Hello, I’m Hidayat Jamalolail, Creative Director from Malaysia. I’m the Founder of Studio HDJ and former Chief Creative Officer at INVOKE.
A 15 years of Journey.
My career began in 2010 when I was offered a Junior Art Director position at a local design studio in Putra Heights, where I had previously interned. It was there that opportunities in theatre musical productions began, setting me on the path to an exciting creative journey.
But my creative journey officially started a few years back, in 2006 when I enrolled in a Foundation of Creative Multimedia at Multimedia University, eventually pursuing a degree in Media Innovation. I have never thought that pursuing Creative was what I wanted to do, but it has always played a major role in my life prior. Being a Creative, I’ve always had this urge to do things differently, creating unconventional work. My time at MMU opened my eyes and, ultimately, shaped my purpose.
The First 3 Years.
The first three years of my career were a colourful one, it’s what set the foundation of the journey that I endured. When I first started working, I was introduced to the theatre musical production scene. My first involvement was the Cuci The Musical 2 and the project opened up doors to nearly 10 more stage productions produced by Tall Order Production; among which were the Lat Kg Boy Sebuah Muzikal, Lawak Ke Der, and Supermokh Sebuah Muzikal. It was also during this 3-year period that I co-founded my first design studio, the H+A Studio. Although life was pretty good, but something was missing.
Change is Possible.
The last decade (2013-2024) was what defined my creative journey. After the first three years, 10 stage productions, and multiple creative projects later, I decided to make a change. As much as I enjoyed my time in the entertainment scene, I felt that I wanted to do and give more. I wanted to believe that whatever I did, can make a change. So, I applied for a position as a Creative Designer for who was back then a prominent opposition leader that later in 2022 became the Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli.
From 2013-2016, I worked with his parliamentary team before he founded INVOKE, where I was instantly made the Chief Creative Officer for the organization. It was during my eight years in the organization that I learned, experimented, failed and succeeded on how to become a creative leader and saw how design and creativity can be a force of change in the world.
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