AY 24.25 Common Module CTS B

[catherineejv]

Compulsory Question 2 

In week 10, during our discussion design interests, i mentioned my own design interest on ui/ux design, as well as photography and videography, which I have always been passionate about. However, as I worked on my studio project, I discovered that I also have a passion for designing poster. While I initially struggled with the process, experimenting with layouts and illustrations, I realised that I enjoyed struggles and the feeling of satisfaction with the final result.

Afterward, we also wrote down our artistic vision statements on a paper which we then passed around to our classmates to write down their thoughts and feedback on each other statements. As I wrote that I wanted to be a video producer, some of my classmates asked me why I chose video producer over photographer, considering that both fields are quite similar. My answer is that while photography captures a specific moment in time, video has the ability to document a process that can be more valuable than just the final result. To prepare for becoming a video producer, I am currently building an online portfolio to showcase some of my work. Additionally, I’ve chosen video production as one of my elective modules, hoping that it will provide me the skills and experience that I need to support my journey on becoming a video producer.

On the other hand, as I’ve discovered my interest in poster design, I’m also now considering the possibility of pursuing a career as a graphic designer as well.

While exploring videography, I developed an interest for both digital camera and filmmaking. With digital camera, I can capture retro vibes, natural shaky movements, and unique colour grading that other cameras often can’t replicate. At the same time, filmmaking allows me to create dramatic atmospheres and evoke strong emotions.

Overall, both digital camera and filmmaking allow me to convey messages in unique ways, adapting to the specific needs of the story.

As for graphic designer, I am particularly drawn to poster design, where I can explore my creativity out of the box. So far, most of my works emphasizes simplicity and minimal colours to avoid visual clutter. I believe that by using fewer elements, each design allows to be more impactful and stand out, while also creating a sense of balance without overwhelming the audience's’ eyes. Lastly, I hope in the future I can create aesthetically pleasing posters but also effective in conveying messages to the audience.

( 406 words )

References

Stone’s Throw Media. ( 2019, 8 August ) What is VIdeo Production? [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/Mmbn2FyBTVg?si=gWNgRnytOFhIN-hT

Gareth David Studio. ( 2022, 4 April ) What Makes a Good Poster Design? [VIdeo]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/Urac4u6GngM?si=w_XmBEX6S1Vnvmfg

[catherineejv]

Compulsory Question 1 - Manifesto

This week for the group project of creating manifesto, for my group, I came up with two manifestos that represent important aspects of critical thinking skills.

The first one is “Doubt can lead to deeper understanding & better decision”, which means when we are unsure about something, we will eventually be more careful and encourages us to dig deeper before making any decisions. 

The second one is “Willing to change your mind based on new information & Another point of view”, means being open-minded, to observe our surroundings, and willing to try to stand in other people’s shoes and try to understand from their perspective. 

In addition to these personal contributions, we chose another manifesto that basically summarizes all of our individual manifestos.

 “Think beyond the obvious, question with purpose.”

From my personal understanding, it means to think out of the box and to question every little thing for us to understand more deeply and to help our personal growth.

There are some particularly significant aspects of CTS B for me, for studio we need to analyse , creativity, and problem solving.

For our studio project, my partner and I chose to focus on Archifest. This required us to analyse Archifest posters, websites, and merchandise in order to represent the event in a unique and creative way, while ensuring that its messages are clearly communicated to the audience. Moreover, analysing, creativity and problem solving are essential for the 'Design Skills' module, where we are developing an app. In this project, we need to carefully analyse the functionality of each button and page to optimize the user experience and solving any technical errors of the app and figure out the simplest and easiest way for the users to navigate the app.

As I was reflecting on these tasks, I realised that a lot of aspects of critical thinking skills, such as being open-minded, are actually useful in our daily lives. For instance, being open-minded and willing to try to understand from other people’s point of view can help us develop empathy toward others, which, this empathy allows us to connect with others.

Lastly, in order to effectively applied the aspects of critical thinking skill such as being open-minded, creativity, problem solving, and analysis to not only academic modules but also to our everyday lives, it is essential to engage in self-reflection. The practice of self-reflection allows us to growth and improve in all aspects of our lives.

( 403 words )

References

5 Essential critical thinking skills - The UNM 5

[catherineejv]

WEEK 1 - Creative Practice and Critical Thinking

First of all,  the difference between creative practice and critical thinking is that creative practice story focusing on self-expression, creative process, personal and emotional, while critical thinking story is more of analysing, decision making, evidence-based, and more objective.

I chose to write creative practice story and the issue about “Mental Health”

“Growing up in a small town, Aidan always felt like he lived in a bubble, a place where emotions were hidden or considered a weakness, which he thought was normal just like how other people live. Mental health is something people don't talk about. It's not a topic of conversation at the dinner table, and anyone who reveals their struggles with anxiety or depression is often labelled as "overdramatic" or "attention-seeking." Being able to express emotions is a "privilege" that not everyone has, some people even lose their ability to express their emotions, one of them is Aidan, but after Aidan moved abroad, it's like living outside of his bubble, living in a completely different environment that cared and considered mental health to be an important topic and something that needs to be discussed, and as he lives among expressive people, Aidan slowly learns to be more expressive. After some time, Aidan realised that being able to express your emotions freely was not actually a privilege, but rather a right that every human being on this earth must have.”

The lesson that can be learnt is that every human being has the right to express their happiness as well as their sadness. In fact, there are still many people who do not have a place to vent their worries, which leads to suicide. The least thing I can do is listen to the struggles and comfort the people around me.

( 290 words )

References

Rural life can intensify the stigma and loneliness of mental illness

Rural life can intensify the stigma and loneliness of mental illness | Psyche Ideas

Heightened stigma, a lack of privacy and inadequate support services add to mental health challenges in rural communities

[catherineejv]

WEEK 6 - Critical Self-Reflectivity : How Do I Think About My Thinking Processes?

I would say that critical self-reflectivity is similar to critical thinking, where we examine the way we think, our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. 

Class Activity : Observe and decide on what is one design problems that you would like to fix.

This week’s activity required us to form a group of 4, then we went to Sim Lim Square to observe the everything there that caught our attention. After we explored and took picture of some things that we thought are poorly designed and interesting to discuss, we went back to school and decided to observe and talk about the signboard at Sim Lim Square. Signboard should be visible, noticeable, give information, and easy to understand, whereas, the signboards that we saw at Sim Lim are quite confusing.

We commented on the lack of contrast between the colour of the text and the colour of the background, the use of symbols that do not match the texts such as they use stair symbol to represent bridge, the use of punctuation mark “@” to represent the word “at” which might cause misunderstanding for the audience, the spacing between each sentences is too narrow making it difficult for the audience to read it, the size of the signboards are too small to be noticed, and last but not least is the placement of the signboards is not noticeable.

Afterwards, we talked about simplifying or taking out some of the information on the signboard to make it look better and easier for the audience to read, on the other hand, the weakness of this idea is that the information might not be so detailed. In conclusion, each design will always have its own strengths and weaknesses.

( 281 words )

References

 Grayers Graphics. ( 2020, 29 August ) 12 Types of Signage for your shop or office - What’s the best option? [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/DZ7B4rk6yLg?si=u0VTjbWxAZ6hhah3

7 Simple Tips for Designing Signage - How to Get Your Sign to Stand Out

[catherineejv]

WEEK 3 -  This is How You Connect Practice with Society

This week we talked about “Can I be a Social Agent if I am an Artist/Designer?” and “What is Socially-Engaged Practice?”

First of all, I would like to answer the question,  “Can I be a Social Agent if I am an Artist/Designer?” Yes, I think I can be a Social Agent if I am an artist/designer, because it could be said that designer/artist is an intermediary who conveys messages to society through designs and arts.

“What is Socially-Engaged Practice?”, often called social practice or socially engaged art, encompasses any art form that involves people and communities in dialogue, collaboration, or social interaction.

“Barbara Kruger”

She explores and conveys about feminism, gender, consumerism, political, and social through her artworks such as “Your Body is a Battleground” and “You Are Not Yourself”, with her design style using effects and pasting words on the image.

Class Activity : Create 1 - 1.5mins documentary about local issue you consider important to highlight.

We were asked to form a group of 4 and create documentary of 1 - 1.5mins about local issue in 45 minutes, then my group started to discuss on what local issue we should focus on, we decided to do documentary of Singaporean slang words/Singlish as three of us are foreigners and at first we had difficulty to understand Singlish. In the video we mentioned some of the Singlish words such as “Shag” means tired, “Sian” means bored/tired, “Alamak” means damn/an expression of shock, “Phaiseh” means embarrassed/ashamed, “Can One” means sure can, etc. Singapore is a country with a lot of tourists and international students, In my opinion, by using a proper English will help us communication with each other more easily.

( 277 words )

References

Fine Arts Degree Spotlight: 9 Artists Who Combined Art and Politics, 

Creativity Works. ( 2016, 10 January )Creative Conversation with Hannah Hull - What is Socially Engaged Art? [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/3wuqIWCrcck?si=xnwpyZrsHiapWCng

[catherineejv]

Summary of Woii

With the activities in World of Ideas and Imagination class, there are many things I learned, especially related to group activities, where we are paired with different people, which is quite challenging, and sometimes we have different points of view, opinions, and ideas, but this is where I learned things like adapting and communicating in different ways when dealing with different people. 

My views and understanding of design have also deepened, for example, my knowledge of the history of design styles really helps to be more creative. For instance, when working on a group activity designing posters, we thought about combining retro and modern design styles or combine our design with something related to culture. The activities in the fourth and fifth weeks also trained my research skills, when we went to the museum and had to do research on an object in the museum. I did research on an old Chinese chair which the origin of the chair was not explained in the museum, so I had to do my own research on the details and history of how the chair was made and the purpose of the chair. In conclusion, the things learned in the World of Ideas and Imagination class aim to improve our ability to communicate through design.

(212 words)

[catherineejv]

WEEK 11 - Postmodernism

First of all, we need to understand about modernism, it is a way of thinking that opposes traditional styles that prioritize function and simplicity in design, the less elements in the modernism design the better it is, and modernism also favored the idea of ​​a single aesthetic with hierarchy in its design and arranged sequentially.

On the other hand, postmodernism also opposes modernism and other design developments, it emphasizes something diverse. Postmodernism prefer it with more elements and every element in the design is important.

This week we randomly paired up to design an advertising poster that embraces postmodernism using objects around us, My partner and I chose a drinking bottle as our advertising material. We designed the poster using strong and contrasting colors, which are the RGB  colours, with a water background that related to the object that we chose, and a more playful and striking font which aims to give a retro impression. We also added the sentence "I look beautiful because I drink water", to make it sound more interesting.

I personally like both the ideas of postmodernism and modernism, where the idea of ​​postmodernism is quite interesting because it is different, more playful, and unique with its chaotic and complex designs, and I also like the simple and neatly arranged of the modernism designs. By learning more about postmodernism and modernism, I am now more aware of the existence of various design styles and have a better understanding of the meaning and differences between the two postmodernism and modernism.

( 253 words ) References: J.J.McCullough. ( 2023, 6 March ) The Three Phases of Culture [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/8xprzqBFv1M?feature=shared

Victoria and Albert Museum. ( 2018, 11 September ) What is Postmodernism? [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/_Jlyrn0llIE?feature=shared

[catherineejv]

WEEK 9 - Cultural Materialism

This week we learned about cultural materialism then we went out of class to observe technologies around us, which made me realize how technology has and continues to develop over time, and the influence of technological sophistication on people's daily lives. For example :

People who previously could only use stairs can now use elevators to save energy and time,

Increased security with a key card entry system, where the number of people is controlled and only people who have access cards can enter certain rooms,

Then there are also vending machines that don’t need a cashier, to buy stuff from the machine, we only need to insert money or tap a bank card, then select the things we want, and the machine will automatically process them. Moreover, through smartphones and social media, we can do many things easily, such as accessing information, getting entertainment, communicating, shopping and selling.

However, technological sophistication does not only make our lives easier or increase security, technological sophistication can also cause losses and make it easier for crimes to occur. For example, scam that occurs through the media, just by clicking on the link sent by the fraudster, all of your personal information will be easily accessed by the fraudster.

In conclusion, It's better not to share our personal information excessively and to be more careful and wise in using technology as it can give rise to advantages and disadvantages both to ourselves as well as others at the same time.

( 250 words )

References: Tom Nicholas. ( 2018, 21 November ) Cultural Materialism: WTF? Raymond Williams, Culture and Structures of Feeling [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/i7nED5SPYWI?feature=shared

[catherineejv]

WEEK 4&5 - Analysing a work of Design

I was not able to make the field trip to The National Museum of Singapore, hence, I went to a Museum called Tjong A Fie Legacy Building in North Sumatera, Indonesia, owned by Tjong A Fie, a businessman from China, who was the richest and most influential man in helping the economy of the city of Medan in the past.

The 35-room, 2-storey Tjong A Fie Mansion was built in 1895, completed in 1900, on an area of 8000 sq. meter. The Mansion has Chinese, Malay and Art Deco influences in its architecture style. The structure was built observing feng-shui principles. The rooms are on four sides of the structures and surround a big open-air courtyard in the middle, signifying the "Well of Heaven". (https://tjongafiemansion.org/gallery-shift#architecture)

The depicted chair above is one of the rare and antique Chinese-style armchair measuring 69.5 x 52 x 102 cm that I saw and thought was interesting when I visited Tjong A Fie Mansion. This chair is called ‘Hup Soo Ee’ in Hokkien, ‘Ee’ in Malay means chair. Hup Soo Ee is a chair made of carved black wood, bamboo and the most important and unique part is the mother of pearl, which is a crystallised mineral compound that forms in the inner layers of the oyster shells of certain mollusks. The back panel of the armchair is made of porcelain instead of marble, and it is usually painted with scenes depicting the pleasures of a learned life and acts of feminine virtue that serve as reminders of traditional Chinese values. In wealthy families, chairs like these were usually given to daughters as part of their wedding trousseau and will be displayed in the main hall of their house.

Reflection

This is my first time visiting Tjong A Fie Mansion, which is a house full of history. I, who initially didn't really like history, became quite interested in history, as when I did research on the objects in the Tjong A Fie Mansion, I was amazed and also realised that in one object there could be so many stories and meanings that we could learn.  

( 364 words )

References

<p>This Chinese-style blackwood armchair with mother-of-pearl inlay is called 'Hup soo ee' in Hokkien. 'Ee' is the Baba Malay word for 'chai

[catherineejv]

WEEK 3 - Semiotics

Semiotics is study of signs and symbols, including how people visually communicate through metaphor, analogy, allegory, metonymy, symbolism and other means of expression.

There are two kind of principles and methods of describing signs : Formal analysis which is an analysis of the external appearance of a design, and  contextual analysis is an analysis of the implied meaning of a design or the information that are being conveyed through a design.

The Perils of Parallel Parking -VW

Formal Analysis :

There are 3 fishes, each in plastic bag filled with water

A hedgehog in the middle of the 3 fishes

Hedgehog and fishes placed in the centre parking in parallel

The three fishes and the hedgehog are facing different directions

The fishes are gold fish with orange colour

Contextual Analysis : 

Hedgehog as Volkswagen car trying to park parallel with the fishes

Fishes as cars that are fragile compared to Volkswagen car

They are trying to convey that when parking Volkswagen car with their car newest feature, the car will be as safe as  hedgehog with sharp spines to protect itself.

In conclusion, The Volkswagen tried to advertise its new parking assist feature by using a fish and a hedgehog as symbols of being able to park the car safely with the new feature.

Reflection

In my opinion, by studying semiotics, it helps us see things more broadly and from various points of view. Formal analysis will train us in analyzing various shapes, colors and layouts in a design, while contextual analysis trains us in understanding the meaning or content of a design.

( 253 words )

References

(https://www.mk2groupdesign.com/post/top-10-brilliant-print-ads-of-2022)

Volkswagen Precision Parking Ad

Volkswagen Advertisement Analysis

[catherineejv]

WEEK 2 - Aesthetics

From what we have learned, aesthetics is a beauty of design or artistic taste, each person has different types of aesthetics such as minimalist, rustic, vintage, and contemporary and so on. Factors such as composition, color, shape, visual weight and balance are needed to create an aesthetic that is pleasing to the eye. Even so, there are still many people who don’t really care about aesthetics.

In the second week, we formed a group of 4 to 5 people to observe the signages around the school, my group members and I went to the nearest food court, when making observations, we compared the signages in the food court with the aesthetic signages in the cafes that we usually see, then we realized that almost all of the signages in the food court is in stark contrast to the signages in cafes that are aesthetic and conceptualized, whereas there is no conceptualized signages in the food court as they are very straightforward and focus more on conveying information than on the beauty or aesthetics of the design yet the signages in the food court still give a retro impression, on the other hand, it also make it easier for the customers to see the shape of the foods that are being sold .

Personally, I prefer something that is more minimalist and modern with neutral color which is for me it is more visually pleasing than something with a very busy and overwhelming designs, so if comparing cafe or food court signage designs, I would probably choose the one in the cafe.

( 260 words )

References

What is Aesthetics?

Explore Aesthetics: Principles, Design Tips, and Inspiring Examples for Beautiful User Interfaces.

[catherineejv]

Week - 5 Growth Mindset

Last week we had a conversation about growth mindset in class, For that, We were asked to go out for a short tour around the school to capture packaging or brand logo. When we came back to class we were divided into groups, then we had to choose one of the brand to redesign the brand's logo in just 15 minutes by using our non-dominant hand to draw at least 10 redesigned logos. Most of us having difficulty yet still keep trying to draw using the non-dominant hand eventhough couldn't complete the 10 redesigned logos but some were just gave up on trying and started to draw with their dominant hand so they could finish the 10 logos, Often people think that what they aren't skilled at is a limitation that drives them to stop doing it or even trying which I have to prevent myself on having this kind of thoughts. Although I only got to finished 7 designs of the burger brand, I personally feel like the one with circle outline because it is simple yet still showing the shape of the burger.

( 188 Words )

References :

Einzelgänger. ( 2023, 14 July ) You Can Do More Than You Think | The Growth Mindset [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/kBWfncYv8DA?feature=shared

Harvard Business Review. ( 2022, 9 February ) What Having a "Growth Mindset" Actually Means [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/r0qpJxEhOP4?feature=shared