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By Dennis A. Amith, AsianConnections.com When looking at a beautiful web site created by Moonberry, you wonder who this person may be and you see how talented she is. That talent has put Irene "Moonberry" Santoso in the top 100 list of the best graphic web designers in the world by IMG SRC 100. Born in Surabaya, Indonesia, Moonberry's parents believed that English education was important and so she was sent to study in Singapore at the age of 9. In 1992, she moved to New York City where she currently resides. Recently, APR had the chance to interview the mysterious graphic designer Moonberry regarding her life and her career.
Dennis: Did you grow up with a strong Asian upbringing? Moonberry: It was more of a South-East Asian blend. Even though my parents are both ethnic Chinese, our family has been in Indonesia for three generations, therefore the atmosphere in my family is not traditional Chinese at all. For example, we don't observe Chinese New Year in our family. Dennis: How did you get your nickname "Moonberry?" Moonberry: I wanted a nickname that is friendly, approachable, somewhat mysterious, but yet harmless, not overly cutesy, personable, intriguing, unique and not easily forgotten. Out of the blue, one day it just came to mind and I fell in love with it. My friends think it suits me a lot, and it has the capacity to represent the different sides of my personality. One day, the girl bearing the nickname Moonberry may be this funky, silly, cheerful, unstoppably crazy gal. And on another day, Moonberry may be some cold, distant, strange girl who looks at the world with jadedness. Same person behind the same nickname, but different moods. Gee, I hope I don't sound as if I am suffering from multiple-personality disorder. Dennis: Do you mind me calling you Moonberry or would you rather I call you Irene? Moonberry: Actually, a lot of my friends call me "Moonberry" and they rarely refer to me by my real name. They have since created their own versions of my nickname, "Moonie," "Berries," "MB," "Ah Moon" etc. Dennis: If you had one word to describe yourself, what would that word be and why? Moonberry: Water. H2O. Aqua. I am constantly changing and adapting to my surroundings. I react to the people, the events around me and in many ways, they indirectly shape me into a new person constantly. I am always growing, observing and learning new things. I thrive in change and challenges. Just like water, you can't hold it in your hands but you can contain it in a space and see its form. There are also the other two different states of water -- ice and steam. Dennis: Were you once a model? Moonberry: (Laugh) It always amuses me when I'm asked that question, it's no doubt flattering but frankly I don't quite know where people get that idea from. Hmm?/SPAN> Dennis: Where did you graduate and what was your major? Moonberry: I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with an Advertising Design degree, and then Parsons School of Design with a Communication Graphic Design degree. Dennis: Are there any classes that you didn't like in college? Moonberry: There was none, really. College was absolutely a breeze. I love design very much, and to be in school absorbing and learning as much as I could was a total joy-ride. Yes, I was (am) 100% design geek. Dennis: After graduating, how was the process of finding a job? Moonberry: It was actually fairly straight-forward. I knew from a very early age exactly what I want to do as my career. I started laying out the foundation since I was a sophomore, by interning for design firms, building up my resume and gathering experience. I have always been very (if not, overly) focused when it comes to having a design career. Like I said, I was (am) 100% incorrigible design geek! Dennis: You were selected by Image SRC 100 as one of the top 100 in the world in graphic/web designs. What was your reaction when you were recognized for your work? Moonberry: I was absolutely flattered beyond belief. I have always admired the other designers: TOMATO, Anti-ROM, jodi, dhky, suction, Freshfarmers etc. To actually have my work be showcased side by side next to these awesome talented designers whom I seek inspirations from...Whoa! Believe me, I am still picking up my jaw from the floor. It was truly an honor. Dennis: Now that you are on top. Do you feel pressure to produce web sites or work that is top notch? Moonberry: I don't think I've reached the top, I still have a long way to go and I want to continually explore and experiment with many different forms of design expressions. I think that producing good tasteful web sites should be a default, it's the standard that every good respectable designer ought to uphold and maintain. My designs have always been extremely personal and they constantly reflect and document my personal growth as a designer and an individual. Dennis: Let's talk about Faye.com. Can you tell us what the site is about? Moonberry: Faye.com is a personal tribute to Faye Wong - the singer, the performer, the artist, the human being. It is not an official site but I really hope that it will catch the attention of Faye's media representatives. Dennis: Do you like Faye Wong a lot? Moonberry: Faye Wong is a true inspiration to me. She is blessed with a beautiful voice. I appreciate her music, but I also appreciate her as an individual. Faye has been subjected to many criticisms on her art and the press constantly evades her personal life. Yet, without having the need to explain or justify the things she does, she chooses to let her music expresses her inner thoughts. Design does the same thing for me. I am not seeking for anyone to understand me and I am often very paradoxical, contradicting myself at times. I prefer to speak and be understood via my designs; anyone is free to interpret it in any manner they choose but what one reads may not be what is written. Perhaps it is the eccentricity that is within most artists. Bohemian. Unrestrained. Experimental. Incomprehensible to some. Enlightening and amusing to others. Dennis: Has Faye or her people contacted you before? Moonberry: Nope. Dennis: What is your favorite Faye Wong song? Moonberry: I like all of Faye Wong's songs, but the one that really struck a deep chord in me is one that's titled "Abstinence" (track 8, SKY album). It is a very beautiful melody, she did not write nor compose it herself, however she delivered it extremely well. Every single word is so touching. The song is basically about a woman torn between unreciprocated love and insecurity. That song moves me a lot since it expresses the wave of conflicting emotions, the vulnerability of a woman in love and the wait for a promise that will never be. Dennis: Is it true that you have a beautiful singing voice? Moonberry: Uh oh.. Who has been spreading rumors about me? Dennis: Have you met Faye Wong before? Moonberry: I have actually met Faye Wong once, when she was in Las Vegas for her concert. She was very heavily guarded by her entourage though, and I managed to come close enough to be rejected to have my photo taken together with her. She looked at me from behind her sunglasses, and her first word to me was "No." Of course that is not going to deter me from meeting her again, is it? Dennis: If you were in a caf?and Faye was sitting right across from you, what would you do? Moonberry: If I see Faye sitting across me in a caf? I would definitely show her this interview. (Laugh) Dennis: What did you think about "ChungKing Express"? Moonberry: I adore and worship Wong Kar Wai. His films are amazing. He's a genius! "ChungKing Express" is one of my favorite movies. I like how certain events that happen to the characters in the movie in turn affect the other characters and how they handle subsequent events. It really holds true that everyday inter-human relationships shape the paths we choose to take and the decisions we make. It is all inter-related. I love every single one of Wong Kar Wai's movies, even though I still have not seen his debut film, "As Tears Go By".
Moonberry: Yes I do. Canned Del-Monte please. Just like the ones in "ChungKing Express". Dennis: Of all the work that you have done, what is your favorite so far? Moonberry: I don't really have any favorite. Falling in love with your own work is a very dangerous suicidal thing, the sheer size of your ego alone is enough to propel you to shameless self-idolatry and cause your downfall! Seriously, my visual vocabulary is always expanding and I am never satisfied with my work. Every time I complete designing something, I will return to it again a few days later and look at it extra critically. For now, I think Faye.com has been the most satisfactory so far, only because it is highly experimental and I get self-gratification via the learning process. Dennis: Does it bug you that many Asians call themselves graphic designers because they own Adobe Photoshop and know HTML and still their sites really suck? Moonberry: Hell yeah! Posers! This phenomenon of "I am a designer too!" is not exclusively an Asian thing though. It prevails. Watch out for it. Accept no imitation. Dennis: Which design class really helped you the most? Moonberry: I took a typography class taught by an excellent professor, Martin Solomon, and he taught me that typography is a piece of art. It is a breathing and living thing, be sensitive towards it and treat it with respect, do not abuse it. Typography is often the essence of a successful design. It is a very powerful element of design.
Word Play with Moonberry Dennis: When I see a web site that is so bad I.... Moonberry: Roll my eyes to the ceiling of my sockets and grimaced in disgust. Dennis: I prefer Mac's because.... Moonberry: they are intuitive to use and idiot-proof. Dennis: When I try to get ideas for designs I? Moonberry: Sleep. Dennis: My favorite song right now is.... Moonberry: "I Do (Cherish You)" by 98 Degrees. Dennis: When I can't think of a good idea when I'm designing I.... Moonberry: go online, surf the web, chat with my friends, flip through my magazines. Dennis: When people who claim are designers use Microsoft FrontPage in my mind I think...." Moonberry: (Immediate shudder) Dennis: I love being Asian because.... Moonberry: Asians are rich in heritage. Dennis: I'm sure you are busy as a graphic designer but what do you like to do for fun? Moonberry: All work and no play makes a dull Moonberry. In fact, I hang out on weekends way too much! Karaoke, clubs, bars, dim sum. And I fly to Toronto or the left coast a lot to hang out and party with my friends there. But I usually retreat to my own private little space to "detox" after all the chaos and madness are over. Dennis: What kind of e-mail do you get from people who go to your sites? Moonberry: I get a bleep load of emails everyday. From everyone everywhere. Most of the emails express their appreciation towards my designs and curiosity towards me as a person. People are very interested to know where I get my inspirations from, how my mind works, what I'm thinking about. A lot of people have professed to be inspired by my designs and my writings. It is highly flattering and very uplifting to know that my miniscule existence in this universe is able to reach out to so many, to provoke and affect their thoughts. Dennis: What do you do in your spare time? Moonberry: Pace in front of my Mac, bug my online friends, lie in bed, stare at the ceiling, listen to my CDs, rummage my fridge for munchies, pace again, then sit outside at the back porch and light a Marlboro menthol light. Dennis: What is your favorite food? Moonberry: I am not very picky, and I eat pretty much anything from duck's blood , mega spicy Kim chi, intestines, and all that funky Asian food. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am not a big eater at all and I eat like a bird. I'm constantly hungry but I don't have much of an appetite. Dennis: What is your favorite tea? Moonberry: Bubble tea ------ Tien Ren's Longan Bubble Tea with coconut jelly (yumm!) Dennis: WEST COAST vs. EAST COAST and why? Moonberry: East coast rules! The lifestyle out in the west coast seems a lot more preppy and laid back. I think East Coasters are more worldly and they know how to have a party and get down (Grin). No offense, West Coasters. No other city compares to New York City. Dennis: Are you into Asian pop music? Any favorite artists or groups? Moonberry: Oohhh, I am a hopeless Asian pop music junkie. I rarely tune into radio Top 40s since I always have my CDs playing Cantopop and Jpop. There are a lot of good singers and groups out there and I listen to everything from mainstream sappy love songs, alternative Brit-pop-influenced songs, Chinese hip-hop and R&B to cutesy Japanese teenybopper tunes. Anything that's soothing and easy on the ears.
Dennis: What is a typical day for Moonberry? Moonberry: Everyday I wake up to curse at the alarm clock for not buzzing on time, causing me to be late at work. From then on, it is a juggling act of working and surfing the web, habitually exchanging a few messages amongst close friends via chat to gossip and plan for the weekend's festivities. More work. Jumping from one meeting to another, supervising my team of designers, goofing around on/offline, dozing off on the subway ride home, turning on the Mac as soon as I step into my apartment, geeking online for a few hours. My phone line is dedicated to my dial-up so it's always busy, but occasionally some fortunate blessed souls manage to reach me on the phone so I end up talking to them for a little bit, before tossing and turning in bed for an hour until I finally drift asleep. Of course, not without double-checking the alarm clock. But we all know what will happen the next morning, don't we? Dennis: How did you get involved in graphic designing? Moonberry: I was twelve years old and my father brought me to Japan to be his English interpreter on one of his business trips. And as a reward to his nerdy daughter, he took me to a bookstore one evening. That was when I first picked up a graphic design book from the shelf and it changed my world. I was determined to study graphic design and live in Japan after my O-levels. I even took 5 years worth of Japanese language classes and mastered it fluently. Alas, a twist of fate brought me to New York instead and I have been here ever since. The rest is history. Dennis: What is the most satisfying and frustrating part of being a graphic designer? Moonberry: For frustrating, it's Idiotic, close-minded, conservative and stubborn clients. As for satisfying, the opening up their visual horizons and educating them about the web and design. Dennis: What programs do you like to use for designing? (what are your main programs that you prefer using) Moonberry: Adobe Photoshop. Dennis: Currently, what bugs you about web designing at the moment? Moonberry: The issue of bandwidth constraints is extremely restrictive. It really bugs me but at the same time, it also challenges me to achieve something good within these tight parameters. Now that's exciting. It used to be easy designing for only one browser, but there are now so many different versions and discrepancies that it frustrates me. The inconsistent, uncontrollable factors coming from the web recipients' browser and platform configurations are annoying as well. Dennis: A few designers are claiming that HTML is dying and FLASH is in and is the future in web designing. Do you agree with that? Moonberry: I don't necessarily think that HTML is dying. It's the bare bones of the web design. Flash is definitely becoming more and more prevalent and you can achieve so many wonderful stuff with it. I am glad that web design has progressed in such a manner. It opened up a lot of creativity for designers and they do not have to be forever coding tags. Dennis: What advice would you give to people out there who would like a career in graphic designing? Moonberry: Do not create merely pretty pictures. Give it substance. Embed your message into the design. Make it functional. Say something, let your voice be heard. Graphic design is an amazing vehicle for communicating form and function. Be inspired. Be open to new ideas. Be original and never ever plagiarize someone else's work. A classmate from Parsons School of Design once said: "Practice safe design. Use concept." Dennis: Any final words you would like to share, anything in your mind in general? Moonberry: Soy products and the mystery of (how to achieve) happiness + peace of mind. Thank you to AsianConnections correspondent Dennis A. Amith. This interview by Dennis originally appeared in Asian Pacific Review - Vol. 5, Issue No.2 -------------------- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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