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Overall I really enjoyed this unit ‘Communication design’. Being that this is my first semester at RMIT (as I previously did 1 year of design at the University of Canberra) I really noticed the difference in how these design courses are put together and enjoyed how this unit was arranged and all of the fun/creative activities we got to participate in. I enjoyed how the unit referred back to the importance of the history and development of design from many centuries ago all the way to todays time as I think referring back to design history is important knowledge to have for all designers. I liked how this unit forced you to visually see random objects and tools and encourage you to think of it in a different way to make it a form of art/design itself I think it helps encourage all of us young designers to think outside the box even on the most basic things such as items we carry in our bags or pockets. I am definitely disappointed that due to the worlds current pit-full that we did have to finish the rest of our units online as I really enjoyed the atmosphere we had in our classes, but obviously I was quite glad to see how well it was adapted to online and still trying to keep the same atmosphere going with at home activities and voice over lectures (instead of just uploading slides). I also loved hearing about the tutors backgrounds in design I always found it quite inspiring and made things seem more realistic in how I want to see myself in the design world post-grad. With all of the key elements we learnt within this unit with all of the history components (especially Bauhaus)  and discovering many ways to communicate with design itself, they are elements I am sure I will always refer back to as I continue on. 

I quite enjoyed watching this lecture I found it was a good way to reminisce all we have done within this subject and have some subtle reminders of what have learnt and experienced together. I liked the extra comment thrown in towards the end about teaching us to ‘celebrate design’ and all designers and embracing designers of all genders and cultures which I think we can all agree is very important. 

‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bohaglass.co.uk%2Fbauhaus-design-legacy%2F&psig=AOvVaw0rJO4g8G8FvYAoou4_hp_p&ust=1591068653127000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCLj3ve3W3-kCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAY

Here are a few examples of my Ask me anything project, Zine page spreads.  With research into Jacky Tsai and finding many interviews with available I was able to discover and understand the voice and personality of this artist. I found that he was actually a very ‘chill’ relaxed kind of personality. Throughout the interviews I sourced the language he used and the fluidness throughout the interviews were very genuine and kind hearted particularly when he explains his time with Alexandra McQueen with Tsai mentioning he didn't realise how much of an impact that floral skull concept he designed had. I found this quite interesting and wanted to ensure this was shown in how I wrote and stylised my questions and answers for this interview. For the design concept of my page layouts I really wanted to make his artwork be a major part of the design as his choice of art is very impactful and culturally significant. Due to the cultural significance his work holds I also wanted it to to be stylised throughout my Zine as I did not want to add design elements that did not relate to the style of Jacky Tsai. For the overall style of my Zine I went for quite a simplistic style with the use of imagery being the main focus of the layout. As Tsai utilises Western pop art styles as-well I did keep this in mind for my layouts and grids as-well with the use of a crisp white background and vibrant images with page spacing being prominent within my design. During this process I was always quite pleased with page layouts and style. The issue I had with this was with the choice of suitable fonts. I utilised two fonts to represent my voice during the interview and then Tsai’s voice. Originally for one of the fonts I used ‘Herculanum’ which had a almost try-hard appeal of being a style of type with different cultural aspects. As I did struggle with my font choices I did show my tutor for feedback to which he definitely helped me change my font immediately (thanks ben). I decided as my style was quite ‘delicate’ it needed more boldness added into the design which led me changing my font to ‘Bauhaus’. I found this gave an overall balance to my design. I am overall happy with my design and doing these type of projects (as we have also done so in Image and identity) it makes me realise the fondness I have for page layouts within design and is something I very much enjoy. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inverse.com%2Farticle%2F22295-jacky-tsai-superheroes-art-exhibit-satire&psig=AOvVaw3QtHErFX4SbRsjo3PVDQJz&ust=1590122876969000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNDB3r2TxOkCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAV

Jacky Tsai

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aliexpress.com%2Fitem%2F32874813589.html&psig=AOvVaw3ZWizv1vPetKSMmM6q_4Uq&ust=1590110136947000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPifuITkw-kCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBU

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffeatherofme.com%2Fhuman-skulls-by-jacky-tsai%2F&psig=AOvVaw1Fq7-ZqkKcWzqY5YJEgiUT&ust=1590120199859000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCKinvsWJxOkCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAW

For another in class activity we were given the task to find some images and too make a digital collage. I chose the use of a Dior campaign image with combination of money and fashion newspaper articles. I utilised the pen tool and clipping mask to give the affect of tearing the Dior campaign and peeling back the layer of money and newspaper that was underneath. I quite liked my overall collage as I found it visually pleasing to look at whilst also having a perception of a meaning to the collage. I found the meaning of this collage could be in relation to Dior being a high end fashion brand which is at quite an expense to purchase too which the meaning of the money images comes to play. By also adding old fashion newspaper articles one could relate that to Dior being a historic fashion icon aswell. 

For a in class activity we were asked to take our Ask me anything image and too play around and change the image to make it look as weird as possible. Ironically I actually like how mine turned out. The question itself is still eligible to read despite me liquifying the image. I found this activity quite fun as it gave my image a very different look but I found it actually still fit to my concept. By giving the image a fluid texture I felt it related back to liquid makeup products. 

This was my final result for my question is. During this assessment as a lot of  us experienced was when the pandemic took a turn and we all resulted to online learning too which I had to move back interstate. This led to me feeling quite stuck with ideas on what I wanted to use for my chosen question. Once I got settled in back home I realised that makeup is something I love to and is also considered a form of art and creativity and so why not utilise makeup and makeup tools for my question. My original question was ‘Who determines creativity?’ With the space and products I was using I found my question was too long to capture naturally and would only fit with quite a lot of photo manipulation on photoshop. This led me to tweaking my question to what is creativity? With the feedback I received from my assignment as mentioned before I still struggled with the sizing of this image. I also should have played around with the makeup products itself such as squeezing foundation to form a letterform but at the time unfortunately it did not cross my mind. In the end I did love my overall concept and style of this image but I do wish I did get more creative with it which ironically relates back to my asked question.. but what is creativity? 

The week 11 lecture was about pixels and data and how artists have made this form of information into forms of art. It also dived into AI and how machines have been built to copy and also re-design human made things such as drawings and books. These machines can also analyse this data and create their perception of a  ‘human book’. I found this quite interesting that AI can learn how to do ‘human things’ but also it made me feel quite terrified as it makes us not seem as unique as we may think and that in these cases we are even easy to predict. 

The week 8 and 10 lecture I found both very interesting in terms of breaking design rules and boundaries and using the power of design in controversial and political propaganda. I was fascinated learning about the Futurists in the early 1900s with the creative way to dictate their own view/opinion. In the week 10 lecture I was fascinated by the collaboration between colour magazine and a retail brand Benetton that utilised this magazine for advertising but not in a way one would assume. I loved how this collaboration had the strength and courage to publish very visual and very controversial topics and images such as racism and the conversation about Aids into these advertisement materials with sometimes the models in the imagery not even wearing Benettons clothing. I found this conceptualism design very interesting and think it would be interesting to see a similar form happen again.