The most profound thing I learned about myself is I have ability to be a problem solver, and i am clearly know there is nothing impossible to do during design process. I trust myself and i know my potential is very large; as long as keep digging, there is alway a way to solve problem or come up with new ideas. During the design process, although i had anxiety and restlessness feelings, but i know i have ability to make myself calm down, and I have perseverance to do research and solve problems. Overall, from the entire design process, i saw my potentials. In addition to these, i also recognize that i have certain deficiencies. I am easy to be affected by others’ works, and not confident on what i did for every step. Only when i got approved, i feel comfortable to move on to the next step. This is a very serious problem for me; as a designer, if i don’t have enough confidence with my own design work, how could I be able to convince my audience to support my ideas or got inspirations from me.
This class is the first course without limit for the design form, I like it very much! The final design form is depends on ourself, so it gave us enough space to use our own way to show our ideas, which is easier to devote our energies to do research and design. During the process, we could shared our works with our classmates and got feedbacks from them. Because we have different design forms, so it allows us to have different opportunities to see issues by standing on someone else’s design position. we are using a variety of ways to stimulate our own creative inspiration. This class for me, got inspirations greater than the final design results. My first project changed my perspective on graphic design practice. The final outcome is video, rather than the traditional graphic design form, this final outcome broke the traditional way to solve problem in graphic design. It makes me feel to break the shackles of certain form and found a new way to express my ideas. Meanwhile, the connection between graphic design and new technology had highly implanted in my mind, just like Meggs article mentioned. Also, for the second project, i did series of posters, the design elements are not limited on purely graphics, which remind me the elements of graphic design are enlarge. This change has changed our perspective on graphic design.

My exploration for this week is collected more poor children from all over the world. At first, i was though my audience will be Chinese people, which is based on the fairytale i picked; However, later i decided to the worldwide, because this fairytale had been translated to many languages and published in many countries, so it has became a world classical fairytale. I researched where is the poor area in the world, and children life in these places. These posters are propaganda for these children who doesn’t have enough food to eat or can’t afford to go to school. I want to use a powerful sense to convey the emotions to help these poor children. The first feeling that came to my mind is the Constructivism, due to the Russian constructivism was influenced by the october revolution, there are so many radical artists created artworks based on the social background. These artists were using their strong expression to show the social purpose and their ideas, also the color they used are very bold, so, i got some inspiration from them. Through the feedback i got from professor, she introduced few artists’ artworks, which contains Marianne Brandt, John Heartfield, Gustav Klutsis and Moholy Nagy. I did some research on their artworks, sum up their design layout, and the color they used, also what typeface they choose.I got so many inspiration from them to used in my own design. Even though this project has relationship with art movement, but it works. At the beginning of sketches, i also want to use some new materials, like foil papers stick on the poster, which can let audience see themselves through this paper, for them to image, if they are one of these children, do they want somebody help them? It’s kind of reflection process. Also, i want to use the contrast between the rich and the poor to evoke sympathy of people to help these poor children. For me, the children were born equal, that they should enjoy the rights of other children have. My creativity could express my ideas very clear, and it has ability to make the audience clearly too. Anyway, these poster’s creative has a strong connect with the fairytale that i selected.

For me, everyday creative process is constantly digging myself and deep understand myself. Through keeping ask questions to myself, and find a way to solve problem, this process make me found my potential and would like to challenge myself. For this new project, everything exploration step is in progress, either ideologically or knowledge reserves. This unit’s discussion of values bring me a lot of inspiration, make me understand the difference and common point between the traditional approaches and modern approaches. River’s speech let me see the creative in new form, and the common thing between the traditional and modern form. This point has great influence for my design process. I could use any new forms to expression my idea, but anyway, there is only one purpose and meaning behind of the story. These new forms look like every step of divergent thinking, also itself can be a creative thing. For Simon’s speech, i feel more inspiration. Before i watched her video, i had never doubt the truth of the photos and always think this is the most powerful way to record things. Her speech kind of overthrow it, and guided me toward the more distant, use multiply ways to understanding information. From these video and the discussion process, i leaned we need to analysis thing from many different ways, no matter de understanding for the photo, or everybody’s mind.  The photo reflected that even if it is recorded the real scene, behind these, there may be an unknown truth. I think i already put what i learned in my creative process. for the poster of Help poor children, i would like to use tinfoil to fill some place of the poster. This way of creative is different than the traditional way, but can provide interaction between the poster and the audience, to let them feel by themselves, perhaps this thinking process will provide more help for the poor children. This has the same meaning as the traditional poster, but take the different form. Another point is that Simon referred invisible space between photos and text. The photos i used not like Simon mentioned, has different  meaning between the photos and the fact. The photos i used based on the face and have enough power to reflect the social issues. The way i found this value is caused by social issues. In our society, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor, since the ancient time, there is a sharp contrast between the poor’s miserable life and the rich people’s luxury living. Now the situation has improved considerably, along with the economic development, as well as awareness of people’s thinking, more and more people engaged in philanthropy. These poor people still concentrated in certain countries or regions, people became pay more attention on them. Under this social context, the problem of children has become apparent. Similarly, cultural factors also influence my creative process. The fairytale i picked is a classical Chinese fairytale, to help people is one of the mainstream things in our cultural, whether thousands of years ago or now, it is an eternal theme. Anyway, the way i found the values are political and cultural.

At first, i had to say i really appreciate Kelli Anderson’s disruptive wonder for a change. This is really a new form for me. This disruptive wonder brings me a fresh design ideas; even though the design work have similar elements, through different arrangements can give the audience different psychological  feelings, also brings design inspiration to designers. Although i have never used this before, but i have one experience seems like this. When i took typography design class, i need to design a movie book, the layout of the book and content of the book need to design based on the plot and the actors’ attitude. Due to this story happened on the boat, so i decided to design the letters like wave shape. I print the letters on the paper, then cut the bottom half of the letters; then stick these half letters on the paper. Compare to Meggs’ idea, my design is not use a traditional form, but can clearly convey the information, and suitable for the development of the plot. For example, when i put this letter to a wave shape, these disruptive letters looks more freedom. At the same time, through this constant shear and patchwork, i got to know more characteristic about these typographies. I had to say, after watching Anderson’s video, i really admire her creative expression, even though i had tried seem kind of collage, but the outcome doesn’t looks that good, but also very interesting. The design learning process is to get inspiration from different affaires. Her lecture and design works really gave me a lot of inspiration.

For this Exploration A parts, which has really challenged me and bring me many possible opportunities to achieve the final outcome. My first idea is to make an app, used in computer and Ipad, etc, then I got feedbacks from professor Betgevargiz to stay away from the computer. Especially since today so many of us feel lost and some even panic when the internet is broken, when our computer breaks and when our phones don’t work. I can make a video clip a hand removing the items away from the mirror or glass with reflection of the face. The person seems himself slowly and just as he/she thinks they can see herself they start to disappear with fog and they clear it with their hands and distractions appear and by the finale there is a profound question…etc. Or if it can be placed in public/private bathrooms on the mirror and reflect on how people respond to it. Or it can be vinyl typographic and image based messages on mirrors. Or a series of messages for daily routines sold for consumers to place on their home bathroom mirrors. “Today wash away what is given and constant be ready and open to new possibilities.” Today…”With every splash of water, give up your material comforts and accept inner peace visualize the color blue” etc. I used the first advice because it is more closer with my original idea and i thought use mirror too. Even though I only picked one idea from all, but this project almost achieve my desire effect, which are interactivity and bring questions for people to self-examination. In this video recording process, i met a lot of technical issues, such as steam, not only shows in the mirror, also the camera becomes fuzzy, etc. After i am done with the recording, used AE to do post-processing, this is a big challenge for me because i had never use this software before, i spent a whole day to learn the basic knowledge about how to clip the video, as well as handling of font effects. So, i think i really learned a lot during exploration A, no matter problem solving process ( know the common key words and find a way to show this) or technological using.

This week’s process make me feel anxiety, because my first ideas doesn’t full considered, as well as the lack of research work, leaning to sudden change design direction. I got some feedbacks for the first idea and the second idea, there are so many things to learn, but which makes me feel no way to start. In this Mutual feedback process, to get information from others is very good, which can promote my design process, but when too many things exist in my mind like a mess, i can not sorted out a clear idea. I pushed myself, but i don’t know how, there are so many possibilities in from of me, but each one is not clear enough. I really don’t know what is the right design process, shall we begin with a clear idea? or change things during the process, because i do changed a lot during my process, which makes me so confused. As now, my original plan to communicate my design works use computer or iPhone or iPad, but i got advice to change this way, because there are many people don’t like to use electronic things due to so many issue, for example, computer suddenly crashes, the phone can not access, etc. temporary transformation of ideas, and choose other media, make me feel that all seems to return to the initial plan. I had to say that the advance of this week’s design process has brought me a great sense of pressure, i hope to get more and more critiques, in order to make my design works advance farther.

First of all, i don’t completely agree with “Thinking Wrong” and heuristic biases impacted my process of exploration. Anything has two sides. Analytical thinking wrong and heuristic biases should from different aspects. First of all, if i have a specific goal and specific deadline, these two factors appear will have adverse impact on my design process. For example, when i design something for client, have thinking wrong and heuristic biases will be farther away from the intended purpose, thus cause losses the interests of the customers, also will influence out design process and design ideas. When this situation happens, i will feel restless and everything out of control, finally more and more difficult to achieve the purpose. Due to thinking wrong and heuristic biases will make the whole design process restless, and won’t expected the perfect outcome. Another point is when i realized thinking wrong happens, to correct them as soon as possible is also a process to make myself improvement. This process is like planting trees, if you want the tree grow straight, you need to cut the oblique branches during the growing process. But for heuristic biases, i have another view, i think this may be an expression of personal style. Sometime, i will allow myself to thinking wrong, but this situation only occurs in the fixed project deadline. I think the Thinking Wrong process similarities to the week’s mind mapping, even though start for different reasons. Mind map is the purpose of exercise of thinking, thinking wrong is unexpected or most people want to avoided. When i encounter this situation, i didn’t immediately stop it, but collected these thinking wrong thoughts, perhaps in the future design process, these can bring me some inspiration.