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[shinhayeon]

WOII module summary

The module was full of challenges and struggles for me. Learning new terms and theories was interesting but applying it immediately to the class activity and my own experience was quite tough. 

Through the combination of lectures, interactive class activities, and written assignments, I experienced growth in my understanding of various topics within design. The lectures introduced me to a variety of concepts, exploring the origins with interesting examples such as advertisement videos. 

Engaging in class activities not only provided practical examples but also gave inspirations for my writing. Collaborating with classmates in pairs and in teams allowed me to practise and enhance my collaborative skills and presentation skills. Although, working in random pairs was initially worrying but turned out to be enjoyable.

As I write my posts, researching into references and artists deepened my analysis of art works and philosophies, helped me to understand design principles better and refine my own style. 

I enjoyed the field trip to the museum the most, despite initial worries about what to write for my posts. Visit to the museum offered a chance to explore diverse histories and cultures, observe various artworks and ideas. And it was refreshing.

(195 words)

I left the previous CTS posts as I was told to leave it for sampling by the external evaluator.

[shinhayeon]

Week 11 Postmodernism

Postmodernism came from opposing the rationalism and objectivity set by modernism. Speaking out that truth and objectivity doesn’t exist and culture should be analysed within the historical view and power structure. It emphasises multi culture and personal identities providing unlimited perspectives to analyse.  

This phenomenon brought diversity and pluralism resulting in extraordinary combinations of artworks. As an example, well known artist Andy Warhol is a postmodernist. He created his artwork from the daily items, criticising the product culture and popular culture. This shows that he is trying to break the stereotype which is a postmodernism movement. 

Modernism art provides various perspectives rather than breaking the boundaries of the realities and fundamentals. Marcel Duchamp’s “Ready Made” has brought challenging and experimental movement and shoved a path of postmodern art. He focuses on the essential form rather than the function which emphasises the appealing appearance of the object.

When I search postmodernism artworks, I can observe the surrealism and the use of collage. Fragmentation technique, the basis of the college, which was used during the Craft module. Under the theme of Memory, I made two contrasting pieces of my memory of musical music. I’ve fragmented the key elements from the images and arranged them after tearing and cutting them into pieces.

As a class activity, in pairs, we created a postmodernism advertisement. While we were making the poster, I was thinking about the criteria of postmodernism. Looking at the result of the poster after doing some research back at home, I think it might have been better, more bold and reinvented.

(259 words)

Marcel Duchamp- https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/dada-and-surrealism/dada2/a/dada-readymades

Definitions and examples-https://www.masterclass.com/articles/postmodern-art-guide

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/postmodernism

[shinhayeon]

Week 9 Cultural Materialism

Cultural materialism is about the environment of our living area. It emphasises the importance of infrastructure which is a basic element in our environment that is commonly seen in everyday life such as transportation, buildings, roads, etc. 

Through the class exercise, I explored and captured the infrastructure around me. I could observe that the space is used effectively and cleverly. The bicycles are organised to save the limited space they have. The balconies of HDB are tightly structured and it has high levels as Singapore has a limited amount of land. Found out that there are always shelters along the road to the MRT stations. As Singapore is always hot and has sudden rains, it's making our life easier.

I lived in Penang for 6 years and now I’m studying in Singapore. Both of the places are an island and have the same climate. The significant difference is the transportation and the currency.In Penang, there's no MRT or popular bus usage. People mostly use cars, taxis, or rentals to get around, and there aren't many sidewalks for walking. The price of living is quite cheap and affordable in Penang while I have to well-manage and save the use of money in Singapore.

Pictures from Penang:

Infrastructure has a huge portion of influence on individuals doing art. The environment of living is inevitably buried in artworks. I often get comments from my surroundings that my designs are organised and minimalistic. I think these are derived from the peaceful and calm place I lived in.

(254 words)

[shinhayeon]

Week 4 -How to Analyse a Work of Design Week 5 -National Museum

During the lecture, I learned about the 5 major design analysis frameworks (Process, materials, meanings, form, context). Which made me think about certain aspects to analyse the design and reflect on my work. In class, each of us brought items from home and searched for connections among them. We sorted them based on criteria such as price, needs versus wants, and form versus function.

Focusing on the form and function, they are controversial elements to consider in design. I believe that design should be able to fulfil both form and function and prioritising one feels like a chicken or the egg first argument. 

When I searched for people's opinions about this, there was a principle of “Form follows function” said by the architect Louis Sullivan, father of skyscrapers. He discusses the relationship between form and function in nature and applies this principle to architecture. Stating that the shape of nature is formed according to its purpose, the design of buildings should reflect their functions clearly and consistently. 

On the other hand, there are people debating that go against this principle. Stating that it's negligent to aesthetics, comparing design with nature isn’t explainable, design is not derived from the function, there are other things to consider nowadays. Such as the goal, preferences of the client, user experience.

5 interesting points from the museum were from the exhibition “Now Boarding”. I observed the exhibited works thinking about the major design analysis. The concept of exhibition history of tourism in Singapore was appealing. The booklets, transportation cards, souvenirs and the decorations were intriguing with the choice of materials and typefaces for the information.

(270 words)

References:

Article of Louis Sullivan, "form ever follows function" Para.4 -https://www.giarts.org/article/tall-office-building-artistically-considered-excerpt

[shinhayeon]

Week 03 Semiotics

Learned about another new term ‘Semiotics’. Semiotics is about how meanings are implied in designs using symbols, index, icon to deliver messages and communicate with the public. During the class activity we got to make an analysis. The process of formal and contextual analysis provided better understanding of the artwork. 

In groups, we analysed a poster for the movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. We discussed the colour, shape, and placement of the poster. The red, glossy high heel is a trident which implies the devil and the fashion. The poster is effectively representing the main character of the movie who starts to work in a fashion company facing challenges and growth. 

Semiotics can be linked to what I've been doing for the studio module. I made trading cards using the illustrator and designer I chose. I tried my best to represent the artists’ identity and style. For Susan Kare, pioneer of the pixel art and icons, I added icons throughout the page and made her portrait in pixel art. Also as she is a graphic designer in Apple, I used the interface of the early Apple Mackintosh. For Maurice Sendak, he is an illustrator and an author. So I drew his face in his art style with borders like a book cover which represents the story books he wrote and drew. The name of the artist and the elements act as signifiers to signify each artist.

Poster I chose to analyse:

This is a poster for a Japanese theatre play ‘The Bee’ designed by Japanese art director Yoshida Yuni. She is famous for playing creative and brilliant tricks in her artworks.

References:

Japanese play "The Bee"-https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/feb/01/the-bee-review

(249 words) Except for the info on the images

[shinhayeon]

Week 01 Phenomenology

I was introduced to a new term 'Phenomenology' during the lecture. The word sounded difficult and unapproachable at first, but I could understand the concept after some explanations. It was a term meaning we perceive the world with our lived experience. How we feel about a specific subject differs by individual's experiences and memories. 

It is similar to myself relating back to past experiences and familiar senses when I see things which bring different combinations of ideas and imaginations. Such as the scent I smell. When I smell a specific scent of perfume, my mind brings the memory of the person who used that scent of perfume. Or the music I listen to when I am in a specific place or period of time in my life. When I listen to a specific artist’s song, It brings me back to when I was in Korea. 

As a class activity, I interpreted the idea of 'time' by creating drawings. First thing I did was to create a mind map about my definition and emotions with the words ‘shadow’ and 'time'. Felt that I could express time better than the shadow. I drew about the pressure and tiredness under limited time, and longings about happy past times. Observing the other’s works, I noticed that how we think of time differs and most of my classmates described time using a photograph so it was more abstract, providing a different perspective. Which gave me a clear understanding and an example of what phenomenology is.

(250 words) Except for info on the images

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -Week 12 -Connect CTS A to your learning and professional journey.

It would be a great experience for me to use my design skills to collaborate with BA Musical Theatre. Creating posters and marketing collateral to promote their performances will allow me to discuss my concepts and ideas with the BA Music Theatre students and use their photos and videos as sources to work with.

Another collaboration that I want to consider is to work with students from BA Product Design. Function and structures are their strengths, and I can get their advice when I am using my designs like illustrations to add value to the range of collaborative products.

For final projects, I would like to design an application to record hobbies. My hobby is to watch musicals and I record my experiences of the casts, numbers and seats after the show which can be applied to other hobbies too. There are a lot of hardships while living a life and I believe happy memories and doing things that I enjoy helps me to overcome the challenging moments. Through recording them, it would be easier to recall the memories and get motivated.

For community engagement, I would like to work in the Korean animal protection organisation, ���Kara’. They support animal rights by helding a campaign, rescuing animals from breeding grounds, fighting against illegal sellers and animal abuse. I can design posters and information letters about the suffering animals and create merchandise with most of the profit being sent to charities. I care about animals and think that animals should be well treated as they can’t speak out for themselves. 

My dream is to become a freelance illustrator. In my artwork, I focus on conveying messages and thoughts I had. The CTS module questions me about different perspectives and areas that I’ve never thought about. CTS teaches ways and gives hints to sort things out in the future working as an illustrator. To work for clients, collaborative skills are necessary to understand their needs and work in the right direction. Documentation and citing techniques improves the quality of the work. Knowing the resolution when conflict occurs is also important for efficiency.  

Total 350 words

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -Week 11 -Connect CTS A to all your other modules (and components).

Critical thinking and mindfulness was helpful in most of the modules. In the digital skills module, I often lose my patience as I get stuck frequently. I could calm myself down, stop myself from thinking of giving up to refresh my mind and get back with it.

Collaborative skills were used a lot during the studio module, for data space, we had to work together to organise the items in order. For the research framework, we had to collect resources, bringing all of the group mates on the same pace. For visual grammar, we had to create a composition according to the given verbs, listening to everyones’ ideas.

Emotional intelligence helped me to relax. I often panic when things go wrong but by talking to my friends I could feel better. In the craft and studio module, we couldn’t understand the task so we helped each other by sharing the work and ideas and asking questions. With my friends I could share the same feelings and worries we are experiencing.

While having a group work in the studio module, there was little assertion and conflict due to miss communications but by clarifying and understanding each other, we could solve the problems.

In the photography module, we had to present photos to get feedback which required a growth mindset. After some feedback, I had to admit that I was lacking in a specific area and had to practise and retake some photos. Through this I could focus on my weaknesses and improve on them. Craft module required various materials which I haven't ever used before or used in such ways. I could try out new methods and explore, breaking the fixed idea. 

In a research framework assignment, I had to collect facts and relevant images including citings for each of the resources I’ve collected which is evidence that the source is accurate and trustworthy. 

Creating CPJ is all about documenting processes and results. I recorded the journey of the class activities and assignments. Pages are made up by printed out images I've taken and collected. 

Total 344 words

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -WEEK 10 -Seven weekly topics as a whole

I understood the CTS module as time for me to think and exercise my mind to be healthier. I’ve learned about new terms such as mindfulness, growth mindset, and emotional intelligence and could help myself when I was emotionally overwhelmed or needed to solve problems. During the lesson in groups, we combined all of our ideas into one to create a metaphor of CTS (the image attached). My own choice of metaphor was a backpack. CTS is like a backpack. I hated to carry school bags in my highschool as it was too heavy and gave me shoulder pain but items in the bag were there to make my life easier and more effective.

My favourite session was week 9 digital media. We collected images according to our ethos as designers: favourite colour scheme or combination, favourite design styles, favourite typography posters, projects we’ve experimented with different colour psychology. It was memorable because through this activity, I could think about my favourite things and tastes. While collecting images, I typed the overall keywords for each of the categories and picked the ones that are appealing. I noticed that I like collage artworks and vivid colours. I could also observe what the others are having in their mind.

It is valuable to work in groups. Group activities provide helpful experiences and improve collaborative skills. According to the UNSW Sydney, working in a group gives students a chance to share different ideas and perspectives of each other, helps you to know your strengths, provides deeper understandings and be more engaged. I believe that it is inevitable to have troubles and challenges while working with each other but through this, I could acknowledge and be more mature than before.

Reference: https://www.teaching.unsw.edu.au/group-work

I wish I could do better in group activities. I’m often scared to speak out loud, afraid of the judgements I would get and I’m trying my best to get over it by practising, having more group activities.

Total 332 words

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -Week 05 -Growth Mindset

Q1. Describe an eventful moment you have experienced in this class, Bearing in mind the key ideas of the day. 

My eventful moment was to redesign the logo using my non-master hand. It was quite a hard task as I couldn’t think of the idea immediately and I had to use my left hand. Linking this experience to the key ideas of the day ‘Growth mindset’, I was trying out new things and challenging myself. The lines weren’t fine like I was using my right hand but the more I focused and took more time on drawing a single line, I could form the shape I wanted. Using my left hand to draw abstract drawings would be fun to try out. I was also inspired when I looked at the others’ works, they were focusing on different aspects like colour, line work, illustrations and more.

Q2. Include selected images of your personal sketches and explain them. In particular, which sketches did you like the most? Which is the least? why?

My favourite sketch is the bottom left sketch. I feel like the fat, round and squished letters match the freshness of the oranges. I drew the letter O with a spiky centre to portray the image of the orange. I also like the sketch on the middle right. The idea was to slice the oranges with letter Z but it looks messy and letter i is not recognizable. It would be better if I simplify and develop the design. My least favourite sketch is the right top sketch, letters in orange illustration. The design is not eye-catching nor are the letters comprehensive.

Total 227 words

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -Week 03 -Emotional Intelligence

01. We talked about "Self-management", "Self-awareness", "Empathy" and "Relationship management". Which aspect do you think you are strongest at, and which is something you should try to improve? Discuss with reference to today's activities, and even your Studio collaborations.

My strongest aspect is self-awareness. Self-awareness is about knowing myself objectively and psychologically. I often take time to reflect on myself; through writing diaries and having self thoughts about the origins of my emotions and actions. By this I can notice my feelings and how I would appear to others. During the class activity, I watched different scenarios presented by different groups including my group. The scenarios were about taking feedback personally, having an assertion strongly against each other, not focusing on the group task and more. Through this activity, I could recall back about my behaviours and experiences during group work. I’ve never done any of the examples but I’m keeping in mind not to behave in such ways.

I should try to improve on self-management. Self-management is about controlling emotions and behaviours productively. I noticed that when I'm not doing as well as my standards, I easily lose my temper and get depressed. I know that it’s not worth the emotional struggle compared to the difficulty I faced. It also impacts my plans and work to finish. But sometimes my emotions are out of control unlike how I think from my head. I’m trying my best to calm myself down or to get a positive mindset. During the studio lesson I had to make an explainer video. The exported video was not matching the beat of the music I’ve applied and whenever I tried to fix it the other parts were getting out of my hand. It took me about 3 weeks to finish it due to me having to lose my temper.

Total 261 words

[shinhayeon]

CTS A -Week 01 -What is critical thinking?

Q1 Describe your understanding of critical thinking that you had before the class, and reflect on what you may have learned.

I briefly knew critical thinking as being judgemental and thought that this skill is more important for subjects such as science and maths. After today’s class, I’ve learned that critical thinking improves one’s creativity, understanding and adaptability. Noticed that it is one of the important skills for myself as a design student.

Q2 What have you learned about mindfulness? What might you integrate this into your learning environment?

I have learned that mindfulness is to live in a present moment. It helps us to be more focused, be creative, deal with difficult emotions and more. As a student who begins college life for the first time, I felt anxious and impatient thinking what if I’m falling behind, what if I missed an important message, what if I get late to class. Through practising mindfulness, I can empty my mind, ease the burdensome emotions and relax. According to the article from beanstack, mindfulness practices are beneficial for students to relieve negative emotions, do better on self-management and on academic performance. Mindfulness practice can be easily held in a short period of time daily by reading, breathing, and saying positive words to myself.

Reference: https://www.beanstack.com/blog/the-benefits-of-implementing-mindfulness-practices-in-education

Q3 Describe an eventful moment you have experienced in this class.

Creating a mind map about the necessity of failure as a group was eventful. By writing down our thoughts on the paper we could share and communicate our ideas easily. My opinion about the necessity of failure is that every process needs failure to learn and improve. There is no failure until you give up, it's just a process. By discussing the topic “failure is necessity/ opportunity”, I could reflect on myself being a perfectionist which often stopped me from taking challenges due to the fear of failing and needing to escape from this habit to explore more potential.

Total 274 words