One Under 30: Young Creative Spotlight – Albert Salim

Highlighting young talent in the ad world – one person at a time.

As part of an ongoing series highlighting young talent in the industry, Branding in Asia brings you “One Under 30: Young Creative Spotlight”, a regular feature that focuses on up-and-coming talent in the ad world.

This week we feature 24-year-old Albert Salim, a native of Indonesia who is now based in Sydney working at Whitehat Agency.

Salim says psychology plays a big part in his approach to design work. “There are millions of personalities that you can translate into design. You see design everywhere, even in yourself.”


 

The Basics

Name: Albert Salim
Age: 24
Agency: Whitehat Agency
Position: Art/Creative Director
Hometown: Batam, Indonesia
Current Location: Sydney, Australia
Education: Bachelor of Business Psychology (Hons), Bachelor of Communication Design

Seven Questions

How did you get your first break in the industry?

I’ve been doing design since I was a kid, more of an artist back then. A few years ago I discovered and fell in love with the Branding industry. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with an award-winning agency in Sydney, Australia. I remember the feeling I was offered the position after a short phone call. It was shortly after my last class of College and it opened up the door for me to work with prominent clients and celebrities.

What is your personal mantra?

Learn from and invest in people. Being multicultural and having an interest in psychology, I learned to connect with and understand how people behave and interact. Each person I’ve met is an individual and has a different story that you can translate into design. Design is everywhere, you just need to know where to look.

From what person, place or thing have you drawn your greatest creative inspiration?

I’ve always perceived God to be the greatest Designer, the Creation story where God created life from nothing is relative to design for me, and I apply it everyday in my Design work and life. As imperfect as they are, I love to see my designs as masterpieces.


 

What do you love about the job?

I love collaborating with a Full Service Digital Marketing Agency because it compliments my Design talents. Being around people who understand Marketing gives me a fresh perspective on Branding. I learned to connect with people not just through Visual Arts but also to engage with them through Brand Language and Brand Messaging.

What about your job are you not so crazy about?

There will always be perimeters (budget, time, preference, taste) when working with a client on a project. Compromise can often lead to a different (unpleasant) end result than originally planned.

What is some work you’ve done that you’re most proud of?

I’m very proud of the Brand Identity we created for Mitchell Starc, the Australian Cricketer. It is a surreal feeling to see the Designs you created used on a large scale and implemented in real life. Although it looks pretty cool, the proudest moment of the process for me was when Mitchell came up to me personally and shook my hand to say “Thank you”.

I am also extremely proud of my work on Homejobs.ph , it’s a startup project I built from scratch with the Founder, Jeremy. It went viral and was featured on CNN, and six major news outlets in Manila.

If you had to choose another career what would it be?

I’m not sure, since I spend most of my time designing alone, I only engage with people when I’m presenting or conducting a workshop. I think it would be cool to be in a career that requires me to meet and connect with people, like a counsellor or clinical psychologist.


You can see more of Albert’s work here.

Bobby McGill

Bobby McGill

Bobby is the founder and publisher of Branding in Asia.

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