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Compulsory Question 2

My visual statement for that week was just that I wanted to live a comfortable life, with a stable job and nothing else. i think that at that moment, the statement was too simple, lacking any clear ambition or meaning behind it. Thinking back about it, I want to design in a way that would be pleasing to the eye, bringing old traditions and art to life, combining both traditional and modern styles.

I wrote vague ideas on how to improve, and after getting feedback, I definitely need to revise it. They gave me ways to improve on my skills, like practising more, or looking up inspiration on different platforms. I struggle with thinking about the process to get to where I want to be, giving vague answers like ‘i’ll practice’ or ‘work harder’. My answers makes it seem like i do not have a further goal,

Like Sahr Martin Kabba, where he archives Sierra Leone’s vibrant art scene with ‘Train to Sierra Leone’. He strives to preserve the artistic heritage, connecting West African creatives, and even includes videos that highlight the nation’s history, local artists and lifestyle, while bringing together traditional and modern lifestyles. Looking at old vintage designs for inspiration, his works become a larger collage of Sierra Leone’s cultural history, giving them a modern spin.

This analyses tradition and lineage, while still fitting with all the modern designs. which stands by my visual statement. Designing things that interact with the audience directly, like letting them be a part of the art process itself, or indirectly, talking about the audience’s heritage.

In my other modules, every project I do tend to have a meaning behind it, while none of the projects needed us to combine traditional and modern together, there is still thought and meaning put together, all about trying to tell the audience a message. For Studio, it’s more of a fun project, where it wants the viewers to experience the texture and taste of the food without actually eating it, giving them the mouthfeel based on looks and visuals alone.

I strive to design work where there is a message or a meaning behind it, due to my personal experience, I tend to work better if i find a reason or purpose to design something, instead of aimlessly designing something for the sake of it. Be it bringing attention to traditions, or raising awareness to something, I want to always design and do something that has meaning.

(word count : 411)

References :

Sahr Martin Kabba is archiving Sierra Leone’s vibrant art scene

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Compulsory Question One

For our group manifesto, we decided to do a group collage, each thinking of one manifesto that they stood by and combining one to form one big manifesto. Our manifesto was connected to Critical thinking skills, but I think we integrated other classes into our manifesto as well. Each manifesto is a rule we try to stick by when we do something relating to design.

For my personal manifesto, I wrote down ‘think less and do more’, a rule I try to stand by when doing most of my work. I realise that most of the time, I think too much about how to do something rather than doing it. It’s a habit that I struggle with, and setting this rule made me more open to the possibilities. Trusting my instincts in my design choices and asking for feedback along the way is the only way to get started.

For example, Adam Ho, who trusts his gut throughout the entire design process. He creates works that feel like an ‘out of body experience’. He trusts his gut, designing and working backwards, while still ensuring that everything makes sense and is consistent. He mostly works with typography and images combined, enjoying creative freedom.

Another alternative manifesto I could have is that Failure is not always bad. There were countless times in the past where I let failure take control of my actions, either losing motivation or giving up on a project entirely. However, I have grown to realise that as a designer, failure is inevitable. Failure will make you see things from a different perspective, helping you to improve.

To me, connecting theory and practice, along with creative practice and critical thinking are more significant to me than the rest. I often struggle to balance creativity and criticality, the lines often blurring into one another. Like our studio module, not knowing whether to focus more on the graphics and the design of it, or more on the information. But balancing the two is the best case scenario.

I spend most of my time thinking about what to do and how to do it, instead of actually completing any work. I struggle with projects that often need critical and technical skills, as I spend all my time thinking about the concept and the thought behind it, instead of actually getting started and doing it. This critical thinking skills module has helped me in thinking rationally, thinking about the reasoning behind all my works and actions.

(word count : 413)

Reference :

Designer Adam Ho on trusting your gut during the creative process

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Connecting Practice with Society

This week we were asked to film a video based on a societal issue that we see day to day. We decided to film a video based on the overuse of phones, and while other groups acted out their scenarios, we decided to go out and film strangers on their phone while doing mundane tasks. 

I definitely think that you can and might even benefit greatly from being a social agent while being an artist. Social agents want to spread important messages all around, and I think that being an artist is the best way to spread messages. It can be through poster design that carries a message, or drawing out a comic that tells the message needed.

One artist who does this is Matthew Miller, who is on a creative mission to help the Earth one poster at a time. He takes inspiration fromStudio Ghibli films, wanting people to feel a sense of connection and beauty in his work. His posters consisted mostly of bright text and bright backgrounds, but that does not take away his message. 

To me, a socially engaged practice involves both the artist and the audience participating in a piece of work together, an example being the video we did on a societal issue, filming strangers around school and Sim Lim square on their phones while doing mundane tasks. This would be considered a socially engaged practice to me, including the audience in a way while still portraying the message.

(word count : 245)

Reference :

Meet Matthew Miller, the creative on a mission to revive the Earth one design at a time

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Connecting Theory and Practice (Week 2)

Identity is a tricky subject to touch on, as its a notion that not only you will define, as society can form a completely different identity of you, based on your actions, or based on first impressions. This week, we were asked to select images that describe us, and write adjectives that describe us. 

For me, it was a struggle to write good adjectives without sounding too proud, and writing bad adjectives to make me seem too pessimistic. I wrote mostly negative adjectives for myself, as sometimes I struggle to find the decent points in me, without having to ask for a third party opinion. I have never thought about my own identity, always going with the flow and relaxing, talking to people however I want, but because of that, I unknowingly create more and more different identities for myself. 

I believe that your own identity can change based on your surroundings, having to create new identities that would fit better into specific situations. For example, the personality you show at home and at your school is different, as you have to be nice and proper at one, and you can act however you want in another. 

We can always create new identities whenever we want, but when does it become not ourselves anymore? I believe that as long as you stay true to yourself in some way, that no matter how many identities you create to fit yourself in specific situations, you will never lose your true identity, no matter how many people see you differently. 

(word count : 257)

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Creative Practice and Critical Thinking. (Week 1)

For this week, we were asked to write a story about a social issue. I wrote about subtle racism experienced in school by a friend of mine, being in a mostly Chinese school. I focused more on being critical, putting mostly statistics instead of focusing on the story being written. 

My definition of the differences between creative and critical writing is how you get the story or point across. Creative writing requires an art of some form, be it story telling, or posters, signifying a message. While Critical writings are mostly reports, numbers and statistics orientated. 

The only concern is on how to balance the two, to be both creative and critical about a story you’re writing, or a point you are trying to make. I think when it comes to story writing, you can only either be critical or creative, and it might be difficult to balance the both when you are only using words. 

I would have done things differently by figuring out a way to balance the two, maybe by throwing in story telling along with the reports, making sure that the statistics are backed up by real life experiences. 

I believe that Creativity and criticality are symbiotic in problem solving. Having too much of both might make it boring, making it unclear about the point being made, and finding the balance between the two is what is needed to make it interesting, and learning how to balance within the two is a skill that might be difficult to figure out, as it requires third-party opinions. 

(word count : 259)

References :

Growing number of people in Singapore feel racism is an important problem: CNA-IPS study ;

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/racism-discrimination-singapore-survey-ips-2601276

Let's Talk About Race - challenge

[kohlxj]

Summary

This class taught me the principles of design, pushing us to think outside of the box, making sure that everything we learn is linked to design training. It forces me to work on things out of my comfort zone, and forces me to talk and present more. Having weekly mindfulness sessions was a way for me to clear my head, even though I found myself doing other things while the video was playing in the background. Doing weekly research on websites and learning how to quote websites correctly, was a skill I needed but never learnt how to do, being one of the more important takeaways from this class. I was asked to speak up and talk more, as I normally would do the work and let my groupmates do the talking. Overall, this class is slightly different compared to last semester’s critical thinking skills. That class was focusing on important life skills and how to link skills learnt to day to day life, i felt that this class was focusing on skills linked to the design aspect of life. 

(word count : 180)

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Week 10 - Post Structuralism

Structuralism, to me, represents something stable that everyone knows the meaning to, while post structuralism takes away the main values it possesses, which forces us to think and challenge the main ideas of structuralism, forcing us to look at objects or art from a different perspective. I believe that the ‘truth’ changes based on the individual looking at it, depending on their political stance, basic knowledge. All those would change the ‘meaning’ behind the object, or how they view it, as the normal thing to do is to normally deadpan on naming objects, rarely seeing further than what the object is. Such as bubbles, being seen as something innocent, something that is played by children most of the time, is used to depict death, as it shows the fragileness and suddenness of death. Rarely do you ever look at something colourful and think of something morbid like death. 

For our class activity, we were formed into pairs, while one had to take random pictures, the other had to take pictures of text places around the public space. 

The picture of the bike linking up to the word ‘lifestyle’, claw machine with the word ‘rolex’, and a picture of a glass bottle with the word ‘pattern’. Somehow we had to come up with explanations of how even if the words did not make sense to the pictures, they could still be linked. Cycling was like a lifestyle to people, claw machines are worth as much as a rolex when you take into account how much some people spend just to get that prize, and the glass bottle on the ground shows the pattern of how some people seem to litter around.

(word count : 280)

References :

How Art Dealt with Death Throughout its History

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/death-art

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Week 11 - Post Modernism

I found modernism to be the simplification of many elements, be it art, furniture, design, or even in day to day life, were all simplified due to modernism, which prioritises function over looks. Postmodernism is the blend from the past with the present, making the two art forms look different together, as it was the era where designers were constantly trying to push the boundaries of what design could be. Loud, bright colours were used, with a clash of typography and flashy icons, which is what we had to experiment with during our class activity today. 

We had to come up with a postmodernism advertisement, which made me step out of my comfort zone, as I was used to more neat and minimalistic designs, compared to what postmodernism was. This is what I came up with. I definitely played it safe, and did not try to do something that was more expressive or rebellious. I just took references from old advertisements, but it did not look bright or rebellious enough, which was the main factor about postmodernism advertisements. I would definitely improve it by experimenting with different typefaces, putting more bright imagery, while creating a catchy slogan and making it look messy and funky, which were the vibes we needed to convey. 

This exercise definitely helped in stepping out of our comfort zone, having to experiment with a different era of design that we were not familiar with. It helps to expand on skills that involve making loud and bright imagery not clash with each other, pushing us to do something that we might not like, or be comfortable with. 

(word count : 270)

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Week 2 : Semiotics

The main takeaway from this class was the importance of symbols and signs in order to get your message across without directly writing it out on the design. Its interesting how people have different interpretations of different symbols, and today during the class activity, it was the main example of that. To learn and understand symbols better, in order to communicate our ideas across.

The poster I decided to decipher is an advertisement by coca cola.

Formal analysis : 

The bright red background is the main colour of Coca Cola, as people could just look at the colour red and know the main brand behind it.

Contextual analysis : 

 It has a white wired plug with two bottles of coca cola on top, making it seem like coca cola will give you the energy you need, as plugs normally represent energy. This poster was made with the intention of getting you to buy their product for the energy that it can give. Red is also an iconic colour that is used by most food brands, as red is the colour to increase appetite and blood pressure, making the consumers want to act faster and make more impulsive decisions, which might make people want to buy the coca cola more. 

This poster is simple and quick, as people could be walking past, and still capture the information on it as it’s bright, simple, and gets the message across easily. 

(word count: 236) 

References : 

Louella Berryman “This is the reason why Mcdonald’s uses red in their branding” 05 July 2023 https://www.delish.com/uk/food-news/a44441014/fast-food-red-branding/

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Week 4/5 : How to analyse a work of design + field trip to the National Museum

Touching on the Design Analysis Framework, we were asked to bring 3 items that were important to us, and as a group, had to organise our items into different categories, such as shape, craftsmanship and sentimental value. This helps us to form opinions of objects, such as the purpose and process, as well as the subject matter and meanings, which is important in understanding the end product of the design better.

This reminds me about the importance of a Creative Process Journal, where we have to note down our progress and slowly start building up from there, which is what I always struggle at. Even now, I've always been someone who does the final product first before building up the foundation, which is the wrong way to do things. If I don't know my own thought process when doing something, how can I expect other people to know as well? 

Now knowing how to analyse different types of work, we were tasked to take pictures of things that interest us in the National Museum. While exploring, an exhibition caught my eye as it was out in the open, with recycling being the main focus ‘Re-’. It was an interactive exhibition, where you could touch the items that were shown off. Using different household objects that we would normally use, in order to show off the different degradable plastics and the different ways to recycle them, even having a table full of items that were made from recycled plastic. 

This made the exhibition more interesting, as not only does it provide useful information that we normally wouldn’t seek, but it also makes it interactive, making it fun for children or people who are passing by to take a look at it. 

(word count: 290)

[kohlxj]

Week 1 : Phenomenology

The main takeaway I had from this week’s class was the importance of having different interpretations to different works of art. During the class activity, finding other’s interpretations of the word “time” and “shadows” interesting as I would have seen the same things as them, but not have the same interpretation as them. While I chose to draw hand puppets as my interpretation of “shadow”, others drew shadow monsters, or took pictures of the shadows formed by objects. 

Different people have different interpretations of different types of art, and in a way, that is what is amazing about art in general. The discussion about what the meaning might be, is something that makes art so enjoyable in the first place. Such as my shadow puppets being seen as a way to tell stories, instead of just being seen as something innocent to me, like children finding a way to entertain themselves. 

One of the more surrealistic art pieces that I've seen is “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali. His art included details about his personal life, the politics at that current moment, or even the anxieties and uncertainty of time. Different people seem to have different interpretations of this art. The melted clocks over a scene at the beach, this art’s meaning has been debated about a lot, but it will always be up to the person’s interpretation.

(word count : 229) 

References:

“The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dalí – An Analysis

By Jordan Anthony, October 6, 2023

https://artfilemagazine.com/the-persistence-of-memory-by-salvador-dali/

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Compulsory Question 3

I have not put much thought into what i want to do yet, but i have always thought about advertising for something that means alot to me, or something that should be more put out there into public view, such as creating advertising for the The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), helping to spread awareness about owners leaving their pets outside, or adopting stray pets that struggle to find a home. My final project and collaboration projects relate to what I want to work as professionally, as I aspire to do something relating to advertising, where collaboration skills will play a part. I would have to work with other departments of the company, and I will have to practise mindfulness as well, as I need to think about whether my message is sensitive enough for the right target audience. 

The Critical Thinking Skills module definitely helps in developing skills that make me think more about the process and the skills needed, learning about different skills every week, overall practising mindfulness, and thinking about what I plan to do for my final project. I am a very ‘go with the flow’ type of person, so I did not put much thought into what I would want to do in the next two years. My passions and ideas might change, so in fear that starting too early would cause me more harm than good, i decide that i would only start thinking about the final project closer to the date, hoping that by then, my mindset would have matured, and i would think more rationally, providing better ideas that can be better executed.

(word count : 275)

[kohlxj]

Compulsory Question 1

I understand the Critical Thinking Skills module as something we need to incorporate into our daily lives, not only involving them in my learning process to be a designer. Reflecting on our actions after the end of each day, clearing our minds before the start of class,  learning new important lessons that help us think clearly, and being more empathetic as a whole. One of the main parts that we thought about was how we saw Critical Thinking as a metaphor, and to explain the different parts of it.

As a group, we decided that the module is like an ecosystem, with soil, trees, plants, clouds, animals and water being important to each other, not being a complete ecosystem without the other. This activity is my favourite by far, drawing an ecosystem with my group mates, while also reflecting on what we have learnt, is a way to make me remember the important aspects while also having fun at the same time. I believe that learning how to work in a group is important, as it’s not only a skill that is useful, it’s also useful to have in the future, in working environments, where communication is the most important in order to prevent misunderstandings and arguments. Another metaphor I thought about that represents the module perfectly is a sandwich, as without one part, the entire food wouldn't be considered a sandwich. A sandwich consists of two pieces of bread, a slice of meat in the middle, lettuce, tomato, with a slice of cheese as well. 

However, during the group work, I realised that the only thing that I've done is drawn out everything, while my teammates were the ones who came up with the ideas on how critical thinking is important. I realise that this is something I need to improve on, generating ideas to my group mates instead of doing all of the physical work instead to make up for the lack of ideas on my part. 

(329 words)

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Compulsory question 2

Critical thinking skills seem to exist in my other modules, most of them existing in studio. I had to practise many of the skills I learnt, collaborating with my classmates, practising emotional intelligence, and documenting my art process. I had many instances where I had to work with people, like in craft, where I had a worksheet that I had to exchange with a classmate and had to work on separately. It was mostly awkward as it was the first day of class, and having to exchange worksheets with someone you barely knew brought a lot of pressure having to make it look nice.

 But I realise that worrying about that means that I developed a sense of emotional intelligence, where I learnt to be more sensitive when giving feedback, not only on other’s work, but on my own work as well, trying to not be overly critical or flattery. Be it in photography or studio, there have been moments where I had to give feedback, and sometimes I struggle to give feedback, in fear that it might come off as an insult or I'll say the wrong things. But I realise that in order to get better, we need to give constructive criticism to others to improve. One of the main components where I have to document my art process is through the creative process journal for the studio, researching different artists, giving credit where it is due. Even in studio, where we had to work with a partner to rotoscope two images together, a time where we had to produce works together without our ideas clashing, or us disagreeing with one another. 

But skills we learn in this module are not only important in this course we are doing, but in our day to day lives as well, as these are not skills that we would normally put too much power into thinking about. 

(word count : 316 words)

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Week 5 - Growth mindset

This class made me think hard about if there really is a need for perfection, if designing things requires a hard thinking process instead of just letting ideas flow through. I always struggled with ideas for projects, or even artwork, as I got into an art block, not allowing my hand to move across the paper at all. I was even more stressed when I was asked to use my non-dominant hand, and was just asked to draw ideas that popped up in my head, without any warning or any preparation for the task given. I tend to panic if something does not seem perfect to me, but I realise that there was no point worrying about the design if there was no right or wrong, so I used my left hand, with the idea of recreating the LIHO TEA logo, and went to work. 

After completing the activity, I realise that the lack of a plan and idea is not always bad, as it can allow ideas to flow better, without the fear of it being good or bad. Even if the drawings were not perfect, it is a good way to produce ideas that you can later refine, instead of forcing yourself to think of an idea that you want to be stuck on. 

Word count : 216

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Week 2 - collaborative skills

I believe that I am weak in ways that involve speaking up and being a leader, as I would rather be a follower, rather than being someone that other people listen to. However, I get the necessary work done as a follower, making sure that I listen to the main contributors to the ideas. Today’s activity showed what I had to improve on, such as my lack of communication with the group, doing my own tasks and things until it was the end of the activity. I got the work done on time, making sure that I did what I had to do. However, I realised that I was very closed off, and barely asked questions about what the rest were doing. We ended up doing a cat tower of sorts, as we realised that we all had a shared passion of love for cats, so we decided to make a monument of cats (as shown in the image).

  I found myself being clueless at parts of the activity, as I was rarely interacting with my group members. That is something that I strive to improve on, as I want to be more involved in the work my group does, instead of not being involved in the conversation.

Word count : 208

[kohlxj]

Week 1 - Mindfulness

Before this class, I thought that critical thinking was just about talking about artworks or finding an idea to explain your own art, not knowing that it would be something important that everyone needs in order to be more empathetic to other people, while also not taking criticism to heart, instead taking it as a way to improve yourself more. Meanwhile, teaching that it’s better to do something and talk, negative or positive, instead of remaining silent and not providing any feedback. I now know that it’s better to provide useful feedback and criticism, providing my true thoughts if someone were to ask me about them and not sugarcoat my words in order to not hurt their feelings, while also not taking other’s feedback to heart. Reading and learning about what topics matter to me more, the importance of results and the process, as well as the importance of accepting failure as a necessity instead of it being something that holds you back. Allowing conversation about your art is also an important factor, as it allows you to ponder and put effort into thinking about your work, finding the connection between your art and the message you want to convey behind it.

Word count : 202