L I E: Little Ideas Can Grow

By Brenda Yew  •  27 May 2013 in Design

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Individual dreams are priority to the kids of the ‘90s. Gone are the days when families used to take control over their kids’ education, especially when it didn’t have anything to do with becoming a doctor or a lawyer, just because it did not guarantee a promising future. Suffice to say, the older generation tends to get things wrong. Although extremely competitive, graphic design has shown to be a viable major down the line. A man that caught our eye in the wide sea of graphic designers is founder of L I E (Little Ideas Everyday) by the name of Driv Loo.

Growing up with an inclination to draw, Driv’s ultimate childhood dream was to be a Japanese manga artist. However, upon encountering a graphic design course in his art college, Driv automatically knew he has ended the long search for his hidden talent.

“The more I learnt about the subject, the more interesting it became. I enjoyed communicating with visual language and eventually, I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer,” he tells us.

Besides his enduring love for design, Driv is also an art lover, a big indie music fan, and an analogue photography devotee. Graduating from a bachelor degree in graphic design and advertising in 2004, following his success are collaborations with recognisable agencies such as Kinetic Singapore and W+K Shanghai. In 2011, Driv settled down in Kuala Lumpur and founded his own graphic studio – L I E.

It is not only Driv’s artwork that caught our deliberate attention, but the unique name of his graphic studio that kept us hungry to know more about this underground designer. L I E started off as a small project under his personal website. Basically, it was a compilation of Driv’s daily sketches and random ideas that turned into unpublished drafts. He came to realise that the initials coincidentally formed the word ‘lie’, and named his studio after that because it fit perfectly.

Driv’s designs include his ventures with MTV World Stage on behalf of Celcom to create a series of characters based on famous celebrities that were applied on limited edition USB modems in 2011. He also designed the neon-based logotypes for the annual Designer’s Weekend of 2012. In addition to that, the man behind the famous animated design of the Chatime Thirstea Card is none other than Driv, who ironically prefers coffee over bubble tea (designers need to stay away). Likewise, we were intrigued by one of his projects entitled Start Paper, which is a quarterly newsletter and magazine produced by his alma mater, Dasein Academy of Art. “The sphere of works includes planning, editing, designing, etcetera. It’s one of my favourite projects as it channels a lot of freedom when it comes to creativity and possibilities,” he states.

Having worked on many projects throughout a time span of 2 years, Driv identifies a group exhibition called Makanlah Buah-Buahan Tempatan which he co-curated in September 2011 as his major achievement. Receiving an overwhelming response from the people in the industry, he is planning another show this year which showcases a collaborative effort by local designers to promote local fruits as well as to rally the nation to appreciate (and consume) locally crafted art. Driv aims to reach out to the general public this time as he claims that art is also one of the fruits of our homeland.

Only recently settling down into a permanent studio, Driv lived as a designer nomad that had to work from home and sometimes in a café, a friend’s studio, or anywhere that offered power supply and wireless connection that enabled him to work efficiently. “It was pretty tough without proper equipments and facilities. I’m so happy that I finally have a proper working space and room to keep all my books and stuffs,” says Driv.

JUICE believes that achieving your dreams place no boundaries – as long you’re willing to achieve your goal. A piece of advice from Driv for the young, aspiring designers who fear the competitive work field among graphic designers? “If you really like it, go for it.”

Find out more about L I E and his works at www.wearenotlie.com.