A Little About Jonathan Cash aka Jay:
Jonathan Cash stepped into the world of graphics design at the tender age of 16. Inspired by the vast and colorful web, five-frame, GIF Animations and computer games he went on to discover computer sciences at the University of Preston.
Whilst studying Jonathan was keen enough to experiment with Macromedia’s Flash 4.0 and became proficient with it before Flash 5 was taking the world by storm. Graphics and design inspired by web icons such as rayoflight.net and 2advanced.com were then put into practice and landed him his first job, designing a complete Flash based website for Dubai apparel company Cottonland.com. Since then Jonathan has gone on to design a game that has transported him across the country to one of the most renowned universities in Pakistan (GIKI, NWFP) to participate in SoftCom2002 – and has also been offered to speak at design workshops organized for students at the University of Preston.
After graduating he has spent four years in various creative/design studios producing everything from multimedia/interactive content to large print and web campaigns for clients such as Habib Bank Pakistan, Unilever Pakistan (Walls and The Lux Style Awards), pop acts such as Josh (PlanetJosh.com), Strings (Stringsonline.net) and many more.
Jonathan is now 24 and lives in Karachi – he is currently enrolled at the University of Iqra (Asian Management Institute) in their Masters of Advertising course. He is currently employed by Austin-based e-training solution provider 360training [www.360training.com] as a Graphics Designer and e-Marketing Analyst. As well as producing cutting edge graphics and websites for 360training he also uses his own website as an outlet for vector art, photography, and motion design.
For any further info please…. Checkout Jay work at: jonathancash.com
Checkout Jay’s Work:
INTERVIEW:
Jumpy [Underground Media] – : Hello how you doing Jay?
Jay: I’m doing very well, thank you.
Jumpy: Profession?
Jay: Self Proclaimed Graphic Designer / Creative Manager at 360training
Jumpy: Please tell us your favorite software?
Jay: Many years ago I’d have sided with Flash, because it seemed so multipurpose! Now however, after years of nitty gritty hands-on with a number of imaging software I’d have to go with Adobe’s Photoshop!
Jumpy: What about your computer education?
Jay: Hardly anything in black in white so to speak! I first got my hands on a computer (my brother’s) back when I was about 12; had many good times playing violent video games – the more blood the better. At least that’s what I did for the most part when I wasn’t screwing up the computer – having to reinstall Windows and DOS under the watchful eye of my very pissed off brother. Things kind of skyrocketed from there, I got my hands dirty with – the now obsolete – Netscape Composer; studied HTML on my own – in a year I moved on to JavaScript and gif animator – and finally Flash 4.
I took up my Bachelors in Computer Science from the University of Preston. It was the only university at the time that wasn’t a total rip off – AND had courses that I reckoned were just enough to get me by. I studied plenty and graduated top of my class; AND at the campus reception there’s even a photo of me being awarded for a very high GPA! I just did the best that I could to make my parents proud.
A few courses and half a Masters later here I am. I think I’m doing pretty okay; and in some cases much better than most of my friends in school.
Jumpy: Your imaginations are natural or you develop it time by time?
Jay: It takes a bit to develop even if you’ve got it running and pulsating in your veins! Nothing can prepare you for the amount of heartache experienced when a client disses your designs and work, then changes things around to something that looks so arcane and alien that at the end of it all it’s generally hard to believe that you were the person behind it. It takes time to harden yourself for all that universities, colleges, and media training institutes don’t prepare you for. It takes even longer to turn all that negativity experienced into something you can learn from and then improvise with better ideas. Just remember that it doesn’t happen overnight.
Most of my work and ideas are my own and are testament to what I’ve learnt along the way, at other times the work is a collaboration of minds in terms of visual and audio working towards the same end – I can’t take credit for everything. I’ll continue to develop myself, my imagination and perspective as I move ahead.
Jumpy: What we can expect from “Jonathan Cash” in the future?
Jay: Plenty – in terms of ideas and concepts that haven’t been thought of yet! Rest assured, you won’t be anything short of amazed at what has yet to come (provided the clients let me work my magic ha-ha ;))
Jumpy: What is the future of Multimedia/Communication in Pakistan?
Jay: I think the future is bright and the market for communication/multimedia is seemingly growing at an exponential rate. Media is big business now you know, and there’s opportunity for the unimaginable. Positions and exposure galore, we’re moving forward like never before.
There are problems however – education, experience and talent being some of the major few that are tied together like a terrorist to his stash of C4.
Education – Everyone seems to be jumping on the Media Sciences bandwagon that just started a few years ago – every university seems to be milking our younger generation of their money, giving them hopes to a brighter future that doesn’t exist. It exists only if you’ve got the skill and potential know how of how things actually work, real world scenarios, real time judgment of work and quality analysis – all of the things that are a far cry from the subjects you’ve got to study in our universities today. This is something that I can speak of first hand, I was enrolled in a Masters Program for a year before I decided they really couldn’t teach me what I didn’t already know at the time or could at least study on my own through experience or the internet – I made up my mind and I dropped out.
Experience – You need to know how to get the message across – making it look good and sound good is a bit of an after-thought if the basic idea gets messed up and throttled in the process! Simply put Multimedia Communication (Advertising etc) determines how much money the company makes. At my present job I’ve got to make sure that everything meets the mark, are the headings right? Is it big enough for older people to read? Are the images relevant enough? Does it look presentable? Is the key message clearly visible at all times and does it stand out from the rest of it all? Is the branding sufficient? All of these determine our sales at the end of the day, because if people don’t get the message – we’re not going to be making any money, and if we’re not making any money, it means we’re screwed!
Talent – Pakistan has plenty of rich and original talent just waiting to be tapped into. I believe there are people with experience and the education that are making it work for others and themselves! Pakbeat and J4Jumpy are two organizations/endeavors to further that cause and my support for that cause goes out unhindered!
Jumpy: Sources of inspiration?
Jay: My stash of ComputerArts and WebDesigner magazines, Japanese cartoons (anime), urban/street life, and my newfound obsession with Jazz and Pakistani music (I love Sajid and Zeeshan – I figure they’re probably the most under-rated bands in Pakistan)!
Jumpy: How has your experience with Pakistani media been so far?
Jay: I’ve had my share of bad experiences which have generally made me stray away from working with Pakistani media but lets not go there. My most recent experience with JoSH has been absolutely fantastic! They gave me their input and ideas with what they wanted from the album art and website for ‘Mausam’ and let me do the rest; I loved working with them because they valued my own input in matters as much as they did their own – it’s a very rewarding feeling, it makes you feel important to the cause for something spectacular. I also love their music! From what I hear the album’s gotten some pretty rave reviews, both in terms of visuals and tune. JoSH have been amazing people to work with and I look forward to doing business with them in the future as well.
Jumpy: A media revolution seems to be in session in Pakistan, mostly through music. Would you say this applies to other fields of media as well?
Jay: There isn’t much of a media revolution apart from that in music here in Pakistan so to speak of! The only revolution apart from that is in the number of Call-Centers opening up all over the place :). However, you really can’t get enough of good music, and I do think music might induce other media industries to grow and flourish! With new music comes new identity and talent – all of which will want to be unique and separated from the world out there. There will be more visuals in terms of albums, graphics, promotional material, and music videos! All of which demand some level of creativity or the ripping off of some poor unknown soul on the internet!
Jumpy: How far do you see Pakistani media extend itself?
Jay: I see things going really far for our media industry, particularly with mobile media content and music with the surge in underground music/talent. Recently Telenor launched its mobile TV network and that seems like an amazing way to go – if it isn’t the only way! Cell phones are revolutionizing the way we see and hear our content; Computers and our talented designers and music makers are the key to creating that content and making it mobile.
We’ve got a lot to look forward to – Technology and talent is on our side.
Jumpy: How you would like to be remembered?
Jay: I’d like to be remembered as being someone who was trustworthy, resourceful, and good at what he did.
Jumpy: Any message for our J-Ezine?
Jay: I think J-Ezine is absolutely fantastic! I don’t see anybody gaining as much ground as J4Jumpy has in the last couple of years. To all the readers, it’s the love and support that keeps everything going – and to j4jumpy.net a job well done and for a cause worth all the effort! Keep it up, and keep on reeling in the talent.
Jumpy: Final Comments
Jay: Be original and set yourself apart from the rest! Go way beyond your own expectations – study hard and push the envelope! There’s no limit to how much you can learn and accomplish on your own steam rather than relying on others to teach things to you. Keep at it and don’t give up, but don’t expect things to happen overnight… Hard work always pays off in the end! Always!
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