Yaw Tony

Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?

A place to nurture my creative and natural abilities.
 

Please briefly describe your current job/practice.

I am currently working as a designer and running my personal design studio.

How did you get started in your career? 

I've always been naturally interested in creating; I have always loved drawing, designing things, ripping my toys apart as a child and redesigning them. Being anywhere else apart from the art/design world will be detrimental to my soul. I was created and designed for this. Have you realized that no one gives themselves the gifts and talents they possess? It's because you are born to be it and it is your source of fulfilment. 

What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?

I strongly believe everyone should be paid for whatever work, services or contribution of ideas they provide. Whenever two or more people serve one another by trading (ideas, services, etc.) they are literally creating money and bringing it into the world so why should only one person benefit from it. This is unfair trading. This is why the origin of the universal symbol for friendship or business is a handshake, two hands clasping together is a symbol for people giving and taking from one another. There is a constant transaction happening every day to our business, systems, our world in circulation. One gives a good or a service and the other gives money in return. 
 

What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

The most enjoyable and what I will call it gracious, the suave part about my work or what I do is the natural creative abilities. The ability to imagine/conceive things that don’t exist, to imagine problems and solutions to those problems that don’t yet exist and bring them into reality. The process of precepts into concepts and concepts into thoughts and thoughts into ideas are dearly delightful to me. I think the challenging aspects are only when the clients or the viewers are not able to perceive as a designer may perceive. That disconnection requires a greater level of understanding reciprocally. 
 

What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?

I think with the little knowledge that I received especially from my core classes prepared me to think abstractly for that I am grateful. I strongly believe that life is predestined even though we sometimes turn different routes because we don’t know the destination so would I have done anything differently I will say no. I just wish that I knew what I know now earlier in my life. 
          

What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice? 

The understanding to have the capacity to respond with my intrinsic abilities, that no one can take that from you. Firstly, discover yourself and your natural, intrinsic abilities for it that define you. Secondly, a good design is not by an accident nor is good design about convenience however a good design is about the effective use and efficient application of resources and services to humanity. Without one understanding the value of a human being and why we are here it will be impossible to design purposefully and all will be just temporary thoughts and services.
 

What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?

Many projects which I cannot talk about now but one for sure will be the introduction of new products to my Lifeliveth brand. Getting ready for the DesignTO 2020 which I am excited about, a design book, exhibitions.