I have met many brilliant minds (including you!) with unique niches—teaching, parenting, documentary filmmaking, journalism, photography, videography, designing, content creation, Islamic education, business, marketing, talent management, programming, medicine, architecture, engineering, politics—and the list goes on.
But what makes you all so extraordinary?
Most of these individuals have treasured their personal experiences—the ups and downs, moments of joy and frustration, gratitude, and fulfillment—while holding firmly to key knowledge and drawing lessons from their journey. They’ve developed a deeper understanding of their audience's psychology and, most importantly, discovered their purpose. Voilà! That’s the ikigai trophy of life.
One thing I am grateful for (and sometimes frustrated by) about myself is my tendency to overthink. “You’re a natural thinker,” as Raphil Rahman once told me. And yes, overthinking is what thinkers often do best—sometimes to the point of procrastination.
“Why can’t you just accept what’s already been explained (dddoohhh)?” teased one of my college buddies, Syed Nur Adaf Zhafry, quite often.
Sure, I understood, but my neurons couldn’t stop asking: Is there more to this?
Yeah I did, but the neuron keeps asking me, is there any more than that?
A master legend from Kandargh Land, Asri Ahmad, once said something that resonated deeply: “There’s more than just design.”
That sparked something within me. I started exploring mainstream psychological principles in visual communication, marketing, branding, and user experience. I also began diving deeper into the meaning of the Holy Quran, seeking wisdom from different fields and contexts.
And then it hit me—a eureka moment so profound it felt euphoric.
I couldn’t keep this realization to myself.
What I’m about to share in this lengthy article is a preliminary observation of my journey and reflections over the years. This thought process has been evolving—from an initial “Aha” moment to “Ahaa,” then “Ahaaaa,” and now “Ah…ha?” It’s like being addicted to an endless cup of intellectual coffee.
The Process
To provide some context, my previous and current roles in the creative industry—starting with designing a simple poster based purely on inspiration (as anyone might do) to becoming a designer who integrates business and marketing insights—have shaped my observations.
I began charting the flow of my career to uncover the greatest treasures within my mind and abilities. Instead of lamenting the past and wishing I’d realized these things earlier, I asked myself: What lessons can I learn from my journey?
I stumbled upon old sketches and felt my mind freeze, much like Adobe's "crash and recover" feature. The "Aha" moments stopped, leaving behind silence. My journaling exercises stretched over months.
(The visual - coming soon)
Revisiting my notes again and again, I began to notice patterns—communication principles overshadowing creative design. I could sense underlying rules at play: the ability to influence, touch someone’s heart, and make a significant impact on those naturally drawn to connect.
After marathon sessions of asking “Why?” repeatedly, I finally understood why Steve Jobs said, “We can only connect the dots looking backward, not forward.”
We, as creations, don’t have all the answers. But how do giant corporations develop long-term product visions? Because they plan meticulously. They strive, adapt, and execute—no "Future Sight" like Kenbunshoku no Haki from One Piece or "Script A" by Ywatch.
Because that’s their plan, and whoever makes a big effort towards that, will achieve it. Not an Advance Future Sight like ‘Kenbunshoku No Haki: Mirai Kan” in One Piece or The Script ‘A’ by Ywatch.
But what about those Simpsons episodes predicting the future?
To me, those are merely revisions.
The Substances from The Almighty Creator, Revealed
There are a few consistent principles I’ve discovered across my experiences, which also align with what was revealed more than 1,400 years ago. To truly grasp these principles, two key areas of knowledge are essential:
- The meaning of Surah Al-Fatihah (if you haven’t explored it yet, I highly recommend starting here).
- A brief explanation of the Quran’s composition, as outlined in the book The Divine Speech by Nouman Ali Khan and Sharif Randhawa (specifically Chapters 8 and 15).
“It’s study means different things to different people”
Simplicity, always come after complexity
The Quran consists of over 300,000 letters forming 70,000 words within 6,000 verses. These are further divided into 114 surahs (chapters), with 113 serving as explanations of the first chapter, Al-Fatihah, which has only seven verses. Remarkably, the entire Quran's essence can be distilled into a single verse. Can you see how those 300k letters are being designed and summarised into one powerful verse here?
This structured approach leads to one ultimate goal—the truth.
Simplicity is to Have a Purpose
Why do we do what we do daily? Some may say it’s to achieve financial freedom, doing a passion project-that-can-fund-me-the-entire-life, or to preserve someone’s heart and body like the Taj Mahal, or to be a billionaire-to-the-moon, or finally, not doing nothing. Whatever.
But at the core, every individual requires a purpose to live. Those who discover their purpose—whether they succeed or continue striving—find fulfillment. To live with purpose is essential; finding the right purpose is a journey.
And what’s more profound than realizing that the greatest freedom comes from submitting to the one and only Creator?
Access to the Objective
Reckon again the first point of simplicity, there are ways to achieve the goal. Find the best that suits you, hold onto it, and keep thriving. For example, to be able to practice “You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help” (this is the most powerful verse that I mentioned before), you need to understand the previous verse, or understand the meaning of Surah Al-Fatihah first. It will start with the idea of Rabbul ‘alamin, ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, and Yau-Middin.
The accessibility is given, right to our mind. Want more? read the other surah. Want it more? read the tafsir. Want it more? Read and understand the hadith.
The Framework of Simplicity
Remember the decreasing numbers? From 300,000 letters to 70,000 words, to 6,000 verses, to 114 surahs, to 7 verses, and finally to one ultimate truth. I am not a fan of the secret of a magic number, odd or even number. When I bumped into this funnel, I thought there was more than just a number.
Interestingly, this aligns with Miller’s Law in psychology, which states that the average person can hold about seven objects in working memory. This concept—introduced in 1956 in The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two—is widely applied in phone numbers, advertising, and marketing to enhance communication effectiveness. (You can test yourself here)
Any message that is required to be disseminated to the user (or us, the creation), will be highly effective by using this concept. And that’s only one at the time I wrote this article (reserve others for later).
We Are Destined for Plurality
Can’t you be the No.1? What is “I” or “me” then? No no no, that’s where I am heading. We are using the pronouns for our daily conversation, but not in absolute power. When I using “I”, there’s always other people who can address him/herself as “I” too. Together with all “I” users in the world, you’ve become a group of people who want to communicate.
In the Surah Al-Fatihah, there is one Arabic term that if you’re physically alone in prayer, you must address yourself as “We”, not “I”. “You alone I worship, You alone I ask for help”. That's wrong.
When Oneness is defined (which is ‘Rabb’), others cannot have the same. The Creators will always not be the same as their creations. Whoever invented a new pattern or technology, does the invented product look, function, behave, and thrive like us humans? There are a few claims and notable attempts, but it is either controversional or not succeed.
Humans, despite our individuality, are inherently plural—we exist to connect and collaborate.
The Quran’s Structure
Based on the mentioned book, this is the most interesting part for me. The words already struck my heart, but my visual cortex needed something too.
There are a lot of repetitive patterns, ring composition, mirror composition, it's structure, and balance within each surah, the dovetailing (modern people say an easter egg) between surah which is commonly used in storytelling, the plot pyramid, and so on.
Guess what? All of these will end with one goal.
Who created us as men with a purpose?
It’s still an ongoing journey. Should I further study psychology? Islamic psychology? Informatics psychology? Or Quranic studies?
Would you like to share your thoughts on my journey? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!