, and it greatly helps to talk to other designers. We collaborate, we share and we learn from each other’s mistakes.
Who’s your online mentor?
Matt Owens of volumeone.com. It was in 1998 when I first saw his site. He does these visual narratives using animation, and it has evolved in every way since. When I first saw that I suddenly saw the potential of the Internet for personal expression, as a way to practice design. It was very inspiring.
What would you like to contribute to the medium itself?
When you’re online, the communication is one-on-one. It’s more interpersonal. We Filipinos have a different way of communicating, as you can see in the online forums. It can be very empowering. At the end of the day, I just want to make Pinoy websites look better. And make our local landscape recognizable abroad, to Filipinos abroad especially.
I would also like to teach. Web design is a complex process, it takes about a year to master, it involves research and real world application. My Fine Arts background has helped a lot in creating the foundation, but there’s more to learn, like user interface, identities, translating existing corporate identities online. I want to teach that web design is not only design-oriented, but solutions-oriented. You draw from technology, then translate it visually to invite more activity and for a faster communication process.
What’s your dream project?
I just finished the 8-McDo online webpage, whereby you can be surfing the web, realize that you’re hungry, place your orders online, and your food is delivered at your doorstep! It’s about to be launched soon.
I hope that someday I’ll be able to create a website that would reach a lot of people in a simple way, in the right manner. I’d really like to cut through the government’s bureaucracy and red tape. I’m thinking of doing something for the voting process, for passport application, that kind of stuff.
What’s the best thing about your generation?
We were exposed to three different decades: the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s. Each one had a different thing going, a different way of communicating. Now, everyone’s wired - there’s a constant need for reinvention. If you want to contribute something to society, you can do it, because of communications now. Anybody can make a difference.
What’s the worst thing about your generation?
We’re bombarded with information, but the filtering isn’t enough. Like The Architect in The Matrix said, "The problem is always choice." So it’s up to you, which can be scary. With that kind of freedom, do the old limitations – from government, traditions, culture – still hold sway? Medyo sabog pa.
And then, there’s indifference. We can be desensitized. The tendency is to just shut everything off.
What do you like best about being a Web designer?
I have the freedom to publish my works anytime, anyplace. I appreciate the fact that I’m available to a wide audience. There’s faster recognition. I can say that I have influenced some people, though I started only recently. To think that’s the way I started, from the influence and inspiration from other people - it’s very humbling.
What’s the hardest part about being a Web designer?
Sometimes it’s tough to separate yourself from the wired world. It’s part of the culture of the Internet. You tend to adopt a certain identity – mine is Sushi Hendrix – and you don’t want to go back to your "real" identity. Look at Friendster, for example, you create your identity there, and you might like it better than what you are in real life! So it’s very tempting to just work all day, enclosed in your room, talking to people just online. The thing is, a normal social life is important, it helps you deal with people, it exposes you to more things.
Do you ever think about making it abroad?
Yes, I do, but right now I like it here. It’s fulfilling, because I know I’m needed here.
What about money?
It was never a priority. I’ve always believed that you must love what you do. That’s why I didn’t go into advertising, which is what most Fine Arts graduates do. I think I made the right decision. Right now, the money is good, and I can support my parents and siblings. As the eldest son, I tell my siblings the same thing. My younger brother is a budding web designer, just like me.
If I had gone the other way, I would be burnt out by now. But the stress I’m experiencing now is different – it’s from taking care of myself and being responsible about the path I took.
How important has your education been in your life?
My spirituality is based on what I learned from my early schooling at the Ateneo, from the Jesuits – being a man for others, putting others before self, the sense of service.
I left Ateneo after freshman year to move to UP, even if my parents didn’t approve, because I wanted to follow my dream. In UP, I was exposed to the country’s social problems, and I became a bit of an activist. So my work right now has more meaning, more depth, because of my education.
What advice would you give the older generation?
To not forget that our children, and our children’s children, will inherit the world we’re creating today. They should think about the choices they make. I’m more concerned about the future generations now. We Filipinos are very talented, beautiful, we’re envied by the world. Let’s not take that for granted.