Jourdan Kamal
On our CR8V SPOT premier, we are featuring the edutech juggernaut, Jourdan Kamal. Jourdan is Indonesian by birth but studied in Singapore. He is best known as the founder of MauBelajarApa.com, an Edutech platform in Indonesia which focuses on skills training and non-academic courses. Prior to founding MauBelajarApa.com, he graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computing and had been active in the world of entrepreneurship and sales.
Jourdan was a Marketing Director at Propnex (a property agency in Singapore), where he was awarded top producer several times between 2012 to 2013. In 2013, He relocated to Indonesia for good with the intention of helping the people through education. In 2014, he founded MauBelajarApa.com which is one of the top 5 Edutech companies in Indonesia today. On August 19, 2020, Jourdan was featured on TEDx Talks.
Here are excerpts from our session with him:
CR8VSPOT: The last time we met you in person was 10 years ago in Singapore. How has your creative journey been?
It was definitely a wild and fulfilling journey! I’ve been through up[s] and down[s] in my career and thankfully, they are all great lessons to be learned.
CR8VSPOT: Please share some of the steps you took to get to this point in your career?
Well, I started as [a] web designer before I established my own Edutech firm. Since I knew how to design as well as how to develop websites. Before I was able to hire anyone else to work for me, I designed the company logo myself, develop the website myself as well as established the company’s online presence in Social Media which now has around 110k followers with a verified accounts (@maubelajarapa). Apart from that, I learned how to build my personal branding too which I think is one of the most important factors in contributing to my success today.
CR8VSPOT: You are heavily committed to investing in others and you’ve been very successful at doing that…can you tell us about it.
"I wish I can help to improve the skill level of the people here in Indonesia.” That was the remark I made when I returned to Indonesia in 2013. When I saw the condition of our country’s education, I had a burden inside me to empower the young people here. Growing up in Singapore with a great education and people investing in my life. I saw how my life was changed to become better because of that and in return, I wish to pay it forward to the people here in Indonesia.
CR8VSPOT: With the ever-present cultural disparities, has that cultural atmosphere impacted your creative decisions and aspirations?
Yes, definitely. Especially that I spent most of my growing up time in Singapore, I had to adjust quite a bit when I returned to Indonesia. Especially during the first and second year of my return, I had to take my time to study the behavior of the locals here.
CR8VSPOT: As a key influencer in Southeast Asia, how has the pandemic affected the Indonesian creative industry?
Surprisingly, this pandemic has pushed the creative industry to another level. I see more people starting to create and explore more creative content. For example, I have a few photographer friends who began to take on virtual photoshoot projects and the results were amazing.
CR8VSPOT: In your perspective, what do you think the design world will look like post-pandemic?
I think it would be more thoughtful, considering the changes in the behavior of how humans interact and work. Everything would revolve around practicality and thoughtfulness.
CR8VSPOT: What are you doing to prepare for life after isolation?
I’m starting to have a very different way of looking at design spaces now. I used to have a dream of building nice offices but now, I’m considering building a home office instead.
CR8VSPOT: There are moments in a designer’s journey when projects or career goes really awry. Can you share with us some of your lowest moments as a creative and how you scaled through?
One of my lowest moments as a creative was to close down my web design company. However, I learn that as a designer, I don’t always need to work as a designer to express my creativity. For instance today, I’m a CEO and a founder of an Edutech, and yet, I’m still in charge of the design and the creative department of my tech company.
CR8VSPOT: What design project(s) are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on my company’s new Apps. Thus, I’m spending most of my time designing the UI/UX of the apps for our next launch.
CR8VSPOT: With the current state of record job losses around the world, what advice do you have for someone thinking of venturing into graphic design?
More than just looking yourself as another graphic designer, you need to rise above and see yourself as one who provides a better solution, through your design.
CR8VSPOT: With the present-day uncertainties, what words do you have to share with the creative community?
Keep learning, keep exploring, keep improving yourself. Try to be the master of your craft.
Jourdan Kamal’s Favorites!
Design Software: Photoshop
Font: Avenir
Color: Dark Blue
Movie: John Constantine
City: Jakarta
Inspiration: Jack Ma
Online Resource: Pinterest & Instagram
Achilles’ heel and turn off: The proud and the show-offs…
We’ll definitely be back with Jourdan in the future with in depth knowledge on several projects. You can connect with Jourdan on Instagram @jourdanz and @maubelarajapa
